The first thing we always look for in a hotel is a pool, cause The Kid and I really enjoy swimming, and it’s still a little cold up here to be doing anything in a swimsuit at home.

The Best Western Waukesha Grand was our base of operations while in Milwaukee with Grandma Sue and Johnny. The hotel is actually in nearby Pewaukee, and was definitely up to par as far as Best Westerns go. Nice pool and hot tub, which the kids and I took full advantage of both nights we stayed.

The Best Western Waukesha Grand in Pewaukee, Wisc.

As we usually do, we booked our rooms online through Hotels.com, which resulted in a very respectable room rate around $70, although I’m sure that depends on day of the week and time of the year, and all the other arcane calculations that go into hotel room rates.

The staff were all very helpful and friendly, the free breakfast was good, and the beds were comfortable. There were several restaurants nearby (we tried out the right-next-door Spring City with pleasant results) and a strip mall just across the parking lot with a dollar store and Pick-and-Save in case you forgot anything or wanted to stock up the hotel mini fridge.

All in all, it was conveniently located and a nice place to stay.

For the next three nights, The Driver, The Kid and I said goodbye to Grandma and Johnny and headed south to Chicagoland. Again, we booked our hotel, the Hyatt Place in Itasca, Ill., through Hotels.com, and got another nice room rate of about $80 per night. It’s not quite as close to stores and restaurants, but the hotel makes up for it by providing virtually anything you could need in its own grab-and-go counters in the lobby.

The Hyatt Place in Itasca, IL

The Hyatt ranked pretty highly up there as far as hotel rooms on the road go, with lots of space, super-comfy beds, pillows I had to convince Sam not to take home, and a massive flat-screen and media center in the room just in case you wanted to have movie night–or, if you have videoconferencing to do for work. The rooms were downright lovely and the staff was very welcoming and accommodating.

The free breakfast in the mornings also was one of the better ones I’ve seen, with freshly-made hot foods and a healthy variety of choices like egg-white breakfast sandwiches and fresh fruit. The only downside here was the pool, which, while large and swimmably warm, had no hot tub. Sad.

While we had no complaints about either hotel, I think next time we’ll stay somewhere closer to my sister Jen’s workplace in Evanston, or her apartment in north Chicago, because we kept underestimating the time it takes to drive everywhere in that city and ended up sitting in slow-moving traffic for way too long to be good for The Driver’s or my sanity.

Anywhere you would recommend in the Chicago or Milwaukee area to stay next time we head that way?

Where to hop: W272 N2696 Lakeview Blvd., Pewaukee

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SPECIALS

Happy Hour specials vary on weekdays from 4 to 6:30 p.m.

Monday: 35 cent wings, $3.50 import bottles; Reverse Happy Hour from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Tuesday: $1.50 tacos, Reverse Happy Hour from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Wednesday: $3 lb of ribs, $1.50 domestic taps,
double bubble rails from 9 p.m. to midnight

Thursday: $5.50 sliders, Long Island specials

Friday: Various fish fry, 2-4-1 Captain Morgan and Jack Daniels starting at 9 p.m.

Saturday: 50 cents off bombs; 9 p.m. to midnight

Sunday: Reverse Happy Hour from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Visit Curly’s website.

 Yellow and Green extensions are available Beachcomber Salon, pewaukee. Its only $20 for both, Green and Yellow extensions! Extensions last about 4-6 months, but can be taken out any time! Call ahead to reserve your spot!!(2) 691-1200

Stay tuned to learn when FEATHER extensions are coming!

A land survey is made for the Title Company and/or Lender with the survey and location data needed for the issuing of title or mortgage insurance. For this purpose a map is drawn to “ALTA” specifications. “ALTA” stands for American Land Title Association.

ALTA specifies the data to be shown on the survey and this includes boundary lines, location of the main building including improvements, location of ancillary buildings, the identification of easements (access rights by service companies such as water, gas, telephone, railways and other utilities). ALTA surveys are very complex surveys and can cost upwards of a thousand dollars and take weeks to complete. For that reason most ALTA surveys are performed on commercial properties.

An ALTA Land Survey guarantees to meet the requirements for an ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey as detailed by the American Land Title Association, National Society of Professional Surveyors and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping.
If you are looking for a land surveyor in Southeastern Wisconsin, give Land Tech Surveying and Engineering, LLC a call at 262-367-7599. You can also check out our website at www.wisconsinsurveys.com or email us at landtechsurveying@gmail.com

Thank you,

John D. Downing, RLS

Land Tech provides professional land surveying services including Plat of Surveys, ALTA/ACSM surveys, Certified Survey Maps, Topographical surveys and mapping, construction staking, FEMA Elevation certificates, LOMA’s, architectural surveys, easement and legal descriptions, environmental surveys and all types of boundary surveys for developers, builders, lenders and government agencies.

