Monday, July 30, 2007

Annual Meeting Day 1 & 2

Our Home Office - Notice the banners between the columns

The Riverwalk in Downtown Milwaukee

Last week I had the privilege of attending NMFN's 150th Anniversary Celebration. We left on the 22nd for Milwaukee on Midwest Airlines. If you've never flown on Midwest, I highly recommend it. They give you pretzels, drinks of course, and best of all fresh chocolate chip cookies. We arrived in Milwaukee at 6:30 and proceeded to walk 2 1/2 miles to a bowling alley, where everyone else already was. The walk took us past our Home Office and Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful day outside - the sun was setting and it was only 70 degrees. We bowled for a couple of hours then called it a night. On Sunday morning I ran in my first 5K. It was an AMAZING sight. 7,500 people ran/walked the course, which also took us around Lake Michigan. I finished in 40 minutes because I walked and ran. I'm not pleased with my time, but at least it gives me a goal to beat in the next race. While we were running, there was a plane flying around with a banner that said "Northwestern Mutual 150 Years." Crazy!

We had our first leadership session that afternoon, followed by a trip to the Milwaukee Zoo. NMFN rents the zoo each year and throws a HUGE party. There were 6 circus tents full of food, arcade games, and bands. The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was also in attendance and people could try out to be in a commercial. All the while, the plane and banner from earlier in the day flew over the zoo.

Cassie, Me, and Stephanie on the Shuttle to the Zoo

Alex and Alex (two of the interns) in front of the rotisserie chickens

Wienermobile!

Believe it or not, Milwaukee is an awesome vacation destination. There's a Riverwalk (see picture at the top of the post) that runs through town, similar to San Antonio. The architecture is absolutely amazing. Milwaukee is the hometown of William Harley and the Davidson brothers (a.k.a. Harley-Davidson), Miller beer, and the Milwaukee Brewers. If you can't tell...I had a blast.

The drawbridge in downtown. I've never seen one that works like this.

Up next...Day 3 (maybe 4)

4 comments:

jennifer said...

It's fun that you get to do so much traveling with your job!

Ashley said...

Hey! Thanks for posting. I remember you. You were younger than me. I remember your face. Thanks for posting! I love new blogging friends.

Thanks for the travel tip. I love a new destination to visit. Maybe Milwaukee needs to be added to my list!

Allison said...

WOW...that looks like so much fun. I love finding places that you would not think as a "vacation destination." That is so cool you ran a 5K too! Way to go!!

Kara (Turskey) Vaught said...

I wish I had a fun vacation with my job!!!! My company's only about 2 years old - so I'll have to wait awhile for the 150 anniversary trip!