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Museum visits for FREE
Inside: The Domes, Munching Around Milwaukee, Reading Challenge and an NA Guide
This isn’t how I normally start these weekly newsletters, but I want to share a tribute to our sweet beagle Cleo. We said goodbye to her last week after nearly 8 wonderful years. We don’t know how old she was when we rescued her, so we just started telling people she was “ageless.”
To be honest, I can’t picture family adventures without Cleo and her buddy Twyla, who went on constant walks, hikes and backyard expeditions with us. She walked everywhere around Whitefish Bay with me, and we used to joke that she would keep going north to Mequon if we didn’t force her at some point to turn back home.
Some of her favorite neighborhood things: Going to Big Bay Park to dip her paws in Lake Michigan. Stopping for a treat at Hounds Around Town. Getting a drink at the water bowl at Sendik’s. Hanging out at my wife’s dance studio Fresh Coast Dance.
If you have a dog, I hope you give them an extra snuggle and take an extra long walk when you read this. We miss you while you’re on to your next adventure, Cleo. — Tim
Know the North Shore: Stone Creek Coffee
Stone Creek Coffee’s Whitefish Bay café is both a homecoming and a reinvention. In 1993, Stone Creek opened its very first café in Whitefish Bay — the place where it all began. That original location closed during the pandemic, but in 2023 the company returned, reopening just across the street from where it started.
This time, the space is bigger and bolder: a full kitchen serving breakfast and lunch, wine on tap, and a curated selection of local goods alongside Stone Creek’s signature coffee. Sitting across from the evolving Sendik’s site, the café is designed not just for caffeine runs, but as a North Shore coffee destination where neighbors linger, work, meet friends, and keep running into each other.
In a Q&A, founder Eric Resch reflects on why food matters as much as coffee, how Stone Creek designs spaces for community, and why thoughtful details — from biophilic design to a walk-up window for dog walkers — can make a café feel like the heart of a neighborhood.
Start your year with clarity
Written by Shane Parrish and reMarkable, this workbook helps you pause and reflect. Rather than add pressure, it relieves it, bringing clarity to what truly matters.
A simple reset for January. A thoughtful way to review your year.
Oak Leaf Trail Gets Upgrade
Milwaukee’s favorite trail is getting a long-overdue upgrade. Milwaukee County Parks is moving forward with the Oak Leaf Trail Modernization Project, which will widen and repave aging sections of the Oak Leaf Trail, improve ADA accessibility, and add clearer wayfinding signage across several high-use areas, including segments in the North Shore.
Want to be part of the process? Public input and info meetings will take place 4:30–6:00 PM on January 21 (Gordon Park), January 22 (Sheridan Park Pavilion), and January 27 (Lincoln Upper Pavilion). Each session covers the same information, so attend whichever is most convenient.
Museum Days 2026
Cabin fever hitting hard? Museum Week will help: From Jan. 22–Feb. 1, 2026, explore Milwaukee-area museums with free admission and discounts up to 25% off—perfect for family adventures, date days, or a quick winter escape from the house. Highlights include deals at the Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Public Museum, Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, Pabst Mansion, and more—each location has its own redemption details, so check the Museum Days list before you go.
It’s a Hootenanny!
Head to Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Bayside this Friday, January 23 (6–8 p.m.) for a cozy, all-ages winter evening that feels like a cabin party met a nature center. Expect live music, warm community vibes, and a fun excuse to get out of the house when it’s dark at 4:30. It’s a great pick for families who want something different than the usual weekend circuit, and it’s also an easy “date night with a twist” if you leave the kids at home.
Budgeting Made Easy
Get your finances in order in 2026! Sign up for the Monarch Money app with this link and get 50% off membership for the first year! The app that pays for itself!
North Shore Snapshot
See you out there,
North Shore Family Adventures
P.S. Forward this guide to anyone still asking, “What should we do in 2026???”
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