USA Travel – Page 4 – A Bus On A Dusty Road

I grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But despite having grown up there, I continue to discover wonderful and exciting things to do in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee truly has something for everyone to enjoy and experience. Milwaukee, also known as Cream City is a wonderful place to live or visit. The city is filled with a lot of great food and drink plus a host of interesting museums and factory tours. There are a lot of great activities on Lake Michigan or near the lakefront. This city of festivals has something to offer everyone. The Milwaukee River at night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. About Milwaukee, Wisconsin the Cream City Milwaukee is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin and also the 5th largest city in the Midwest. It is located on the shores of Lake Michigan about two hours north of Chicago. Milwaukee is a vibrant and diverse city that has a lot of great hidden gems and wonderful things to do and explore Milwaukee is also called the Cream City, not because it is in Wisconsin the dairy state, but because of the light-colored bricks found throughout the city of Milwaukee. Go out for Beer and Brats When you are in Milwaukee make sure you get yourself a good brat and if you are a beer drinker try some beer. For Wisconsinites, beer and brats usually go hand-in-hand. Here are some locations to get some good brats and beer: Mader's Restuarant - Maders is an old-style German Tavern that was established in 1902. Today it continues to be a premier location for all kinds of German food including brats, and German beer. This is a not to be missed German-style tavern and restaurant. It is located on 1041 N Old World 3rd St in downtown Milwaukee. You can find out more about Mader's Resturant by clicking here. Usinger Sausage - Usingers Sausage is a famous Milwaukee the brand-name of deli products, including sausages. They have a historic factory downtown Milwaukee near the Milwaukee Riverwalk at 1030 N. Old World Third Street. This is really a must-stop place on your trip to Milwaukee especially if you like really good quality sausage. To find out more about Usinger Sausage and Deli you can click here. Milwaukee Brat House - The Milwaukee Brat House has two locations, one is in downtown Milwaukee and the other is in Shorewood. You can find out more about the Milwaukee Brat House by clicking here. Vanguard - House-Made Sausages - Vanguard is in downtown Bayview just outside Milwaukee at 2659 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue. They make their own sausage in-house. You can find out more about Vanguard by clicking here. The Water Street Brewery - The Water Street Brewery has 4 locations around Milwaukee. One is right downtown and the others are in Grafton, Delafield and Oak Creek. They have an Old World Sausage platter that has a brat. You can find out more about The Water Street Brewery by clicking here. Pabst Brewery - The Pabst Brewery serves not only beer but also has a small food menu that includes many German favorites as brats. They are located at 1037 West Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee. You can find out more about the Pabst Brewery menu and the beers they have on tap and in bottles and cans by clicking here. If you do not have time to go to any of these places, you can usually find a good brat in any place that would normally serve hotdogs as a Brewers game at Miller Park. If you are looking for good beer, in Milwaukee you usually just need to pick a corner as on most corners, you will find a pub, tavern or bar. It is not uncommon in Milwaukee and in other parts of Wisconsin to find a pub or bar on almost every corner, especially in some of the older areas of town. Go, Bar Hopping Milwaukee is known as the Brew City and for good reason. The city is filled with a lot of bars and breweries. Here are some of the favorite local places to go: Safehouse - If you are James Bond Fan or love spy novels then the Safehouse is a place you must go. The restaurant is an old Milwaukee establishment that has been operating since 1966. The Safehouse is at 779 Front Street in Milwaukee. You can find out more about the Safehouse by clicking here. Mo's Irish Pub - A Milwaukee favorite that usually has live bands and music on the weekends. They are located at 142 Wisconsin Avenue, right in downtown Milwaukee. You can find out more about Mo's Irish Pub by clicking here. Camp Bar - This bar and restaurant are all about camping and living outdoors. They have three locations in Shorewood, Wauwatosa and also downtown Milwaukee at the Historic Third Ward on 525 E Menomonee Street. You can find out more about the Camp Bar by clicking here. Milwaukee Ale House - The Milwaukee Ale House is another Milwaukee favorite with great views on the Milwaukee River. They have beers on tap, live music, and great food. They are located in the Historic Third Ward at 233 North Water Street. You can find out more about the Milwaukee Ale House by clicking here. Enjoy Frozen Custard Frozen custard is a Milwaukee favorite that is not just limited to be eaten in the summertime but to be consumed all year round. Most of the local places that have frozen custard will also have a flavor of the day and a full menu with hamburgers and other foods. The flavor of the day will change from day-to-day. You can get daily alerts on your cell phone or to your email inbox that will tell you what the flavor of the day is each day of the week. If you are not sure what the flavor is, you can just drive by the frozen custard place and usually a sign will announce the frozen custard flavor. Here are some of the favorite Milwaukee places to eat frozen custard: Kopps Frozen Custard - Kopps Frozen Custard is a Milwaukee favorite. Not only do they have amazing frozen custard but they also have very good hamburgers and other food. There are three locations in Milwaukee in Greenfield, Brookfield, and Glendale. The two closest locations to downtown Milwaukee would be the Greenfield or Glendale location. Kopps has a favorite flavor alert system, so when your favorite flavor comes up they will send you an email to let you know. You can find out more about Kopps and their locations by clicking on their website here. Culvers - Another Milwaukee favorite is Culvers. Like Kopps, they also have a full menu with a variety of food items. They also have a flavor of the day and you can search on their website what flavor is in what location. Though Culvers is a Wisconsin company it is now located in many other states. You can find out more about Culvers and their locations by clicking here. Gilles Frozen Custard - Gilles is a very old Milwaukee frozen custard establishment that has been operating since 1938. They have one location at 7515 West Bluemound Road, which is about 75th Street and Bluemound Road. Like the other places, they have a full menu and a flavor each day. Gilles ls like a true old fashion Frozen Custard place. You can find out more about Gilles by clicking here.Leon's Frozen Custard - Leon's is another old-time Milwaukee favorite that has been around since 1948. It was the inspiration for Arnold's Drive-In from the popular television sitcom of Happy Days. This is one of the frozen custard places that are closest to downtown at 3131 S. 27th Street in South Milwaukee. They also have a flavor of the day. You can find out more about Leon by clicking here. Mosa Burger - Mosa Burger is a small burger and custard stand that is at Bradford beach in downtown Milwaukee. It is open during the summer months when the beach is open. They have hamburgers, brats and other food including frozen custard. You can find out more about Mosa Burger by clicking here. The Milwaukee Art Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Go to a Museum Milwaukee has a lot of great museums. So if you like museums you will have a lot of choices to go to throughout Milwaukee. Some of these museums are quite large and well known and others are smaller independent museums. Here are some of your museum choices in Milwaukee: Milwaukee Art Museum - The Milwaukee Art Museum is a world-class museum in downtown Milwaukee at 700 N. Art Museum Drive. The building itself is interesting in that it has Burke Brise Soleil, which is a set of wings that are similar in size to a Boeing 747 wingspan. But these wings will open and close throughout the day, You can find out more about the Burke Brise Soleil by clicking here. You can also find out more about the Milwaukee Art Museum by clicking here Milwaukee Public Museum - The Milwaukee Public Museum is also a very good museum with some very interesting exhibits. If you enjoy museums then this is an interesting place to visit. The Milwaukee Public Museum has an exhibit of the Streets of Old Milwaukee. The museum is located in downtown Milwaukee at 800 West Wells Street. You can find out more about the Milwaukee Public Museum by clicking here. Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum - The AO Smith family left their house in downtown Milwaukee at 2220 N. Terrace Ave. It overlooks Lake Michigan and the former AO Smith home is now a decorative arts museum. This home is in an amazing setting, To find out more about the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum you can click here.Grohmann Museum - The Grohmann Museum is located in the Milwaukee School of Engineering at 1000 N. Broadway Street. The Museum has some interesting artwork and other displays. You can find out more about the Grohman Museum by clicking here. Betty Brinn Children's Museum - The Betty Brinn Children's Museum is a great museum to take children, They have a lot of hands-on and interactive displays. The museum is located at 929 E. Wisconsin Ave. You can find out more about the Betty Brinn Children's Museum by clicking here.Charles Allis Museum - This is a very interesting museum as it is in the old Allis Family Mansion. The mansion was built with the idea of having a place to house their art collection. It is located at 1801 N Prospect Avenue. You can find out more about the Charles Allis Museum by clicking here. Discovery World Museum - Another great museum to take children is the Discovery World Museum on the lakefront in Milwaukee, The museum is located at 500 N Harbor Drive. You can find out more about the Discovery World Museum by clicking here. Haggerty Museum of Art - Marquette University also has an art museum called the Haggerty Museum of Art. The museum is located at 1234 W Tory Hill Street. You can find out more about the Haggerty Museum