Land Tech also provides drafting and engineering consulting including preliminary plats, subdivision plats, Condo plats, subdivision design, stormwater management, and erosion control.

When you need a survey done, don’t hesitate to call.  We serve all of Waukesha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, Dodge, Jefferson, Walworth, Kenosha, and Racine counties, and the rest of Wisconsin.

Please call us at  262-367-7599

Or visit our website www.wisconsinsurveys.com

Or email us at landtechsurveying@gmail.com

Southeastern Wisconsin's Most Trusted Surveyor

John D. Downing, RLS

Counties, Cities, Villages, and Towns Service Area:

Waukesha County: Brookfield, Delafield, Muskego, New Berlin, Oconomowoc, Pewaukee, Chenequa, Dousman, Eagle, Elm Grove, Hartland, Lannon, Menomonee Falls, Merton, Mukwonago, Nashotah, North Prairie, Oconomowoc Lake, Sussex, Wales, Genesee, Lisbon, Ottawa, Summit, Vernon

Milwaukee County: Milwaukee, Cudahy, Franklin, Glendale, Greenfield, Oak Creek, St. Francis, South Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, West Allis, Bayside, Brown Deer, Fox Point, Greendale, Hales Corners, River Hills, Shorewood, West Milwaukee, Whitefish Bay

Washington county: Hartford, West Bend, Germantown, Jackson, Kewaskum, Newburg, Richfield, Slinger, Addison, Barton, Erin, Farmington, Polk, Trenton, Wayne

Ozaukee county: Cedarburg, Mequon, Port Washington, Bayside, Belgium, Fredonia, Grafton, Newburg, Saukville, Thiensville

Racine County: Racine, Burlington, Caledonia, Elmwood Park, Mount Pleasant, Rochester, Sturtevant, Union Grove, Waterford, Wind Point, Dover, Norway, Raymond, Yorkville,

Walworth County: Walworth, Burlington, Delavan, Elkhorn, Lake Geneva, Whitewater, Darien, East Troy, Fontana-on-Geneva Lake, Genoa City, Mukwonago, Sharon, Williams Bay, Bloomfield, Geneva, La Grange, Linn, Richmond,

Kenosha County: Kenosha, Paddock Lake, Pleasant Prairie, Silver Lake, Twin Lakes, Genoa City, Brighton, Bristol, Paris, Randall, Salem, Somers, Wheatland,

For those not familiar with the Shed, it’s a lot like Cracker Barrel except the food is a lot better and, many times, I find the Tchotchkes to be a lot more fun and entertaining.

I partially took these pictures because as a little gag Christmas gift in 2009 I gave Amber and Johnathan, our good friends and Milwaukee brunch buddies, a pack of bacon-flavored mints – purchased from The Machine Shed. To say the least, it was a heinous tasting gift that we got a good laugh from.

So, when I saw that they had even more bacon paraphernalia, I had to grab the camera. Here goes:

Its label says it all: “Oddly delicious.” The Machine Shed sells McSteven’s Cocoa Combos – a bacon-infused hot cocoa mix. If you can’t find it at the Shed, find it online for $6.95.

This is probably the least scary bacon find – BaconPop. Created by J&D’s, BaconPop is the brainchild of Justin and Dave – two guys who like…err, love…bacon a bit too much. They make everything including bacon-flavored salt, soda and mayonnaise. But the niftiest product they make is bacon-flavored envelopes. Yup, no more licking envelopes that taste like the bottom of someone’s shoe. You can follow the phenomenon online at Facebook.

Now, I’m a fan of those flowery smelling Yankee Candles as much as the next girl. However, I don’t think their R&D people are busy working on a bacon-scented candle. These candles are created with real cured bacon. (I have this image of the mug that my dad uses to save bacon fat next to the kitchen sink – didn’t think he could make money off of that by adding some wax and a wick…) Created by Aunt Sadie’s Candles, they’re touted online as being cholesterol and fat-free. Aunt Sadie also makes beer, chocolate and iced tea-scented candles.

There are more great finds at The Machine Shed – from John Deere clothing to kitschy kitchen tools. It’s a great place to shop and eat. Learn more about their six locations in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin at www.machineshed.com.

