Harleys and Beer

So, what to do with an unexpected day off and full flights everywhere?  This was the dilemma I faced this past Friday, so I played tourist once again in Milwaukee.  This day, I decided to explore some Milwaukee stereotypes.  I suppose not so much stereotypes, but explore the things that come to mind when someone says Milwaukee.  So with that I decided to spend my late morning/early afternoon at the Harley Davidson Museum and my evening on a brewery tour.

Now, I have to say, I am not a fan of Harleys or Beer, but I believe that when you travel you should explore what that city has to offer - even if it is the city in which you live.

I did not know where the Harley Museum was located, except that it is on Canal Street.

  I also know the Casino is on Canal Street, so I figured I could just find it from there.  This made for a bit of back tracking, because turns out the Harley Museum is really not that far from where I live.  Anyway, I like the location of the museum.  It is very close to downtown and it backs up to the Milwaukee River.  Though it is in an industrial location, there are several attractions very nearby.  The museum is very close to the Historic Third Ward and Downtown, both of which offer good dining and bars and it is located on the same street as the Potowatomi Casino and Miller Park.  It will be a good summer destination.  I also checked out the restaurant on the premises Motor.  In keeping with my Milwaukee theme I ordered fried cheese curds!

The museum is two levels and basically sectioned in themes.

  It begins with the first bikes and shows major changes.  Then there is a section dedicated to color schemes, racing, Harley Davidson with the Military and with Law Enforcement.  My favorite though, was the advertisments.  They were so funny to me.  There was also a small part about women riders.  Then you head downstairs which showcases custom Harleys, shows a video loop from movies that reference Harley Davidson, and has a design lab.  At the end is a part where you can get on like 10 different variations of Harley Davidsons.  They are anchored to the ground so you can play on them.

I would have to say that if I liked Harleys this might have been more fun, but it was still interesting.  If you are in Milwaukee and you want to see and experience a bit of Milwaukee history - then I would say it's worth the visit.

  I think the atmosphere in the summer will be much better. 

Now my original intention was to also go to this Wisconsin Cheese Mart, but I forgot to get directions.  I remembered that it is on Highland Ave, but since I have no idea how to get to Highland Ave, I decided to stop by my condo, download the Harley pics and then make my way to Lakefront Brewery. 

Lakefront Brewery is on Commerce street and is actually maybe 1.5 miles from my place.  If I were to go in the summer, I would definitely walk, but today is chilly, so I make Koby drive!

The tour costs $6 and it 4 glasses of beer and a souvenir glass.  The basic plan is you pay the money and you get a cup plus 4 tokens to fill the cup.  I think they had 5 or 6 beers on tap in the hall.

  Quite frankly, I thought they were all gross, but like I said - I don't love beer.  Koby on the other hand loves beer, so he thought it was great.

So, if you visit Milwaukee, I say the brewery tour is a must.  I have been on the Miller Brewery Tour and I would say they are both worth doing.  The Lakefront Brewery is very small, you drink during the tour (as does the tour guide)  Audience participation was required and the guide was very funny.  The downfall of this tour was that nothing was currently in use.  It felt like they took you through an unused portion.  (At Miller you can actually see everything in progress.)  After the tour you head back to the main area and use up your tokens if you have any left, but if you go on Friday (like I did) you can't sit at the tables, because there is a Friday Fish Fry - which I should have stayed for to really do up my Milwaukee day, but I had to go sleep off my beer!