of Art by clicking here. Milwaukee Historical Society - The Milwaukee Historical Society is located in downtown Milwaukee at 910 N. Old Water Street. They have a series of educational exhibits. The society is located in an elegant old bank building that was designed by the Kirchhoff and Rose Architectural Firm. If you love old architecture, this is a wonderful old building to visit. You can find out more about the Milwaukee Historical Society and their exhibits by clicking here. Wisconsin Black Historical Society - Another smaller museum that focuses on the African- American history in Milwaukee and Wisconsin is the Wisconsin Black Historical Society. You can find out about the events and exhibits of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society by clicking here. Harley- Davidson Cycles, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin Iconic brand. Experience the Harley- Davidson Campus Milwaukee is famous as the hometown of Harley- Davidson Motorcycles. There is a lot that you can see and do at the Harley-Davidson Campus. Visiting Harley-Davidson is like visiting an important part of American life and culture. Here are things to experience at Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Campus: Harley-Davidson Museum - At the core of the Harley- Davidson visit is the Harley-Davidson Museum. It is a walk through the history of America and the great iconic motorcycle brand. On Wednesdays and Fridays, there is also a special behind the scenes tour. To see all their museum programs you can learn more about the Harley-Davidson Museum by clicking here. Harley Davidson Museum - Try a Bike Gallery - At the museum, you can try a bike and get your photo take on a variety of bikes. There are also some videos with Harley-Davidson's motorbikes so that you can feel like you are riding on the open road. To find out more about Harley-Davidson Museum Try a Bike Gallery you can click here. Harley Davidson Museum - Jumpstart Demo - You can jump on a Harley- Davidson, and experience what it is like to actually ride on a motorcycle with their jumpstart demo. You can even go through shifting the gears all while you are safely attached to the jumpstart platform. To find out more about the Harley Davidson Museum - Jumpstart Demo you can click here. Saturday Harley-Davidson Demo Rides - Try out some of the latest Harley-Davidson motorcycles on Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm between May to September. To find out if you can qualify for these Harley Davidson Demo Rides you can click here.Motor Bar and Restaurant - On the Harley-Davidson campus is a restaurant that offers a lot of great American food. They also host some special events throughout the year. You can find out about their special events by clicking here. To see the Motor Bar and Restaurant menu you can also find out more by clicking here. Harley-Davidson - The Shop - The Harley-Davidson campus in Milwaukee also had a shop where you can purchase a host of Harley-Davidson merchandise. You can also buy from them online To find out more about The Shop, you can click here. Stroll around the Harley-Davidson campus - There are a lot of places you can stroll around the Harley-Davidson campus To find a map of the campus you can find it by clicking here, Explore Pabst Mansion & Museum Just like Harley-Davidson is a well known Milwaukee name, so is Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. In Milwaukee, you can go to the Pabst Museum that is in the Pabst Mansion or go on a tour of the Pabst factory and sample their beers at the end of the tour. Here is some information on the Pabst Mansion & Museum and the Pabst factory tour and Pabst Theater: Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion - Captain Frederick Pabst was a German- American who the Pabst Brewing Company was named after. This home on 2000 W. Wisconsin Avenue In Milwaukee, was the Pabst family home from 1892 to 1908. You can visit the Mansion which is also a Museum. They also have a lecture series and some events that will take place throughout the year. You can find out more about the Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion and Museum by clicking here. Pabst Brewery Tours - Pabst Brewery also gives tours of the Brewery. Tour runs mainly in the evenings on the weekdays and Saturday and Sunday during the day. Tour also includes beer tasting The Pabst Taproom also has a lot of events going on. You can find out more about the Pabst Brewery events by clicking here. You can find out more about the Pabst Brewery Tours by clicking here. Pabst Theater - The Pabst Theatre was built by Captain Frederick Pabst in 1895 as a German-style opera house. It has opulent glamour both inside and out. Inside there is a two-ton Austrian crystal chandelier and a staircase made with white marble. The Pabst Theater is still in operation today so you can catch a show there. To find out more about the Pabst Theater and what is playing there you can click here. Go to the Milwaukee County Zoo The Milwaukee County Zoo is considered to be one of the best zoos in the United States. Not only does the zoo have a lot of animals but they have rides and other educational events. Plus many times during the summer or the holidays they have special events taking place. The zoo is located at 