Milwaukee 2022
When my friend Kate posted on her Snapchat story asking who liked the band HAIM and was down for something spontaneous I had to know what she was planning. Luckily, my curiosity didn't kill me this time, but instead lead me to one of the most fun road trips of my life. Kate and I drove from our Iowa homes to Milwaukee to see the band and find out what the city was all about in just two short days.
I don't know if you guys have ever driven seven plus hours with one of your best friends, but I highly recommend you do. The drive to Milwaukee was almost as fun as the trip itself. We spent our hours talking about college, jamming to her women empowerment playlist and trying to figure out how to make "The Chain" switch channels in the car-- we succeeded and it was amazing.
Once we got to Milwaukee we headed straight for the hotel to get ready for the concert. The city was surprisingly easy to navigate through (coming from a small town girl) and the hills made it feel way different than Iowa.
Before the concert we had a few hours to kill, so we secured our parking spot and headed on foot toward the Historic Third Ward. We found the most amazing art gallery on the way, I picked up a piece for my gallery wall and got to meet the owners adorable Maine Coon cat and dog. After chatting about the power of art, we hit the local market for drinks, food and some pictures.
Obviously, seeing HAIM live was the highlight of the trip, and maybe even the month. The crowd was relatively small which was nice, and they had two openers to pump us up before the show started. Most of their setlist consisted of songs from their new album, and I have to say they sound even cooler in person.
After ordering breakfast food to our hotel at midnight, it was time to sleep and prepare to make the most of our last day in the city. We took our time gathering our things in the morning and headed back to the Historic Third Ward to peek into some new shops and find breakfast before we hit the road.
Overall, Milwaukee was a blast to visit, and just like the people there told us— it's a safe, fun hidden gem. I'll totally be heading back soon to see more of the city and hopefully some more great concerts.