Seattle…by night…

Nina and I arrived in Seattle at 11pm on Sunday night, after a long day and a flight filled with crying children and cranky adults, I was ready to get to the hotel and get some real sleep…in a real bed! Unfortunately with the flight delay we missed the buses going to downtown Seattle, which meant we had to cab it ($40 later) and ended up at the hostel at 1am.

Our hostel by morning light

Our roommates (we were 4 in a room) were already asleep by the time we got everything sorted and managed to check in, which meant no lights and no noise! Thank goodness we had a flashlight.

Part of our room

A brief home stop, after stopping in Packers terriorty...

After breakfast at a local breakfast buffet we started to head home after a trip that would definitely be considered a success! We decided to stop in Green Bay, as it was on the way and since were in Title town we may as well do some bonding. 

Home of the Packers. WI

So lunch was enjoyed at a Packers bar called Stadium View, which was right next to Lambeau field (home of the Packers) and right in front of Brett Farve’s  Steakhouse. I even managed to spot a South African reference on the menu (South African Cod)! This is also where we watched the finals of the ladies World Cup soccer finale between the USA and Japan. Sorry USA, you were mighty close!

Lunch time in Green Bay, WI

Then the long trek home resumed, and I knew once we arrived in WI, Karabo was “home“ Tyler however still had to drive Nina and I to the airport where  we were catching a late flight to Seattle..

The street signs in Green Bay around the Stadium, WI

*Hi-lighted words are explained in the glossary page

A island, 4 bikes and some good friends...oh and a map...

An early morning ride on the ferry took us from Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island. We decided the quickest way to get around the 8 mile island was renting bikes, and since the weather was co-operating it worked out well! 

On the ferry, MI

The Island is absolutely beautiful and we had many photo ops. We even stopped at one of the little beaches where we all jumped into the water and acted like little kids! Playing in the water – tons of fun, riding a bike with wet clothing – not so fun!

That's the water we played in

Once the hunger got the best of us, we stopped for a ”healthy“  treat at a cute stall along the way on our tour to conquer the island. The fearsome foursome somehow managed to not incur any injuries and even get some video footage of our bike riding experience.

A warning to protect your food, it made me laugh

Lastly we ended up at skull rock, a rock that apparently looks like a skull but I kinda felt that it just looked like a rock, but anyway. I must say it was a nice walk through the middle of the island to get there, unfortunately it was up a hill...so we walked it and went bike less.

The fearsome foursome

Then we decided to head back to the City where we were planning on eating dinner and dancing (at least part) of the night away. Mission accomplished at Dixies...good food and a bachelor party, which means there was party music and drunk girls to ensure my dancing skills will never look out of place.

The cool people, haha

Discovering the U.P...

The drive up to Mackinaw city, MI was filled with laughter, snacks and good friends. The awesome foursome (awesome has to be said with a South African accent, as 50% of the group is South Africana and it just sounds better that way,) had planned an adventure to Mackinac Island which is on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (also known as the yooper.) 

MI welcome sign

We left on Friday after everyone was done with work, stopping briefly at a gas station where we were attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes. Literally attacked, like we were running from the car to the gas station and back again. Later on when we looked at the front of Tyler’s car we saw the damage that mosquitoes in that amount can actually cause, yuk!

Totally gross!

On the way to the Michigan/Wisconsin State boarder, Karabo and I realized we could have our ”A walk to remember“ moment and accomplish a lifelong goal, by being in 2 places at once. 

2 Places at once!

Along the way we also figured out we can fit a German in the trunk (no Germans were hurt in this experiment.) We arrived at Mackinaw City at 2am, and all so ready to go to zzzzz....

See the German...

2 farewells, and a birthday…

It’s always sad to say goodbye to people that you have had the privilege of getting to know. This was no different when I attended my friend Julia’s farewell and birthday, all in one night. I have spent 11 months getting to know her but it’s time now for her to more on with her next adventure, an internship in Germany. Good luck to you Julia!

Happy Birthday...and farewell Julia

The next farewell was a really sad one as I had to say goodbye to Karabo. I have only spent 6 months with her girl, but she has been an amazing friend to me, and it is so sad to see her go, my friend Shan-can-dra-nica.  Lucky for me she is South African, so I know our paths will cross again in the near future. And lucky for me, we still have a few adventures planned together before she heads home.

Bradford Beach farewell for Karabo

Big smiles...good friends...Nica and -A

Pump it up…

As I have mentioned before Milwaukee has an amazing 11 day music festival called Summerfest.  I kicked off the Summerfest season by attending a Panic at the Disco show. I have seen them before but I love the music so I was game to go again! The opening act was Neon Trees, and they were pretty good!

Neon Trees

Panic at the Disco

The next show I went to was Jason Mraz, which was totally amazing! I have to admit he is a little crazy but he is a wonderful performer. Hearing him serenade the audience with words such as “I’m yours” gave me chills, and seeing it with Tyler and Karabo  made it even more special. After the show we swung by the Miller Lite to catch the Maroon 5 show, which was packed!

Getting ready for Jason Mraz

Maroon 5

The last show I attended was Britney Spears! Which was a total childhood dream come true.  I mean let’s be honest who didn’t love the chart topper “Hit me baby one more time” or learn all the words to “Oops! I did it again” So standing in the audience of young and old Britney fans and seeing her do her thing on stage was totally amazing! I think she is a really good performer and I was not disappointed at all! Nicky Minaj was the opening act, and we all jammed a little to her catchy lyrics.

Nicky Minaj

Britney Spears

All the girls at the Britney concert

Britney Spears jammin'

The show closer from Britney Spears

4th of July…the day of Independence, for America…

I started my celebration of America’s Independence with a trip to Tyler’s cousin’s cottage (somewhere) in Northern Wisconsin. It is a neat place where we all got to hang out and go Jet Ski on the lake, so we had a great time! I even got to try drive the Jet Ski, which was pretty fun, a little scary, and pretty slow going!

Karabo and I at Nina's Party

Later on we made our way to New Berlin, WI where one of my German au pair friend’s was having a 4^th party. Her host parents were hosting the party, but had invited a bunch of Nina’s au pair friends (and Tyler) so I was in good company as I watched fireworks lightening up the night sky on this special day.

Pretty sights in the night sky