Thinking back to August 2018, I found out that I was heading to the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area for work for the duration of the year. After my first week in Milwaukee, I quickly learned that my assignment was based about 30 minutes outside of the city in a little town called Waukesha. And then I learned that the only hotels in Waukesha fall in the Days Inn/Best Western range. WOW WOW WOW. Needless to say, I was not especially thrilled to be spending about four months in Waukesha!*

After my arrival, I was introduced to another city called Brookfield that reminded me a whole lot of Chesapeake, VA, the city that I grew up in, where I could find more acceptable lodging, restaurants, and shopping.

Welcome to the suburbs.

Fast forward four months, just weeks before I was supposed to wrap up this project, I was asked to stay on for another three months.

So, I was fortunate (unfortunate) enough to spend the entire winter in freezing cold Wisconsin! I experienced snow on a very regular basis and had to *kind-of* learn to drive in the snow. They do a better job of clearing the roads than I typically experience back home in Virginia, but it was still pretty scary at times! I also was able to experience my first polar vortex where temps dropped below -50 degrees. COOL.

So what is there to do in Waukesha/Brookfield?

Over my seven months, I had the opportunity to take part in several activities and try lots of restaurants! I only stayed a handful of weekends through this whole time, which seriously limited the time I had to take part in what Wisconsin has to offer.

*Quick side note before I move on – my grandfather is from Milwaukee originally and grew up in Wisconsin. Several of his family members that I’ve never met still live in the area and it turns out that some of my cousins actually live in Waukesha. Talk about a small world! By this crazy coincidence, I was able to meet up with and meet some of my family for the first time, which I think is just the coolest thing!

Restaurants

Some of my favorite places that I ate during my visit include the following:

• Flemings – High-end steakhouse! The service was phenomenal and I ended up going here for a couple of meals.
• Cafe Hollander – Delicious food! I went for both brunch and dinner and it did not disappoint!

• Freshfin Poké – Build your own poké bowls with tons and tons of healthy options. I ate here about once a week.
• First Watch – This was one of the first places that I ate and I was so excited to discover this healthy brunch option. I quickly found out that it was a chain and a new location opened back home in Virginia Beach while I was gone, so I was soo excited!

• Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant – I also found out that this was a chain, and go figure – a location also opened in Virginia Beach while I was gone! Good food and delicious wine!

• Kopp’s Frozen Custard – This was deemed a must-try as soon as I got to Wisconsin, especially when people learned that I love ice cream. I tried custard for the first time and liked it, but ice cream will still always have my heart. I actually really enjoyed the food at Kopp’s and ate there several times!
• Belair Cantina – Local Wisconsin Mexican chain with yummy tacos and the BEST margaritas!
• Wicked Hop – Our team reserved the Jackalope Lounj for a team dinner and it was the best time! This private room was amazing and had a separate bar just for our group. The food and drinks were great!

Activities

While I maybe didn’t eat at as many restaurants during this stay as Wisconsin had to offer, there is no shortage of activities to do and I definitely was able to take part in a lot of different fun things throughout this visit!

• Milwaukee River Walk – In Downtown Milwaukee, there is a really nice walk along the river that was very lovely to take during early evening in late August. Make sure to make a pit stop to see the Bronz Fonz statue!

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• Kimpton the Journeyman Rooftop Bar – This is a really nice rooftop bar with beautiful views. Make sure to go at sunset!

• Brewers Game at Miller Park – This is a good activity during baseball season during any weather, as the park does have a roof. We went on a beautiful, end of summer day and the roof was open, so it was wonderful!
• Lakefront Brewery Tour – I’m not a beer drinker, but went on this tour with my team from work. We had a really good tour guide who kept us laughing the whole time! The tour came with several beer tasting tickets and a free glass.
• Thirsty Duck – This is a fun little bar that also has duck pin bowling lanes. Great for a group of people!
• Miller Brewing Company – We went to the Miller Brewery and purchased a sampling wristband. It was a fun environment with a lot of the history laid out on the walls in the seating area. There is also a brewery tour that you can take which comes highly recommended!

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• Anthony Vince Nail Spa – I set up a team event with all of the ladies on my team from work at this nail salon. They serve wine on location and allowed us to bring in food, so I picked up appetizers from Cafe Hollander so that we could snack and sip while we got our nails and toes done!
• Potawatomi Hotel and Casino – Brandon and I went to the casino on a Friday night and it. was. POPPING. I was shocked at the sheer size of the casino and the number of people there. Brandon plays blackjack and I play craps. There were tons of tables to choose from throughout the casino and some had a wait to even get on. One thing to note – smoking is allowed inside the casino in most locations (there are some smoke-free areas with slots), including the entire area with tables.
• iCombat Laser Tag – This was another team event that we set up, but had such a blast! I don’t think I’ve been to laser tag since I was still in grade school. I was really horrible and maybe only got three people out during the hour plus of play time.

Day Trips

There are also several day trips that you can take from Milwaukee, which surprised me a lot. Since I didn’t spend a lot of weekends in Wisconsin, I was only able to take advantage of two options, but I highly recommend both!

• Chicago – It was very easy to make a day trip to Chicago. It was about a two-hour drive, but there is also a two-hour train ride, which I highly recommend after trying both methods. The train takes you right into the middle of the city. I had the “pleasure” of going to Chicago during the polar vortex and it was pretty incredible to see the river and the lake completely frozen over!

• Packers Trip – I’m saving the best for last. I’ve been a lifetime Packers fan (see family discussion above), so this was easily the highlight of my entire trip to Wisconsin. Brandon came up and went to a game with me at Lambeau for my FIRST NFL GAME EVER. We drove up the morning of the game and stayed in Green Bay that night. I also found out that there were a lot of bus trip options from Milwaukee, which make it super convenient and also give the flexibility of not having to drive. We went to a bar upon arrival that was right by the stadium and there were just so many packers fans everywhere and I loved it! Since this was my first game for my team, we splurged for tickets right on the 50-yard line about 15 rows back. We ended up losing, but it was still the best trip ever!

Even though I was not very excited to spend almost seven months in Wisconsin over the winter, I was able to experience so many fun things and eat at a lot of delicious restaurants. I also met and worked with a really great group of people from all over the country, which is one of the most amazing perks of working for my firm!

After this Wisconsin experience, I was scheduled to move on to a job in San Francisco, California and I am so excited to be heading somewhere warmer! Come back to hear about my SF adventures soon ❤️