Today we got to sleep in a little. We left Milwaukee around 9:45 and stopped en route to House on the Rock for lunch. I ate Jimmy Johns along with a few of my peers. We continued our travels to House on the Rock. After we arrived, we were given our tickets and two tokens which could be used in the area for various things. It took us about 2 hours to walk through the entire thing. There were several rooms with varying themes. One of the first areas we went to was a Zen Garden type thing. It was beautiful. It had a Buddha statue in which a sign encouraged us to rub his belly for good luck!
My personal favorite was the whale room. It had this enormous whale and octopus in it and it had an octopus band that could be played using a token. There was also an Infinity room which gradually got smaller and smaller. There was also lots of stained glass in the first area. We were literally inside the rocks in the first house area. There were also a lot of rooms with dolls, swords, guns, and many other collections. There was also the world's largest carousel in one of the rooms. We took a quick stop in the middle where there was pizza and snacks for sale and a sitting area. We did happen to hear five of the songs we were playing on our tour including Stars and Stripes Forever, Italian Rhapsody, and Serenade, Barnacle Bill, and Near my God to Thee. This place is truly a unique place. There were so many fascinating rooms and areas in this amazing place. Since we got a bit of a later start, we didn’t get to sing our usual beginning of the day song, The Lord Bless You and Keep You, until after House on the Rock.
Here’s a quick recap on our tour so far. We have been to four places including Belvidere, IL, Waukesha, WI, Milwaukee WI, and House on the Rock near Spring Green, Wisconsin. We have done clinics with two different high schools and had two concerts as well. We spend an amazing day in Milwaukee going to the art museum, walking downtown, and attending a Brewers versus Cubs baseball game (my first ever baseball game). And then we spend today (day 4) heading back to Wartburg and going to House on the Rock. I am super grateful for this experience. I have gotten a chance to talk to and get to know people that I otherwise would not have taken the time to get to know. I am excited to see what the rest of the tour will bring and to continue to build relationships with my peers!