Cheryl's Milwaukee Half Marathon Finish!

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Lights over the water channel

First Light Milwaukee

 So much to blog about and so little time!  I'm falling behind  if I don't write about the Marathon and overall Milwaukee experience.  So  let us begin!

Lake Michigan at Dawn.

Cheryl poses on the Bridge

First.... Daylight savings time!   We were able to sleep in an extra hour before the race began, but that only meant it was still dark out when we set out for the two mile hike to the start.  Luckily we had scoped out the route ahead of time and were able to find it easy.


Small note:   It is strange being on this side of Lake Michigan after so many years being on the east side of it.   In other words:   we used to photograph the sun SETTING in the west....over the lake.

Runners Enjoy the Sunrise over Lake Michigan

Golden Buildings!

Being on the west side allows us to photograph the sun RISING over Lake Michigan.  If you ever go back in time and see those early posts from 2009,  you will note bunches of sun sets over the lake.  I'm not sure why I find sun rises or sets over water to be so enchanting...but I do.

Waiting for the Gates

Pre-Race Bathroom Time! Always important!

Milwaukee was like DejaVu from Chicago.   The sun shone on the buildings and gave them a golden color.   At the very least,  the park was open to everyone before the start of the race.   I was able to be with Cheryl and catch her as she entered the gate.

Cheryl in the Gate!

As much of a burden it was to stay downtown,  being close to the start had its perks. (again!)  However, unlike Chicago,   there was plenty of parking.  So if we would have had to set up farther away, we could have found a place close by to park the Subie.

Gothic Greenmen everywhere!

Autumn Color in Wisconsin!

In the mean time,  I had a wonderful opportunity to capture a bit of the cool architecture of Milwaukee as I walked through the downtown area.  Early morning Sundays seem to be nice and quiet in that area.  I pretty much had the entire Wisconsin street to myself!   Check out there sculptures and Gothic Greenmen!

Inspired By Greece?

Inspired by Venice?

Notre Dame Sculpture

The art Institute.  The sails are down. 

Along with Greek columns and  Gothic Hunchbacks!  Venice like waterways, mixed with some Autumn colors.

See the Ladybugs on the Buildings?  

Cheryl at Mile 5!

Great day for a run!

After the start,  I hustled up to mile 5 to catch her there.   I managed to just arrive as she trotted by.   Time to head back for the finish!

The course skirted along the Lake down the sidewalk.  I was able to relax on a bench and wait for Cheryl to skip by.

Sunlight on the water.

A couple of Coots!

 While waiting, I was able to capture a pair of Coots swimming next to the railing. Coots are  a very interesting waterfowl ( I blogged about them once before in Grand Haven!)

Notice the white Bills

 Although they may look like ducks, they are closer relation to the Sand Hill Crane.   They do not have webbed feet but  lobed ones that expand when they swim.   The actually look like chickens on land. Just something to geek out about.

Cheryl in the Home Stretch!

Race Finisher in front of the City.

Time for that Beer!

Soon enough, Cheryl  trotted by.   She may have seemed disappointed in her time, but the weather was nice, and she placed 5th in her age group!   Side Note:  The Women had a pretty good day as 4 out of the top 10 finishers were female!  I'm not sure, but I think a woman might have finished third overall!)

Victory!

Time to Load the Subie!

Say goodbye to Lake Michigan

The after party was fun.   Free beer for Cheryl and I was able to get one for  myself with a pulled pork sandwich. I thought there would be a Brat stand, but alas... Maybe the Germans are trying to distance themselves from the Sausage and Bratwurst  they have been known for.

Our stash of Bootlegged Wisconsin Beer

We didn't stay long, opting for a shower and an early departure for the long ride home.  While heading out, we managed to score some of that wonderful Wisconsin Beer.   What better way to celebrate after a long run on a long day.

Cheryl shows off her Shirt.

Cheryl is quite happy with her medal and finishers shirt.  Hopefully she will find as much use out of it as the Des Moines half marathon shirt (Which she wears all the time!)   Good race shirts are difficult to come by.  Usually they are just a simple cotton Tee.  Receiving a Tech shirt as a finisher reward is rare and always welcome.

And the Medal!

So..  that is all for the race.   I have not even begun to talk about the mountain of stockings we were greeted with on our home arrival.  (36 total I think!)   Pretty much most of today was catching the Etsy shop up.  But that will be another post all together.   Thanks for stopping in and hopefully my post was not as boring as it could have been without the pictures.  Enjoy!

Sunday night Paint-a-thon

Just finished painting the seats for tonight. But while I had a fairly easy night, I took a few pictures of the next tree project I have been working on. It's not much at the moment, and the sun cast a nice shadow right in the middle of her face. But at least it shows a little progress. Tonight at the beach, Cheryl and I posed one of the origami beetles inspired by the parsnip beetle along the lake shore. It was nice and warm at the shore for a change. the water was also warmer than usual, but still kinda cold to take the plunge.

Wood Nymph day 4, an evening at the beach.

So I only spent a couple of hours on her this afternoon before we headed to the beach to watch the sun set. Most of the work was done last night in the dark, I was able to shape the upper torso a bit more and slim the arms and slightly detail the hands. Hands are still giving me trouble because they are, once again, slightly out of my reach. I'm not sure how much of the fingers I want to reveal anyway. This afternoon I worked on her hair and cleavage a bit. Her chest is just wrong but I don't know if I can fix it. Her abdomen is sunk in lower. It's hard to explain, but it just looks wrong. Anyway. I will most likely clean her up a bit but removing some of the tool marks here and there. Perhaps I'll even sand her down a bit, But that will ruin the "sheer" finish the chisels make. We'll see how motivated I am. As mentioned before, We went to the beach. Lake Michigan is one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the world. We live three miles away from it and it's great to visit in the evening because it is usually a whole 10 degrees cooler by the shore than inland! ( Lake Michigan is ALWAYS cold!) This year the lake is up about 20 ft! I remember in the 1970's the lake water levels were so high they were causing houses to erode into the water. ( million dollar home ca put!) then from the 80's to the 90's the water receded, adding large tracks of coast line. Now it is back up and we will once again be bombarded with news stories of how the lake is going to consume us all! Cheryl and I had a little fun playing with the sun tonight. First I tell the sun to stand still, Then I try to grab it with one hand...then two. Finally Cheryl holds out her hand to catch the sun drips. We will probably have fun here until July 4th. When the beach will be swarming with people. Hope your long weekend is going great as well.