If the backyard has lost its luster and you've visited every Milwaukee attraction at least once already this summer, then you're ready for a quick and easy nearby family getaway. It's Family Vacation Week here at OnMilwaukee and we'll bring you suggestions every day for great jaunts perfect for a day, weekend or week-long getaway. Bon voyage, Milwaukee!
When we had kids we decided we'd take them with us to as many places as we could. I didn't travel much as a child – lots of camping trips a couple hours away and the occasional visit to places like Hershey, Pa., and Washington, D.C. – but those were different times.
Still, we have always wanted to make sure our kids have experienced a range of places in Milwaukee, in Wisconsin, in the Midwest, across America and beyond.
So, we take regular trips to Chicago (search the site for "Chicago," as I've written travelogues of a number of family trips to the Windy City), I've taken a trip to Manitowoc with my son, we've visited resorts in Elkhart Lake and Kohler, gone to water parks in Gurnee, Ill., Sheboygan and the Dells.
We've seen dancing horses in Delavan and breakfasted with Santa in Lake Geneva and relaxed lake-side in Minocqua. We've visited dinosaurs in Kenosha, Chinooks in Mequon and cheesemaking in Theresa. We went spelunking in Blue Mounds, too.
We've experienced New York City, Florida's LEGOLAND and I was lucky enough to take one of my children to Italy a few years ago.
Don't let the kids be an excuse to hide inside and don't neglect the opportunity to create a new generation that is well-traveled and open-minded.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
