On The Way To Milwaukee

A tram goes between terminals at the aiport in Minneapolis.
Milwaukee, Wis. - My first trip to Wisconsin since 2003 promises to be a busy one. It's always a rush to get to the airport (no, I don't arrive two hours early) and I usually find myself scrambling to get everything packed. Deciding what to take for what essentially amounts to a two-and-a-half day trip can be tough. And the other consideration is Northwest's $15-per-bag charge - meaning that I have to have room to pack my "sleep machine" in my suitcase on both ends of the flight.

In the interest of saving time, here is Tuesday in pictures (and some words):
A bird's eye view of some of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes.

The plane's shadow is cast on an enormous cloud bank.
I really thought this was a cool part of the flight between Minneapolis and Milwaukee. As we neared Milwaukee, we began traveling over a massive cloud ceiling. It was almost as if we were traveling over a floor or platform of clouds. What was even cooler was the fact that it was brightly lit by the sun - and knowing that everyone beneath the clouds was not seeing the same late-afternoon sunshine.

What is also bizarre is the little ring around the plane (click on the photo to enlarge it). It's almost as if we were in the "sights" of something larger. Weird. When we finally descended through the cloud ceiling (which was probably about 1,500 or 2,000 feet) it wasn't as bumpy as I would have imagined.

The team trucks for Timex (left) and Team Type 1 outside Team Sports.

Inside, a giant poster of the old Saturn Cycling Team
(that's Harm Jansen leading).

Girls, you remember Tom Schuler (from my conference calls).
Here, he poses with "Mr. Twinkie" - another star of the calls.

A photo of the Tour of Americas, featuring Schuler (looking down at left).

Marco (left) and Matt eat wings at a smoky little tavern.
Boy, I love wings! Not. So when I heard we were going to a place that "has the best wings in Milwaukee," you might as well told me we were going for Chinese or Indian. But I toughed it out. Unfortunately, this little place was crowded as heck and we stood for an hour before we got a table.

Then, the smoke started driving me crazy. But I did try some of the "naked" wings that weren't so spicy. Thankfully, Matt Vogels ordered a chicken sandwich - which cleared the way for me to order one. I also helped myself to lots of free popcorn. Jen, our server, enjoyed a nice tip and was probably glad to see us leave after all of our special requests.

Check out all the clocks in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency.