Not tonight, Milwaukee. I have a headache.
I knew going in it was going to be a whirlwind, whistle stop, barnstorm of Milwaukee. I landed at 3:15 pm local time and it’s only thanks to the daylight savings adjustment that I’ll be here for 24 hours.
My rental car company was out of cars. They were all being cleaned apparently… despite many cars waiting in the lot. I had booked a “wildcard” so they could give me anything from a Yugo to an Escalade to a Lamborghini. They could literally give me a hamster wheel so long as it was street legal. So after standing around for 25 minutes an agent finally talked to me and said they could offer me a Hyundai Elantra “but–” she said and before she could finish I said I’d take it. It and MANY, MANY other vehicles had been sitting there the whole time. I guess now I’m sitting here wondering what that but may have been about. But, hell, I can do just about any but for 24 hours…
The Expo and packet pickup that was due to close at 5 pm, so I made a beeline for the Harley Davidson Museum. I arrived by 4:20 pm. It’s a beautiful day in Wisconsin, clear sunny skies and 63 degrees. But as Milwaukee is so far north, the sun was setting quickly… and the one thing I knew I wanted to see was the Bronze Fonz statue at the Riverwalk.
I barely took note of the expo vendors — lots of local events and products but there was just no time to fantasize of returning when I had pressing Happy Days related sightseeing awaiting in my present.
The sun continued to set, the rays bouncing along the medium high rises and light dancing across the water. Surely, I thought, they’d illuminate the bronzed monument to Arthur Fonzarelli should night fall. Still I’d prefer seeing him bathed in the golden rays…
Parking karma was on my side and I found a space that was, I think, mostly legal. Judgment call really… and time wasn’t on my side so I called it safe.
After plotting a route via the Riverwalk directory…
I came upon the legendary “Bronze Fonz” just as many other fans swarmed.
As we descended like selfie vultures looking to snatch and grab an in-more-ways-than-one thumbs up Facebook post, a group of three lingered and I offered to take a shot of them. One saw my jacket and said she’d check out my website as a fellow runner — I’m sorry I didn’t get your name, Bronze Fonz Fan 103 as I now dub thee, but a quick, “aaaaaaaay” to you.
I wondered about the few other items I had scribbled down to sightsee in town. None of them could possibly compare. A couple of duck statues that weren’t too far away… a beer man… a giant muffler man graveyard… the Miller brewery. Maybe I’ve been traveling too much but I just didn’t feel like sightseeing. The sky was almost dark now, time ticking forward, and with an unworthy unadventurous spirit, I sought out dinner and grabbed a course map to see what I was in for tomorrow.
One side note: I’m irrationally giddy at seeing the double 1 AMs on my weather app for tomorrow. Part of it may be that although high 40s is chilly for this Southern boy, it’s actually pretty good running weather… and it could have been much, MUCH colder.
