Since moving back to the midwest I have wanted to do a trip to Milwaukee. I have never been before but I have heard so many good things. I was able to go to a quick 24 hours in Milwaukee, and I feel like I did as much as I could within the time frame. My list is growing of things to do on my next visit, but if you only have 24 hours in Milwaukee (and your baseball fan) this is a pretty good list.
I live in Central Illinois so to get the most of the trip, I had to leave early (around 7 ish). Milwaukee is about 4 hours from where I live. To start off the trip, I made lunch reservation at Harley Davidson Museum. I wanted to do lunch somewhere different, and this place DID NOT disappoint. The restaurant is connected with the museum. We didn’t do the museum but there is plenty to do around the complex with going into the museum. It is located right off the river so it was a little windy.
When it comes to food, I am not one to try outside my comfort zone. I am getting better, but I stuck with my Mac N Cheese. You can never go wrong with Mac N Cheese, and you can also add so many things to it. I couldn’t eat it all so I took it back to the hotel. (Then we left it there on accident. I didn’t realize it until I was hungry on the way home)
I didn’t have a lot researched for this visit because I was going with a group of people. I didn’t know how much everyone wanted to do, and didn’t want to monopolize the time with what I wanted to do. The power of social media came through when deciding on what to do next. I tweeted that we are in Milwaukee for the game, and someone recommend The Bobblehead Museum. (I wish I could find the tweet to give credit, and to make matters worst I talk to them frequently during the baseball season.)
National Bobblehead Museum
To be completely honest I am not a bobblehead fan. I have never really found the appeal plus getting into baseball games on bobblehead night is crazy. So I wasn’t exactly thrilled to go in the beginning. I had a blast at the Bobblehead Museum and can’t wait to go back again! The museum can be hard to miss if you don’t know what you are looking for or not from the area. We found parking on the street pretty easily, BUT we did go in the middle of the afternoon on a Monday.
The museum cost $5 but it is completely worth it. From the moment you walk in the museum and head up the stairs you are surrounded by bobbleheads. Your eyes don’t even know where to look because there are so many bobbleheads and you don’t want to miss any of them. To start the tour, you’ll watch a 5 minute video about how the museum got started and how it continues to this day. Then you have the freedom to view the museum how you want. You can stay in the museum for as long as you want. I was there for about 2 hours. We started in the back and worked our way to the front.
The bobbleheads are organized by genre than theme. It is crazy how organized and how many different bobbleheads were made. My favorite part of the museum was the bobbleheads of each major sports championship team. After the tour, we were talking to the guy there and he was saying they get bobbleheads sent to them everyday. They have a storage unit filled with boxes that still need to be reviewed. They have bobbleheads to purchase.
I will say even though I am not a bobblehead enthusiast, I was looking for ONE bobblehead. AND THEY DIDN’T HAVE IT. It’s the Freddie Freeman and Chipper Jones bobblehead on a four wheeler. I want this bobblehead because I LOVE Chipper and I think the story behind it is also hilarious. (I would buy it but I am not willing to spend the type of money people are asking.) If you want to do something outside your comfort zone, this should be added to your list of 24 hours in Milwaukee.
Downtown MKE
From the museum we decided to explore Downtown Milwaukee. Most of the things I found to do downtown was through trip advisor. There were a few things that I wanted to see before checking into the hotel. First on the list was the Golden Fonz. He was actually harder to find than that thought. From all the pictures and research that I did, it seemed like it was on the corner. I figured I would be able to pull over grab a quick picture and get back in the car. He is not on the corner, and you have to park to get a picture with him. There is a parking lot close by but it’s from the restaurant only. We still parked there because 1. it was a Monday afternoon and 2. we knew we weren’t going to be there very long.
From there I knew I wanted to get a picture of the greek freak. (If you aren’t a sports fan, his name is Giannis Antetokounmpo.) He was easy to find, but hard to get to because of construction. We were also on the wrong side of traffic so we had to turn around. There is a small parking lot in front of the mural. There was some other people taking pictures there and everyone was so great about taking pictures for each other and giving advices on the best angles.
Then we went to my favorite mural. It was the peacock feather mural by Kelsey Montague. I was so excited about this one because I have followed her work for a while. She has the popular wings in Nashville. I highly recommend ya’ll check her out. I think wings are one of the most beautiful things. This one was hard to find because it just says it’s on the arena. It doesn’t say which side. I am obsessed with murals, so if I town has murals it’s added to my list. Murals are definately a must in 24 hours in Milwaukee.
Ever since living in Seattle, I have been obsessed with places similar to Pike’s Place. This was by far one of the my favorite places in Milwaukee and I can’t wait to go back. We went only went to Pike’s Place a few times while we lived in Washington but each time was so amazing and different. Milwaukee has its own version of called City Place. We got there a little bit before every store opened.
Milwaukee Brewers Baseball
Let’s be honest! It’s probably the real reason I came to Milwaukee. If you are sports fan, I feel like this is a must for 24 hours in Milwaukee. (honestly 24 hours in any town that has a sports team) The hotel was right down the street from Amfam Ballpark (Miller Park to me). It was perfect because it was within walking distance to the ballpark. You know it was going to be a good time because the first thing we saw were the running sausages. I am so glad that I got pictures of them. It was an undeclared goal of mine.
The game was so much fun. It was actually a close game until the end. I was so excited to see the Braves because it has been a while since I have seen them play in person. Unfortunately the Braves lost, but my response is at least we still have the World Series. I didn’t get much of a chance to walk around the stadium like I normally do, but the store is pretty cool. There is so much to see and so much variety.
Conclusion
This was a quick trip to Milwaukee. I had so much fun, but I left adding more things on my list for my next trip. Spending only 24 hours in Milwaukee is not enough, but I am thankful for the time that I spend in Milwaukee. I know there are so much more to Milwaukee. I will say what made this trip the chef’s kiss is on the way home, Museum of Ice Cream Chicago announced the grand opening on July 16. (Which is my birthday) And I purchased tickets right away. Have you been to Milwaukee? What should be on my next trip?
