Milwaukee Geography
Aug. 22nd, 2006 09:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebDriving in from the airport we saw a lot of interesting architecture. There are many old gothic churches. At one point I said, “Hey, look at that bridge thingy!” and my sister figured out it was a building with a dome which can be opened and closed.
Also, obviously the plant life is very different than where I'm from. I saw leaves that were silvery and even shiny. I saw dark maroon feathery flowers. There are beautiful evergreens of all shapes and sizes (which don't really like our acidic soil except for the Afghan pine). And weeping-willow looking trees. And very tall trees, even when they still have thin trunks. (We can grow tall trees in my area, but it takes hundreds of years.) And of course it's wonderfully green. Even though they've been having a drought, well, it was sprinkling Friday, which those from Wisconsin and Minnesota saw as bad weather, but which we from Austin, Dallas, and Phoenix thought was fabulous weather because the temperature was around 80.
The weather was even more perfect during the rest of our stay. It was not too hot, not to cold. Sunny, but not glaringly bright. Breezy, but only occasionally windy enough to knock anything over.
The reunion was not actually in Milwaukee but in a suburb. I guess. It is not a normal suburb. The yards are huge (one-acre lots, I heard). And there are no privacy fences. So all the yards are connected. They are like a park with lots of green grass, some huge evergreens, and flowerbeds even prettier than the ones I've seen in Austin. They are just for looking and not for hiking through, though.
I do not want to own one of these huge, park-like yards, but I sure like looking at them. Our hosts' next door neighbor was cutting the lawn with his riding mower for several hours on Saturday, but it wasn't too loud for us because, after all, he was in the next yard over.
Someone had a life-size bear statue cut from wood in their front yard, with its back facing the street.
And there were these long antennae installed at regular intervals throughout the area. They had little red flags on top and were connected to alien communication devices which were cleverly disguised as fire hydrants. (Another theory is that these were real fire hydrants cleverly enhanced to make them easier to find after heavy snowfall.)
Also, obviously the plant life is very different than where I'm from. I saw leaves that were silvery and even shiny. I saw dark maroon feathery flowers. There are beautiful evergreens of all shapes and sizes (which don't really like our acidic soil except for the Afghan pine). And weeping-willow looking trees. And very tall trees, even when they still have thin trunks. (We can grow tall trees in my area, but it takes hundreds of years.) And of course it's wonderfully green. Even though they've been having a drought, well, it was sprinkling Friday, which those from Wisconsin and Minnesota saw as bad weather, but which we from Austin, Dallas, and Phoenix thought was fabulous weather because the temperature was around 80.
The weather was even more perfect during the rest of our stay. It was not too hot, not to cold. Sunny, but not glaringly bright. Breezy, but only occasionally windy enough to knock anything over.
The reunion was not actually in Milwaukee but in a suburb. I guess. It is not a normal suburb. The yards are huge (one-acre lots, I heard). And there are no privacy fences. So all the yards are connected. They are like a park with lots of green grass, some huge evergreens, and flowerbeds even prettier than the ones I've seen in Austin. They are just for looking and not for hiking through, though.
I do not want to own one of these huge, park-like yards, but I sure like looking at them. Our hosts' next door neighbor was cutting the lawn with his riding mower for several hours on Saturday, but it wasn't too loud for us because, after all, he was in the next yard over.
Someone had a life-size bear statue cut from wood in their front yard, with its back facing the street.
And there were these long antennae installed at regular intervals throughout the area. They had little red flags on top and were connected to alien communication devices which were cleverly disguised as fire hydrants. (Another theory is that these were real fire hydrants cleverly enhanced to make them easier to find after heavy snowfall.)