West Bend.

 

Several weeks ago, my family and I took a day trip to the nearby city of West Bend. It was in honor of my mother's birthday, so I planned the day to include a few fun things she might like to do, the first and foremost being a visit to the newly opened Museum of Wisconsin Art. We walked in with somewhat average expectations, because the building looked rather small from the outside and the first floor was somewhat uninspired. But when we made our way up the stairs to the second floor gallery, which is arranged chronologically, we changed our minds. The building is shaped a little like a piece of pie, so the beginning of the gallery is quite narrow and then widens, allowing more room for larger works. Two of my favorite discoveries were two Wisconsin-based artists from the 19th century: Henry Vianden and Carl von Marr. I had no idea who they were when I walked in, but I'm certainly glad to know them now.
Everything culminated in a current exhibit on glass work, called Antifragile. Haha, MOWA, I see your joke and I like it. Maybe not really a joke. But a statement.
All in all, it was a success. And I'll be pleased to go back eventually.
For lunch, I'd looked up a few West Bend restaurants, and settled on the Riverside Brewery, which turned out to be a delightful and delicious decision. My dad has been teaching me to use his camera, and I've been joking that all the pictures I take of him should be on the back of a book sleeve. His author shots. He tried to take one of me, but it turned out blurry. I suppose my reuben sandwich won out over my literary career in terms of importance that afternoon.
Seriously though, if there was only one thing about this place that made it worth going to, they brew their own orange cream soda and root beer. As I'm not a drinker of regular beer, the root variety suited me just fine. I was smitten.
And it was a lovely day.