Still trying to catch up...

Monday, Memorial Day, we woke up in Racine and I posted "Day4" while we ate our continental breakfast of toast and waffles. We drove out to the S.C. Johnson Wax building, most of which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was closed for the holiday and we couldn't really see over the high outer walls. We went over to Wingspread, another Wright creation, but the gates were locked and the building was hidden behind the trees. Oh well. We then drove leisurely north to Milwaukee, rather than getting back on the highway, enjoying glimpses of Lake Michigan. Once in Milwaukee, we headed straight for the Miller Brewery, only to find that it too was closed for Memorial Day. ugh. we peeked in the windows, frowned a lot, and got back into the car. Next we found the Pabst Mansion, where Captain Frederick Pabst (of Pabst brewery) once lived. We took the official tour through the house and saw a lot of fancy hardwood floor work, a huge elk antler chandelier, and a giant walk-in cigar humidor. Our tour guide loved to use the words "however" and "actually" often inappropriately placed throughout sentences. It was both entertaining and brutal to listen to. After the tour we asked him for recommendations for lunch and other Milwaukee sights. He was very eager to help, which we noticed of many Milwaukeeans. We did find the place he recommended: Miss Katie's Diner. It was around the corner from the mansion. It was a cute little diner with a claim to fame from Rachael Ray and Bill Clinton. The manager spotted our Lonely Planet book and took it upon himself to tell us everything there is to see in Milwaukee. He wanted to chat about the Steelers, too. We had a hearty breakfast(lunch) for about $15 and set off for the Domes. We had a little trouble finding them because, like our friend from the Pabst mansion, the diner manager gave awful directions. The 3 giant domes of the Mitchell Horticultural Conservatory contained tropical, arid, and seasonal flower arrangement (Miss Spider's Garden). After the Domes we drove down the road to Leon's, a drive-in frozen custard stand. We gorged on custard and regretted it all the way to Miller Park, which we also had trouble finding. Thanks Miss Katie's manager! We bought standing-room only tickets because the Brewer's were playing the Braves, who used to be the Milwaukee Braves before they moved to Atlanta. So it was a big game for the Milwaukeeans. We only stayed for a few innings to beat traffic out of town, but we made sure to stay for the best part of the game: the racing sausages. Just like the pierogies at PNC Park, Miller Park raced sausages of different origin (rather than fillings). The newest member of the sausage race team was the Chorizo, the Spanish sausage. But the Hot Dog won the race, while the Chorizo sadly finished dead last. After the game we drove west to Lake Kegonsa State Park where we set up camp, bought (native!) firewood, s'mores ingredients, and stopped for dinner at Culver's where we ate butterburgers for dinner. The kid behind the counter was pretty terrible at explaining what a butterburger was, and we were the first people who had ever asked. They thought we were crazy. and though we did eat them, we still dont really understand.
We went to bed early after a fireside Harry Potter readaloud and s'mores.