Back with MCTS This Fall!

{Upside Down World} Hi! I am so proud to partner with @RideMCTS again this year. I have created a series of 4 photos that convey what our local transit system means to me - and our community! These past 6 months have been crazy - in your part of the planet - and in mine. The Milwaukee County Transit System has remained steady and strong in supporting our community through it all. They transport the good folks of our city to their jobs, to the grocery store, to see their family and more. They have worked hard to keep their passengers safe. They currently ask that all passengers wear masks. They also maintain strict limits on the amount of riders to ensure proper distancing. Thank you to all the @RideMCTS drivers, administrators, engineers, mechanics and staff that are working hard to keep our city safe and moving! #sponsored

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A FEW BEHIND-THE-SCENES PHOTOS:

Partnering with the amazing @RideMCTS this fall!

Our first shoot was on an empty bus parked at the station early on a Sunday morning! Kids loved it.

A little behind-the-scenes from today's @RideMCTS post. Arlo isn't so "little" anymore!

Masks required on all MCTS buses! Thanks for keeping our city safe and on time!

MCTS: A "Don't Knock It Until You Ride It" Artsy Date Adventure in Milwaukee

I was asked by Milwaukee County Transit System to help promote their “Don’t Knock It Until You Ride It” campaign this fall. I am thrilled to work with them!

My husband and I decided to go on an “Artsy Date Adventure.” We started by meeting at a very modern-looking bus stop on Water Street. It is one of the "Bus Shelter Art Project” locations.

This stop is called “The Collide” and was created by Tzeng Lee. I love the textures and the way they mimic the building behind them. I adore this project! There are artist decorated shelters all around the city. We both agreed that our next date should be a bus tour of the designed shelters!

Next we walked across the street and dined at Saint Kate’s - the Art Hotel. I’ve been dying to see the inside!

There were gallery rooms and truly beautiful works of art. Paintings, photography, sculptures and more.

We took our time and looked at all of the exhibitions. It was a treat to see so many Milwaukee Artists’ work!

I got super excited when I recognized the artist’s name on this amazing photo/artwork. A corner photo! It was created by my friend’s brother.

We added our own artsy twist to a few scenes too. I am definitely excited to see their artist-designed hotel rooms someday… Maybe we can stay there the night we do our bus art shelter tour! Ha! I’ve already got our next artsy date planned!

After a great meal, we jumped back out onto the street and used the app to determine in real time when the next bus was coming and different routes we could take.

We headed over to the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Some clouds had moved in when we arrived and the white museum blended in with its backdrop. Beautiful!

We enjoyed the sculptures placed out front in O’Donnell Park by Sculpture Milwaukee.

The large orange starburst is a permanent sculpture and Milwaukee landmark designed by Mark di Suvero

We hopped on and off the bus along Wisconsin Avenue to take in more of the Sculpture Walk.

And... we spontaneously ended up on Brady Street for a final drink & dessert. I know this sounds like a lot to do on one date but the buses made it so easy! No parking hassles. No long wait times! We just used the app to determine our next ride in real-time. Then we jumped on and off with ease!

We had a great date!

Thank you so much MCTS for this amazing #sponsored opportunity!

MCTS: A "Don't Knock It Until You Ride It" Spontaneous Adventure

I was asked by Milwaukee County Transit System to help promote their “Don’t Knock It Until You Ride It” campaign this fall. I am thrilled to work with them!

I’ve ridden the MCTS buses plenty of times in the past.. typically for work or for a special event.

This time however we rode the buses solely for a day of fun!!

The boys and I spent a day cruising around Milwaukee using the buses with no particular plans.

A spontaneous day in the city!

It worked out so well I think we might make this a regular outing.

We went to the Harley Davidson Museum for the first time. We learned so much about the history of the bikes AND our city there.

They have a bus stop right out front on 6th street too which was quite convenient.

And they have a great kid’s play area! (You can read more about our visit here!)

Using the MCTS app made our spontaneous outing so easy! We simply had the app locate us. Using our location, the app told us in real time what buses were coming & where we could go next.

Sometimes we’d see a bus was heading in a general location so we’d jump on it and then just jump off when we saw another fun thing to do!

Like jumping out at the Purple Door Ice Cream shop. Delicious!

The boys got into the habit of pointing out every bus that went by. “Should we get on this one?” they’d say.

We also bought our tickets on the app and checked out different “trip options” using the planner.

Using the app to pay meant that there was no need to worry about “exact change” or fumbling with my wallet when we climbed on the bus. We just had to show the drivers the tickets on my phone.

We pulled the yellow cord to tell the bus driver to let us out on Old World Third Street. We wandered the neighborhood a bit..

Until we popped in to the Punch Bowl Social Milwaukee Restaurant. If you ever go - try their Rosemary Fries!

We enjoyed playing all the games they have there! Bowling, giant Jenga, Scrabble, hand shuffle and more.

While we were playing at the restaurant, we saw that the Milwaukee Bucks were having some sort of event out front. So we popped in.

Turns out it was a free weekly summer event called “Fawn Fest.” There was a DJ, free basketball, games, inflatables, kid food and more. Wow this city has so much going on! (You can read more about our visit to Fawn Fest here!)

Our next bus ride didn’t last long!

We jumped off at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

We happened to arrive exactly when a new movie was starting! It was time to sit back, relax and learn about the Great Barrier Reef on a six story dome screen!

What a great day! It sounds like a lot - but it seems that when you’re winging it, you end up doing so much more than if you had planned it in advance! All in the name of adventure, right?

This was a glorious summer day that we will remember fondly - especially because soon we will be back on school buses again. The boys just found out their teachers for the year and school is on the brain. Thank you so much MCTS for asking us to take a ride and keeping us in good hands! It was a highlight of our summer. Don’t knock it until you ride it!

** This post is sponsored by MCTS. All opinions are my own!**