10001 West Blue Mound Road, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But you can get there by car, taxi or bus. To find out more about the Milwaukee Country Zoo and their events and facilities, you can visit their website by clicking here. Attend a Festival in the City of Festivals Milwaukee is called the City of Festivals, as the city has so many different kinds of festivals that happen all year round, but especially in the summer months. Here are some of the major festivals in the City of Milwaukee: Summerfest - takes place in June and July each year. Brady Street Festival Brewfest - Held at McKinley Park each July. Polish Fest - takes place in June each year. Pridefest - takes place in June each year. Festa Italiana - takes place in July each year. Lakefront Festival of Arts - takes place in June each year.Locust Street Festival of Music and Arts - takes place in June each year.Cedarburg Strawberry Fest - takes place in June each year. Bastille Days - takes place in July each year Garlic Fest - takes place in June each year. To find out more about most of Milwaukee's festivals you can go to the Visit Milwaukee website by clicking here. Wisconsin also has an excellent State Fair that takes place in August each year. The Stake Fair Park is in West Allis, but not too far from downtown Milwaukee. The Wisconsin State Fair Park also has events taking place at the park year-round. You can find out more about the Wisconsin State Fair and the Wisconsin State Fair park by clicking here. The Miller Park Stadium, home of the Miller Brewers baseball team. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Go to a Sporting Event Milwaukee is a huge sporting city and so all the Milwaukee teams are highly supported. Here are some of Milwaukee's favorite teams and where you can get tickets to see them play: Milwaukee Brewers - Milwaukee Brewers is the major league baseball team who calls it home Milwaukee. They play at the Miller Park Stadium. You can always tell when they have a home game as the freeways all around the stadium can be back up for miles as they have a lot of support from the city of Milwaukee. You can find out more about the Milwaukee Brewers and their schedule by clicking here. Milwaukee Bucks - The Milwaukee Bucks is an NBA professional basketball team whose stadium is the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee. You can find out more about the Milwaukee Bucks and their schedule by clicking here. Milwaukee Admirals - The Milwaukee Admirals is a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League and they play in Milwaukee at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. You can find out more about the Milwaukee Admirals and their schedule by clicking here, Milwaukee Wave - The Milwaukee Wave is a champion Milwaukee based indoor soccer team. They are part of the Major Arena Soccer League. They play at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee. You can find out more about the Milwaukee Wave and their schedule by clicking here. Explore the Lakefront Area Milwaukee has a wonderful lakefront area that has a lot of different things you can explore on the lakefront. Here are some fun things you can explore on the Milwaukee Lakefront: Veterans Park - Veterans Park is a small lagoon that connects the city of Milwaukee to Lake Michigan. Throughout the summer months, they host a lot of even events. They have bicycles for rent so you can explore the Oak Leaf Trail by bike or paddleboat to paddle around the lagoon. This area is also popular for kite flying. You can find out more about Veterans Park by clicking here. Bradford Beach - Bradford Beach is a public beach in downtown Milwaukee that has lifeguards during the summer months. Also during the summer, there are beach volleyball leagues that play on the beach throughout the summer months. You can find out more about Bradford Beach by clicking here. Lake Park - Lake Park is a historic park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted a famous landscape architect that designed a lot of urban public parks including Central Park in New York City, You can also climb the Northpoint Lighthouse for some magnificent views across the city and lake. Lake Park also has free concerts at the Summer Stage on Monday and Wednesday nights in the summer. Lake Park is right across the street from Bradford Beach. You can find out more about Lake Park by clicking here. McKinley Beach - McKinley Beach is next to the McKinley Marina. You can recognize it as there are a lot of boats docked there. The beach is also home to one of the best sailing schools in the nation, the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center. You can find out more about McKinley Beach and the Milwaukee Sailing Center by clicking here. Go Cruising on Lake Michigan. As Milwaukee is on Lake Michigan there several cruise companies that have some boats that you can take to see the lake and waterways of Milwaukee. Here are some boat tours you can take to cruise around Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee rivers: Riverwalk Boat Tours - The Riverwalk Boat Tours has public cruises, boat rentals and also pontoon boat rentals. You can find out more about the Riverwalk Boat Tours by clicking here. Edelweiss Cruise and Boat Tours - Edelweiss Cruise