This past weekend, I flew out to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ultimately the goal was to meet up with friend and former student Adam Beadel to see what the supposedly hip art scene was like in the city. We didn’t find it. I do hear it’s there but perhaps it’s hibernating with the rest of Milwaukee. We certainly found winter in the mid west. The city seemed interesting, having a rich history and gorgeous architecture. It reminded me both of Buffalo, NY and Richmond, VA simultaneously. The jury is still out if this is an option for a future home but the weekend was definitely an adventure.

On Friday, I arrived at the airport fairly early in the afternoon. I rented a car and explored the city for several hours, eventually finding myself along the frozen shore of Lake Michigan. That color gray doesn’t exist in the Pacific Northwest. I think it’s exclusive to the Great Lakes. Later that night, it snowed over six inches in less than four hours. The city didn’t even blink.

The franchise hotel I stayed in was listed on the bedbug registry and after thoroughly checking my room (thanks, youtube!), I declared it bed bug free. However, more sinister characters lurked the hallways at all hours of the night. At 4:30am, I was woken by a woman screaming into her phone outside my door, trying desperately to get information from someone named “Frosty.” I’m pretty sure Frosty was her pimp. Hence, for the rest of the weekend, the hotel was dubbed “Frosty’s.”

“Adam, I wanna call it a night. Can you drop me off at Frosty’s?”