The Wife's Birthday

I took the day off for my wife's birthday so we can spend time together. We went to Madison to stay the night at a hotel, and while there we went to see the musical Church Basement Ladies at the Overture Center. The next day we went the Milwaukee County Zoo. She loves going there and really wanted to go again, so that was our ultimate birthday destination.

Overture Center

I wish that I had been to the Overture Center before, because it is really easy to get to: take I-90 to 151S and ride all the way to the other side of the Capitol, and you're there. The Overture Center is a beautiful building - large, clean and stylish. We are going to make it there more often. A Russian ballet troupe will be coming as will an Opera or two. I have always wanted to see and Opera just out of curiosity and to say 'Been there. Done That.'

This was one of the times that we were going somewhere and not rushed. We got there early so we could walk around a little bit and pick up our tickets while not in a dead sprint. =) Of course, it is all my fault if we are. =)

There was some fantasy art displayed on a wall, by who I will assume is as local artist, that was phenomenal. Most were done as pencils. They were a very classical Brothers Grim sort of fantasy. Very cool. Very expensive.

Church Basement Ladies

This was an interesting musical. It is based in a Norwegian Lutheran church in Minnesota during 1964 and 1965, and based on real life experiences of the writer of the book that the musical is based on . It stars a man who plays a priest and 4 women as the church basement ladies, and that is all of the cast. The whole thing is set in the basement and no where else.

The time went really fast. The musical was about 2 1/2 hours including break and it did not seem more than an hour of time passed. It was quick and funny.

Milwaukee County Zoo

We got there at probably 11:00 after driving from Madison. The day was overcast and not so bright. We worried a little bit about it raining. I talked to my mom and sister on the phone during our trip there and they had received some rain... so we remain concerned. The impending clouds taunting us as we go.

The zoo, as always was cool. So many wonderful and beautiful creatures. We had the pleasure of petting and feeding Stingrays. That was very cool! Tanya was a little bit afraid to touch it, but in the end she braved it.

It rained lightly for about 10 minutes and then later, a little more that an hour before closing, it it rained consistently hard. We braved since we had an umbrella handy, but at that point the animals were not so cooperative.

Tanya has made the time to post some pictures of the Milwaukee Zoo for you. The site is in Russian but the controls should be pretty self evident