and Boat Tours also have cruises and boat rentals. You can find out more about Edelweiss Cruise and Boat Tours by clicking here. Go Sailing around Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan is a wonderful lake to sail on. The lake has some wonderful views of the city. Here are some places you can go sailing: Sea Dog Sailing - Sea Dog Sailing has a 38-foot boat that will take you around Lake Michigan. You can find out more about this and the Sea Dog Sailing by clicking here. Milwaukee Community Sailing Center - To really sail at the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center, you need to be a member of the center. If you live in Milwaukee and want to sail this is a wonderful club to join, It is an excellent sailing school. But sometimes they also offer some trying to sail classes where you can get on a boat for a few hours with an experienced sailor. You can find out more about the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center and their schedule by clicking here, Kayak, Canoe or Paddleboard on The Waterways in Downtown Milwaukee Milwaukee also has some really great kayaking, canoeing or paddleboarding on the riverways in downtown Milwaukee. This is a great way to experience life around the waterways of Milwaukee. Here are the places you can get a kayak, canoe or paddleboard rental or tour: Milwaukee Kayak Company - You can rent a kayak or take a guided tour. Their main location is at 318 South Water Street in Milwaukee, They have kayaks, canoes or paddleboards for rent. You can find out more about the Milwaukee Kayak Company by clicking here.Brew City Kayak - At Brew City Kayak you can rent a kayak or stand up paddleboard. They have rentals and tours available. They are located at 818 South Water St.in Milwaukee. You can find out more about the Brew City Kayak by clicking here. Clearwater Outdoors - Clearwater Outdoors also offers kayaks and paddleboards for rent. They are also a retail store. They are located at 407 N Water Street, right across from the public market. You can find out more about Clearwater Outdoors by clicking here. Milwaukee Kayak Tours - Milwaukee Kayak Tours also offers kayak tours and also kayak rentals. They have quite a few different tours. They are located at 113 E Juneau Ave in Milwaukee. You can find out more about the Milwaukee Kayak Tours by clicking here, Go to see Frank Lloyd Wright's - Burnham Street Block Frank Lloyd Wright was from Wisconsin, so there are many significant buildings that he designed. One of these hidden treasures is the entire block on West Burham Street with small houses that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for his American System-Built Homes in South Milwaukee. You can find these homes at 2714 West Burnham Street. You can read more about these homes by reading our blog entitled Frank Lloyd Wright’s American System-Built West Burnham Street Homes by clicking here. Visit the Mitchell Park Domes The Mitchell Park Domes is part of the Milwaukee Public Park System and is three dome-shaped horticulture greenhouses that have different kinds of plant species in them. Growing up each time we rode past the Mitchell Park Domes, we would call it the bra factory as you could only see two domes at a time and we always thought it looked like an oversized woman's bra. Here is some information on the different Mitchell Park Domes: Show Dome - This dome will change their displays and flowers about five times a year according to the season. Desert Dome - The Desert Dome has plants from the deserts of Africa, Madagascar, South America, and North America. Tropical Dome - The Tropical Dome is like a rainforest that has over 1,200 species of tropical plants, including chocolate, banana and vanilla plants. You can find out more about the Mitchell Park Domes by clicking here. Milwaukee is a vibrant city on the shores of Lake Michigan that offers something for everyone No matter what your interests are you can always find something to do in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A Bus On A Dusty Road is about Living Life As A Global Citizen; we talk about everything to do with travel, life, culture, food, and ex-pat living. We would love to have you be part of our community. Sign up for our newsletter to keep up-to-date by clicking here. If you have any questions, you can welcome to contact me, Anita, by clicking here. Related Questions Is it Safe in Milwaukee? Most parts of the city of Milwaukee are safe, especially in the established tourist areas. But you should avoid the inner city area which is generally the northside or northwest of downtown areas, especially at night. Unless you know someone in these areas, the chances are you will not travel there. I grew up in Milwaukee and we rarely go to that part of Milwaukee. The lakefront area and downtown area in Milwaukee are usually safe. But with that said, if it is at night do not go out alone and like in any major city around the world avoid areas you do not know or are not sure are safe. Is the Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport area safe? Most of the areas around the Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport is safe. But as with all major cities, I would not go out alone at night and also avoid going into areas you are not sure are safe.