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Leaving Milwaukee

Having crammed as much fun as we could into 4 days, there was so much more we wanted to do. Milwaukee is a beatiful city and the people make the city. For now it's get ready to hit the road again. We are headed to Sioux falls, South Dakota. Here are a few last glimpses of Milwaukee.

Harley-Davidson Museum

In about January of this year, we bought our 105th anniversary tickets. Along with the tickets, there was a lottery. Only certain ticket purchasers would be able to also get tickets for the highly anticipated Harley-Davidson Museum. These tickets were included, at no extra charge for the lottery winners. We were not one of the lucky lottery winners. We were lucky in another way. Staying at our Bed & breakfast is Gary Andersen. He gave us a great tip. He said go down to the museum and check for people who have turned in their tickets. For whatever reason, they could not attend. He said, "that's how I got in".
We did not think there was much of a chance when we arrived. The place was packed with bikes and the bikers who rode them their. We found the tent Gary told us about and sure enough, the lady said, "here you go", as she pulled two tickets out of her back pocket. We were totally shocked. You mean we can just go in right now?
Yes, she replied. You see, the tickets had specific dates and times on them, so we could have gotten tickets for the next day at 8pm. We were very lucky.
The museum was an experience I will carry with me for the rest of my life. People talk of brand loyalty. Others say, "Buy American". They say when you buy a Harley-Davidson, you buy more than just a bike, you join the family. That could not be more true. I have owned my Harley-Davidson Softail Standard FXST for 8 years now and they have been the best years of my life. It is the people you meet, the experiences you have and that you get to share all that with people who feel the same way. I am part of the Harley-Davidson family. I am a biker and going the museum today taught me my history. It showed me what my brothers before me endured so that I may enjoy the freedoms I enjoy today.
This ride home has been a journey into who I am and who I always knew I was. I will count the days until I can ride home again.

More Summerfest Pics

Another great BRMC show.

They played at the Summerfest grounds to a much larger crowd and much older crowd and still rocked it. Even the 50+'s were having fun. You could tell that even though this was a biker show, some non-biker fans showed up for the performance. They were the ones screaming at the front.
We all had a great time. It was nice to see a BRMC show without their usual stalkers their. If you go to their show in LA, you know what I mean.

Summer fest

As with every venue in Milwaukee, you get close enough and you will be waiting in a seemingly endless line to get in. Today was not too bad. We inched along for about 30 minutes. Once inside it seemed that there were more people every time you looked around. We had a great time. We saw BRMC again, we had good food, and ran into plenty of interesting people. We even saw some guys from a Italian H.O.G. Chapter. We took a ride on the skyliner, an above ground lift so we could get a better view of things. What a view it was.

Party, Party, Party!

This is what happens when you get too drunk and pass out around a bunch of bikers!

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Harley-Davidson put on a street scene concert with brmc last night. They had a new female drummer. She was awesome. The put on a great show to a couple thousand people. It was a great finish to Diana's birthday.

Club H.O.G. 25

As we approached downtown Milwaukee, we entered a sea of Harleys. The were bikes everywhere, thousands upon thousands of them. H.O.G. stands for Harley Owners Group.
There are local chapters all over the world. Today we saw chapters from Alaska and Mexico. I am sure if I would have stayed, I would have seen chapters from other continents. We left Miller Park, where the mass of biker humanity had assembled for Diana's B-day dinner. As we were leaving we could see lot after lot was packed with bikes like sardenes in a can. The amazing thing was the parade of bike still waiting to get in was even longer than when we had arrived! During our time there a really cool thing happened. We closed the New York Stock Exchange. With a live video feed from Club H.O.G. 25, thousands of bikers and harleys yelled and reved their bikes to close out the day on the NYSE. It was so awesome as Wall street met the H.O.G. Highway. Being a H.O.G. Member is not just joining a club, you are joining a family. You could be three thousand miles from home and see another biker and you are instant family. It's just understood.
You want to meet the best people in the world? Meet a biker.

Coming Home

So after 8 years, my bike is home, back to it's birthplace. As we rode down I-94 a home made sign hung from the overpass that said "Welcome Home".
At that point, I realized whom they we welcoming. I had never even been to Milwaukee. It was the bikes. There we so many bikes filling every street, highway and parking lot. We stopped at a Wisconsin Harley-Davidson then on to the Gresley house B&B where we are staying. B&Bs are like your home away from home. They are so comfortable amd well, homey. It's the next morning now and it's off to downtown and time to check out the scene.

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Mississippi river

We finally made it to Iowa and was it a perfect day. Blue skies with streaking white clouds. We stayed at the McGarrity inn compliments of Regina's boss. What a fantastic place to stay. It is a historic inn about 150 years old that has been totally restored. Lansing is beautiful little Mississippi river side town. People don't lock their doors or homes. Everyone knows everyone. It's a great place to visit during the summer, but winters we hear are brutal. There is something about a small town that really makes you sit back and appreciate life.

Into the land of cheese and cows milking it.

So finally, we have made it to Wisconsin. What can I say other than this is a coooool place.

It is such a beautiful state. Rolling green fields and rivers. Today we had the complete honor of

meeting Tamara's family. Tamara is one of our group. We are in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. They live about 15 minutes away. We went over to her family's house for a Monday night BBQ on the river. They have a house right and I mean right on the Chippewa River. It is a river that starts in Canada and empties into the Mississippi River. What an awesome family she has. They came out to the driveway to personally greet us and welcome us to their home. We shared a great meal of Brats, Hamburgers and best corn on the cob I have had in a long time, if not ever.

If that was not enough, Arnie treated us to a story about his tractor that he purchased for $50.

Yes, $50. Yes it was a long time ago, but it still runs. He started it up for us. After all this we were asked if we would like to take a pontoon ride down the river to see the dam. What a treat.

It was so beautiful. We went all the way down the river to the dam. We could not get too close, but we did get pretty close. They had a guard there watching us. When we got back to the house, we ran into Dotti, Arnie's wife. Wow. She is truly an amazing woman. She is such a great artist. There is not much she does not do. I think beyond her art, she has the ability to do what most people cannot. She is one of those people that you meet in you life that just by meeting them, you have the opportunity to become a better person from that experience. She has an inner fire that most covet, but even a greater number of people would not know what to do with it if they had it. I truly feel blessed to have experience her presence. Tomorrow, we leave for what my roommate calls "Gods Country". Iowa. Let's see what will be in store for us there. There are a couple of times in you life that you do things that are life changing. This vacation/adventure is one of them.