La Crosse Visit 2

In the picture on the left, I am prostrating myself before King Gambrinus, who is credited with inventing beer in the 13th Century. He is the King of Beer, and I am his lowly servant. For his service to this world, I will always humbly bow before him and his his life-changing invention.

Jenny and I (well at least I did) give big thumbs up for beer and these huge things that make the beer. It's obvious that I didn't pay attention during the tour because I have no idea what any of this is called or exactly what it does.

It's moments like this that I'm glad that Mom and Jenny gave in to my whining and begging. Neither of them wanted to tour the beer factory (because they both don't care for beer) but I pleaded with them to allow me to have my day in the sun. Luckily, it paid off because I found these cans of Ice Man Malt Liquor. If you don't already know, my nickname at the UWM Union is "Iceman" because my job entails filling ice machines. Seeing these cans with my name on them brought such joy to my face that Mom and Jenny can forever remember my happiness that day.

It's really good to see that the rock musician Sting can take time out of his day from singing such hits as "Every Breath You Take" and "Roxanne" to ensure that this beer was indeed brewed from the heart.

After exiting the tour (and sampling a few of their fine products) I proudly hold my Ice Man can in front of the establishment that has been so good to me. The smile is genuine, and let's just say it was a good idea that I didn't drive home after taking the City Brewery tour.

Now that it is all said and done, I can look back on it with fond memories and laughter. It's really cool that Jenny is back in Milwaukee, but I miss being able to go somewhere new and experiencing fun new things, like touring a really awesome Brewery and watching Jenny dance and sing alongside other college kids (if you ask me, she was better than every single one of them and should have gotten the lead. But hey, it's cool that she was in it.) I had a real fun time with my family, and especially enjoyed the long car ride with my Mom, for it gave me the time to sit down and talk with her, and to have a nice heart to heart conversation. Altogether, it was a swell weekend.

It got to be about 7:00 pm, so we decided that it was time to go back home, seeing as it was a 3-4 hour drive back to Milwaukee. We posed for one last picture (and suspiciously, one of the few pictures to involve the rest of my family. Sorry!) and then exchanged goodbyes.

I laughed every time that I saw this short van, because it kind of reminded me of the short bus that I used to take to school when I was young. I figured that I should continue that tradition by stealing the van and joyriding it through the UW-La Crosse campus. But my Mom said no, and all I have is this picture to remind me of the possibilities.