Bessie and the Milwaukee Minis spread their cheer at the State Fair parade. It seemed a little different from years past. The night before, riots had broken out – don’t ask me why. So the day at the fair seemed lightly attended with a little less pep than years before. The police seemed to be at every corner, keeping the peace. No crazy people running through the parade were maimed, and not for lack of trying on their part. We did have a lot of fun and brought some smiles to the fair-goers faces, which makes it all worth it. View photos…

The Milwaukee Minis and Bessie had a wonderful time celebrating Independence day with the residents of New Berlin. I even managed to wave to my friend who I was convinced I would miss. Next year, I need some new decorations. Anyone got any ideas? View Photos…

Surprisingly, there were a lot less potentially fatal accidents this year at State Fair. I almost got one group, but they narrowly escaped. Not that I was aiming for them, no. More like, I was busy doing my parade duties of waving, grinning, steering, keeping an eye out for danger, while they did their anti-parade maneuver of jumping out in front of a moving vehicle. Other than that, the parade went off without a hitch. I feel like the Milwaukee Minis really know what their doing now and could just randomly gather, throw on some decorations and start a parade. We’ll have to start the world’s first MINI motoring band. I promise not to play, drive and take photos. Anyway, view State Fair photos…

Bessie became “Cheesy Rider” for the Wisconsin State Fair Parade. I finally got around to making a new costume for Bessie consisting of dozens of round poster board dots for that swiss cheese-look. Not all of the fair-goers seemed to understand the costume, but I think it turned out well considering it cost a whole $5.00. Double stick tape and an extra piece on top seemed to hold at 30 miles an hour, in case you ever need to drive at “high speeds” in a parade costume. View photos…

Bessie coasted in for some fun at the Port Washington Fish day. At the world’s largest one-day fish fry, Bessie floated down main street in her patriotic parade gear and sailed off with a third-place trophy in the car show. Before you start cheering, she was only one of three MINIs in her class. The trophy is topped with a Torino, for those wondering. The event was set against the lovely Lake Michigan. The fish and chips were good, but I like my chips crispier. Luckily, the rain stayed away almost the entire day! Amazing! View photos…

Bessie shared her patriotic spirit with 28 other MINIs in the New Berlin, Wisconsin, Fourth of July Parade. The MINIs came from as far as Virginia and Wyoming to celebrate the festivities. Bessie drove alongside Tardis. Isn’t it great to see two Doctor Who vehicles together! Both Mini and New Berlin are celebrating their 50th Anniversaries this year. Happy Anniversary!

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The Milwaukee MINIs mixed it up Wisconsin style for this year’s State Fair parade. We showed our state spirit with cream puffs, cheese heads and, of course, cows. We moo-ved through the delighted crowds and heard many fair-goers moo back at Bessie. Afterwards, Jenny and I took in the sights, sounds and tastes of the State Fair atmosphere. Jenny enjoyed her first cream puff and I had fun taking photos of the Midway rides. View photos…

Bessie, Tosh and I celebrated Independence Day with the city of New Berlin and the Milwaukee Minis. We thrilled the crowds with our outrageous decorations, a classic Mini and our Wyoming Lady Bug. To add to the excitement, the Minis tooted their horns and passed back and forth between our two lines of cars. View Photos…

As an added Bonus, I tried out the new camera on the Oconomowoc Fireworks. I forgot the tripod in my haste to travel the couple blocks to get an unhindered view of the display. Even without it, I think the photos turned out pretty good. Enjoy them in all their unedited glory. The new camera is a Canon G9, if you’re curious.

No, those parading MINIs were not drunk on Guinness. They were just showing off to the hundreds of parade-goers in downtown Racine, Wisconsin. Six MINIs and their passengers gathered to share Irish spirit, good conversation, dog chasing and impromptu car washing.

Along for the ride in Bessie was Tosh, who was a bit nervous about the whole ordeal. She quickly warmed up to the Milwaukee MINI gang.

Don’t miss the first Mosquito of the season, found while washing my car for the parade.

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The Milwaukee Minis stampeded through the Wisconsin State Fair grounds. The crowds herded around to stare at the strange calvacade of Minis with their spots, bandanas, cow antenna decorations and crazy cow hats. It was a difficult drive with the people pressing in close to the street and dashing between vehicles. Luckily, no one lost any toes, legs or strollers. We did keep losing our spots, unfortunately, but the cow illusion was complete. After the parade, we joined the throngs of people and visited the many sites finishing with a delicious treat of flavored milk.