Oshkosh, Wisconsin

7.9.09 Today, I make a trip to the furthest north part of Wisconsin that I’ve ever visited, the town of Oshkosh. I land in Chicago, from where I will eventually make the three hour drive north. I first make a side trip from O’Hare to downtown for a meeting with a friend at an ad agency. The agency’s building, the Aon, sits on the north end of Millennium Park on Wacker. It’s been a few years since visiting here, and it takes a little longer than expected. I’m supposed to turn on State Street which I discover is closed for construction. I finally make my way around, miss the first pass at the parking area, but eventually make it to the right spot. I make my way to the 40th floor, enjoy a great view of the city and the park, and a great visit with my friend. It’s a quick stop in the city today, but I have a large window of time blocked off to come back tomorrow. Now to head north.

The three hour drive is fairly uneventful except for some very slow traffic coming out of Chicago. The scenery doesn’t change much crossing into Wisconsin until about a half hour south of Oshkosh. Here, the countryside becomes a little greener, the hills roll a little more, and more trees make up the landscape.

My first stop in Oshkosh is the place where I’ll be staying tonight, the Brayton Bed and Breakfast on Church Avenue. It’s even nicer than expected. It’s warm and inviting. It is an 1867 house built by a lumberman for his wife. I’m in the smallest room, the Brayton Suite, but it is not small at all. It’s a comfortable corner room with a very large bath. The public areas of the house, combined with the owner Nicole’s personal warmth and hospitality, gives me the feeling of staying at a family friend’s home.

On my way to the exposition center for the Lifest festival, I take a few moments to see the city of Oshkosh. There is great architecture here. In fact, it is the architecture that brought the makers of the current Johnny Depp-Christian Bale film Public Enemies to shoot some of the movie here in Oshkosh. I pass by the First National Bank (photo below), the library, and other buildings that are featured in the film.
It’s a beautiful night here. It must be about seventy degrees with a strong breeze. It’s a long night as well. I finally make it back to the Brayton about 3:00 AM.

7.10.09 - Even though I got in at 3:00 AM last night, I have to get up early for an 8:30 AM breakfast. I’m glad that it appears everyone in the house decided to schedule breakfast for the same time. There is a lovely family here from Wisconsin for Lifest as well as Sabra, a very nice woman from Texas here to compete in the distance events at the USA Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships. We have a delicious breakfast, I get some work done in the room, then it’s time to make my way south. I make two more stops in Oshkosh before leaving. I stop in Crescent Moon Antiques and Salvage to look at their architectural salvage. They have some great things, and I get some good ideas for our home, but I don’t find anything that I have to take with me today.

The next stop is the Paine Art Center and Gardens. I saw an ad at the B&B for the exhibit “Seeing Ourselves: Masterpieces of American Photography from George Eastman House Collections.” I decided that I would like to see that before I leave. The Paine Art Center turns out to be a beautiful mansion of Tudor and Gothic styles built by another lumberman, Nathan Paine. He was married to Jesse Kimberly, of the family behind the company Kimberly-Clark. The depression killed their plans for the home. It was not completed until after Nathan’s death, and they never lived in it. They had made plans some time before that for it to be the beautiful museum it is today. The exhibit is good, but the home, its furnishings, and its creatively designed gardens make the biggest impression. It’s definitely worth a visit when in Oshkosh.

It’s now time to make the trip to Chicago. On a gasoline break, I by chance pass the headquarters of Harley-Davidson. The place I really want to see, though, is a place I passed yesterday not too far from the Wisconsin-Illinois state line – Mars Cheese Castle. If you’re coming to Wisconsin, you want a cheese experience, right? I love road side Americana like this, and Mars is worth the stop. It’s a cheese store with a cocktail bar. Imagine Cracker Barrel with a bar in the back. A sample of four-year old cheddar is worth the stop. Wish I could take some of this with me.

Here’s where I make a truly long story short. The three hour drive to downtown Chicago takes six hours. I spend most of the day parked on roads and interstates in traffic. It’s fairly unbelievable. The time I had blocked to be in Chicago is gone. I literally pull onto State Street in downtown Chicago at the exact time I have scheduled to leave for the airport. I don’t even park. I keep on driving, pointing the car west, and make the stop and go in traffic drive to O’Hare. This has been one of the more frustrating days of driving I can remember.

At least I arrive at O’Hare in plenty of time. A treat of Garrett’s popcorn, a Chicago landmark, helps take the edge off. I get a diet Coke and The Mix – Cheese popcorn and Caramel popcorn combined. My day just got better. The flight home is a little bouncy, shaking up “The Flight of the Conchords” on my iPod Touch, but it’s good to be going home.