Milwaukee to Kenosha, Wisconsin

Waves were 2 ft following, 4 seconds apart. Closer than they've been since we switched to Wisconsin side. Again, just a bit uncomfortable, but we managed. Arrived at Southport Marina right around lunchtime. Made lunch and sought out the amenities at the marina. 

Walked to Dinosaur Discovery Museum. Cool place with fossil casts constructed into dinosaur skeletons, with a little info about each. 

Trolley ride around the downtown area was $4 total for all of us! We rode the full loop, then got off close to the marina and walked back the rest of the way. Good thing we knew which way to go when we got to the fork in the road. We stopped to play at playground, then continued back to the boat. 

I took Moose and Roo swimming. They had swinging lounge chairs instead of pool chairs off to the side, which I enjoyed while listening to my book. The kids wanted to stop and play in the splash pad on our way back for just a few minutes. 

Later, Bear and I used the workout room and then went back to the boat for bed.

Port Washington to Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Ben set his alarm for 6 am knowing we had to get on the lake, travel 21 miles, dock, and beat the thunderstorm expected to arrive around 10 am. My anxiety of being on the lake during the storm had me up and ready to leave early, with minimal complaints about the early start. The lake was mostly smooth, although yesterday was smoother, and we arrived just after 9 am. Perfect timing, but I was sleepy. It was windy as we pulled in to dock at Lakeshore State Park Marina and after we tied up with the help of a runner passing by on the dock, it started to rain. 

We went to Discovery World in our harbor area and that was a LOT of fun for the kids. It was broken up into Tech and Aqua sides and we did it all. They had a cool model of the Great Lakes, with weather demonstrations, flora, and fauna of each of the lake areas. 

The aquarium part wasn't super impressive, but I think we are spoiled by the Denver Aquarium! 

Moose and Roo stood in line for and got to do a VR demo. They were thrilled. Bear and I watched them and laughed at their exaggerated movements, uncoordinated bodies, and lack of balance. 

All 3 kids got to design and watch a laser cut a piece of craft foam into a shape of their choice with their name cut into it. I was impressed with how quickly it was done. After it was cut, they had instructions on how to create the item. I saved them before they popped out the pieces so we can fully-construct it at home with all of the parts.

We talked about going to the Harley Davidson Museum, but decided that the price for all 5 of us wouldn't be worth it, compared to the level of interest by the 3 youngest family members. Ben and I would have loved to go, but we knew it would not be worth the battle. He and I will go next time we are in the area! 

Instead, we walked to the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. That was a sight to see! Over 3,000 bobbleheads all arranged on shelves and organized into different sports, pop culture, cartoons, entertainment, politics, musicians, etc. Visitors are not allowed to touch the bobbleheads, but can play 1 of 3 scavenger hunts. One was based on descriptions/text describing the person or what they did. Another was an ABC search, looking for bobbleheads that start with each letter of the alphabet. The final search was picture-based, so you had to go find that specific bobblehead. AND whether you do a scavenger hunt or not, Waldo is hidden somewhere in the museum as well. Bear found him first- almost right away, then her reaction clued me in and I found him. Moose kept begging for clues and we wouldnt give him any, but he wound up finding him 3rd, and then finally Roo found him. (Not pictured here, to preserve the fun for all.)

After we were back at the boat, we heard something loud and went outside to see fighter jets flying over our boat harbor. There were 11 all in formation! What a special and very unexpected treat!

Manitowoc to Port Washington, Wisconsin

Early departure! We were off the dock before 7 this morning and the lake was so calm! Small waves, but not much movement while we were underway. 

We pulled into Port Washington and immediately loved the little port town surrounding the marina. It was giving us Atlantis marina vibes. The dockhands helped tie us up and Moose instantly had his fishing pole out with a casted line. 

Ben and I walked over to the marina office to check in, see about laundry, and get a general look at our new home for the night. There was a Chinese restaurant right next to our boat that was calling Ben, but was unfortunately closed on Mondays. Walking back to the boat, we found the laundry room which reminded us that we need more quarters. We walked back toward the boat on the back side of the marina and saw a bank. Unsure of if they'd trade out some quarters for us non-members, we went inside. Sure enough, we were in and out with 4 rolls of quarters in our pockets. We quickly realized that these would weigh us down, so we brought them back to the boat. The girls were watching a movie and Moose was still fishing. 

One of the first things I saw upon our arrival was a Duluth Trading Company. Ben's wardrobe is made up of 70% Duluth/AKHG, and he loves their gear for our boat days, so we couldn't pass it by without a visit. He, of course, found something he liked, but what we weren't expecting was that I would find several things that I liked AND fit me! Usullit is one or the other, not both. We checked out and brought our purchases to the boat. 

I worked out and then the 5 of us walked over to Inventors Brewpub for linner (we had a Canadian Poutine with Wisconsin cheese curds and it was good, but it just wasn't the same as Canada), then Frankie's Ice Cream, and made our way to the park. 

On our way to Possibility Playground, there were several other smaller playgrounds, so we stopped at one. Ben was convinced the other one would be better, asked a local about it, and decided we would be going there instead. It was about 10 minutes further and we had to pass a sewage plant, but it was a pleasant walk along a path bordering the lake. The path ended at a beach and we had a huge set of stairs to climb. Once we got to the top, we could see the giant playground. The kids, as always, made some friends and played games with them for a while before we walked back to the boat. 

Bear and I walked on the breakwater wall to the lighthouse to see the sun not-quite-setting, but reflecting in the water at a nice angle. She and I admired the shades of blue and their posted names on the cement walls on our walk back to the boat.