Like usual, underneath each photo, I have included my Aperture, Shutter, and ISO settings so that you can see how I shot each photo. Feel free to click on individual photos to see them in their original sizes. Enjoy!

NOTE: As always, I ask that you do not save images to your local computer with out permission. Information about permission can be found on the About page. Thank You.

f/22.0 1/1000 ISO 4000

f/16.0 1/640 ISO 800

f/18.0 1/800 ISO 640

f/22.0 1/1250 ISO 1000

f/16.0 1/640 ISO 400

f/16.0 1/640 ISO 400

f/14.0 1/500 ISO 640

Thanks for checking out these few photos. More to come next week!

Mention this add and you can recieve 15% off on any service

Beachcomber Salon

161 w wisconsin ave

Pewaukee  WI, 53072

(2)691-1200

Have a fun and safe holiday!!!

::green mosque[onat oktem. ziya imren. zeynep oktem. uri tzarmotzky|wisconsin]

Pewaukee, WI, when not buried in snow

Three decades ago I left behind a frozen Milwaukee suburb to (eventually) relocate to a sunny suburb in Northern California. Now I read (see link below) that the Best Affordable Suburb in America is right next to Milwaukee.

Question: Do I need to return to my roots? Checked today’s weather back in Beer City: 33 degrees, 12 mph winds, snow and more predicted through the weekend.  Answer: No, I’m fine right here in Moraga, CA (58 degrees, partly sunny, high tomorrow in the 60s).

Who checks these rankings for accuracy anyway?

http://tinyurl.com/br2bpw

In Waukesha County, Wisconsin, there exists two Pewaukees — the city and the village.  The village is at the center of the community and the city surrounds it.  The village is land locked and most of the land has been developed.  The city is more suburban / rural and has a lot of growth potential. 

For years, there has been discussion of a merger to form “one” Pewaukee, but the city has dragged its feet.  Even after the city and village have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on “studies”, the city has resisted.  Why? There is a significant tax rate difference between the two municipalities, and a merged community would likely result in a tax rate comparable to the current city tax rate.  As a result, the city doesn’t want to merge because it didn’t see how it would benefit. 

However, as the city continues to develop, it is faced with significant infrastructure development costs — primarily for sewer and water.   the city claims it is interested in a merger.  The city could save millions of dollars if they can tap into the villages sewer and water system rather than installing new lines that go around the village.

But in reality, the city still isn’t interested in a merger.  Acquisition, maybe.  Pilfering, more likely.

The city suggested that perhaps we should merge the utilities.  In other words, they only want to merge entities that benefit them without any benefit to village residents.

But the city made it clear that they really aren’t interested in a merger when we had the opportunity to merge the police departments following the departure of the city’s police chief.  The city did not even want to consider the option and chose to disband their police force and contract with the county for police service.

So far the only entity that has benefited from the merger discussions are the lawyers and the engineering firms.

My view (as a village resident) is that it only makes sense to merge the municipalities.  Whether it is now or in the future,  we tax payers will ALL save money.  However, I don’t think the time is right to merge. I believe that we need to let the city go through its growing pains.  We need to let them incur the costs of development.  Perhaps in 20 years, when they are geographically developed, their tax rates will be at parity with the village.  At that time, a merger will be easier because both municipalities will equally benefit.

November 1st is the next Open Everything event.  We do not have very many people signed up.  We want to have this event in Pewaukee at a fabulous location, but if people don’t sign up, it’s not going to happen.

November 13th-ish we are going to have Open Music Madison.  We don’t have a firm date, because our 1st choice of venues fell through.  It looks like we may have to charge $5 a head.  I don’t like it, but doing something is better than waiting to have the perfect event I say.

If you have ever been to an OE Madison or to a MadLUG meeting, please leave your thoughts or e-mail me directly at douglasawhREMOVEFORREALZ@gmail.com

We had just finished walking around on the completely frozen lake and decided to stop and have some Ice Cream.  You would think Hot chocolate, but no Ice cream.  No matter what the kids loved it and thee was plenty to go around.  At the table are four of my six grandkids.  Laughing, having fun and enjoying every minute of each others company.  I am sure they will remember the time.  The more crazy it is the better it is.  When I look back on my times I seem to remember the times that were different stand out in my mind.  I remember different people and how they are and what they said to each other.  I am sure these cousins will remember the times also.  Every place is an adventure and a great time.  Wherever we travel we turn it into something that will be remembered.  Well I guess you really can not turn it into something to be remembered, it just is.