Have you ever been to Milwaukee? When my mom asked me where I wanted to go for my birthday, I told her “Milwaukee.” I’m thankful she agreed because we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.
We wanted to go somewhere new, and I was turning 30, so there it was — Milwaukee — the only metropolitan Midwest city I hadn’t spent time in.
Milwaukee has a range of activities to offer, and it’s a beautiful city. It’s on Lake Michigan, is home to the Miller Brewing Company, Pabst Brewing Company and the Milwaukee Brewers, which aren’t good this year but who cares, it’s major league baseball. There’s also a Harley Davidson Museum and the Milwaukee County Zoo.
Every place we went, whether a restaurant like Rodizio Brazilian Steakhouse (my favorite) or Harbor House, or even the dentist, was fantastic. Yes, we even went to the dentist — it’s a long story. We love Wisconsin the more we go.
Here are the top five places we visited last week:
5. Milwaukee Art Museum
The museum is beautiful in bright white, tall ceilings and minimal design. It’s located on the coast separated only by a nice trail occupied with a continuous flow of runners, bikers and walkers. The museum’s permanent collection was temporarily closed so we went to the “Van Gogh to Pollock: Modern Rebels” exhibit. I love the post-impressionism work of Georges Seurat and van Gogh, and it also included well-known modernism, surrealism and pop art pieces too.
4. Milwaukee Public Market
The market was a city highlight because of the quality and variety of products available. The market wasn’t overwhelmingly large but still diverse in food and shopping vendors as well. It including seafood, foreign food, juicers, a bakery, coffees and of course, cheese. We went around noon and the place was populated with downtown workers on their lunch break, a blend of white collar business and blue collar construction.
3. Miller Brewing Company
Driving into Miller Valley is very welcoming and so is the free hour and a half long tour through their factory. It’s the second largest brewery in the country and produces many brands besides Miller such as Coors, Blue Moon and Leinenkugel’s. The tour starts out with a short video and then takes you on a walking tour through shipping, bottling, brewing and even the old caves. I don’t drink, but I still had a great time. Fun fact: 40 percent of the Milwaukee production is trucked solely to Chicago. That’s huge.
2. Lake Michigan
Milwaukee wouldn’t be what it is without the beaches, yacht clubs, boats, marina and parks along the coast of Lake Michigan. The atmosphere feels calmer than many cities because Milwaukee, in comparison, isn’t that large. It’s quiet and uncrowded, yet still used for recreation. We spent hours there on the lake just enjoying the scenery and walking the shore. The lake breeze is lovely combined with the warm July summer sun is perfect for a tourist.
1. Miller Park
One item on my bucket list is to visit every Major League Baseball stadium in the Midwest so I was excited to cross off one of those with my mom this summer at Miller Park. She surprised me tickets to the Brewers v. Cubs game, in what were about the best seats in the packed house with my name on the big screen wishing me “Happy Birthday.” We had some memorable grandstand food and watched a very fun game together.
Milwaukee is friendly, cultural and alive. It was a wonderful place to celebrate a summer birthday. A special thanks to my mom for making an unforgettable birthday and wonderful experience.
Contact Kate Malott at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or kmalott@newtondailynews.com