Day 5: The early bird gets the worm!

Bike Distance	Avg Speed	Total Ascent	Saddle Time	Calories
8.49 miles	10.47 mph	67 ft	00:48:39	495 cal

Dash to the dock:

The 6:45am alarm jolted us out of bed and we quickly got ourselves together and were on the road by 7:20am. We had a relatively short 4.5 mile ride to the ferry station so getting there before they open at 8 shouldn't be an issue. The air was cool but the humidity was high that my glasses fogged up after the first mile. After snaking our way through Western Muskegon we arrived at the dock at 7:45. We noticed an abundance of Harley Davidson motorcycles already queued up outside and a small group inside the terminal. We tried to enter but the doors were locked so an employee came over, opened the door and mentioned that they weren't open yet but we could come in. The four motorcyclists in front of us were also trying to make the 10:30 ferry ride and were pleading their case to the attendant. Another agent took care of us. Apparently there was one ticket remaining in the premiere section so we bought that for swati while I waited on standby. The clerk said it was highly unlikely that I would make it but that we could transfer Swati's ticket for free for the next boat. I then asked if they always had so many motorcycles. It turns out that Harley Davidson, head quartered in Milwaukee, is celebrating their 110th anniversary this Thursday through Sunday so every motorcycle in the area was heading that way.

We, rolled our bikes inside, sat down at a table and awaited our fate. It was only 8:10 and the boat wasn't scheduled to arrive until 9:45 so I decided to get some coffee and catch up on my blob posts. Before I knew it the boat pulled up, passengers de-boarded, and they immediately started loading the motorcycles (terribly loud!). Suddenly a clerk rushed over and said they were ready for us right now. Unprepared we quickly stuffed our belongings into our panniers and walked the bikes onto the ferry. We were aboard! Woo hoo! We made our way to the premiere cabin, found some seats and relaxed knowing all was well within "our" world. That is until we over heard a lady biker sitting across from us casually mention how all the hotels in Milwaukee were booked and they were staying 40 miles north! Damn! We quickly got on our smart phones and began hotel searching (using edge data service = slow as hell). I figured it would have been easily to find a hotel on a Thursday. Damn these bikers for ruining my plans! :-) We were in a race with boat as it was still loading as surely we would lose connection once we departed. i tried 6 but all were completely booked. Swati's 7th (Aloft) turned up golden! Our stomachs sank once we saw the price of $339+tax for a room! Talk about markups... I suppose this is the classic supply versus demand econ stuff. We bit the bullet as we didn't have any other option. Bike touring is supposed to be cheap! NOT.

Lunch Time!

Before you knew it the ferry was pulling into the Milwaukee right on schedule at 11:30 AM CST. Other than the hoards of bikers the ferry ride itself was rather uneventful. We de-boarded and made our way to a parking lot to plan our next move as check in wasn't until 3pm. Swati was hungry and "Classic Slice" pizza was the destination she had planned well before our trip began in Chicago. They are well known in the area for delicious vegan as well as regular pizza pies. A short ride later and we arrived. The guy at the counter was super friendly and was able to suggest as well as answer Swati's numerous questions.

Speaking of which.... Dining with Swatz can be challenging at times due to her vegan diet. Either she forgets to tell them certain details about her diet and is surprised when the food comes with cheese sprinkled on top or the wait staff doesn't know the difference between vegan and vegetarian. I too am surprised because I would think she would have her speech all ready to go when we arrive at restaurants but that isn't the case. She takes a different approach each time which I just don't understand why she deviates. I suppose I love that quirkiness about her... Anywho, I didn't mean to digress but thought I would share. :-)

The staff at "Classic Slice" are well versed in vegan foods so this wasn't an issue which made ordering go sooooo much faster! We enjoyed some pizza WI style as we discussed how to spend the rest of our day here in sunny WI.

Basilica Bound:

Aloft hotel was on the northern side of town so we decided to find interesting sites to stop at along the way. The first was The Basilica of St. Josaphat located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee. This place was quite impressive from the outside and very reminiscent of a small European church. What is interesting is that historically a basilica is actually an ancient shopping mall and had nothing to do with religion! Basilica architecture was the style of the building. The Christians of the Roman empire took over these amazing buildings and they became centers of the faith. The place was virtually empty so we essentially had free reign. The interior was impressive but deceptive. From a distance the walls appeared to have very ornate woodworking but when up close one could see that this fancy "mill" work was actually a 2d painted illusion. In fact, much of the details like stained glass and marble in the place were just paint. It would have been interesting to see how it looked in its original state when it was a shopping mall.

Harley-Davidson Hotties:

We knew that heading directly north for 1.5 miles would get us to the craziness of the 110th anniversary party of Harley Davidson. Everywhere you look (or listen) you could see bikers zipping up and down the road. We decided it was time to see what this was all about. We dashed our way north on 6th ave and to our amazement the street in front of the museum was closed to automobile traffic. They allowed us through and we had the road and these really cool bridges all to ourselves. We took the opportunity to shoot some photos and then made our way to the parking lot. The grassy field in front of the museum was completely packed with parked motorcycles. I have never seen so many in one place! There was beer tents and food vendors everywhere. We worked our way through the mobs of people and ultimately to the museum. We figured we may as well check it out right!? We bought two tickets and in we went. Te museum basically details the history of the Harley Davidson company and its products. In the early days they actually made bicycles! In the seventies they briefly produced snowmobiles (hopefully they were quieter than their bikes). For every year of existence they had a motorcycle from that year on display. I personally liked the 1920s  through1940s styles of bikes. Something about them just speaks to me. After at least an hour and 100 photos later we exited the museum, got a Miller High Life and relaxed at a bench. They have an awesome deal on beer here. If you buy a wrist band for $5 ALL High Life cans are $1! Swatz doesn't do beer so I was unable to convince her to stick around a while longer... drats!

Chillin Out:

After enjoying my brew we got back on the saddle and headed towards our hotel. It was now after 3PM so check in should be available. I rolled up first and as I was walking my bike into the hotel the bell boy, in a snooty voice, asked "Are you staying here?". I was like "Yup, you wanna walk my bike in for me?". I followed that with a smile and "just kidding". Swati would have slapped me had she been there! :-) Moments later Swati appeared in the door and we checked in. I was a bit peeved that this place didn't have free breakfast. I mean c'mon... for the price we are paying you can at least throw in a damn bowl of cereal! They did however have a free pitcher of fruit infused water with a sign that said "please enjoy a sip". Really? "a sip"? Cheap bastards! :-) We wound up with a top floor (5th) room overlooking the river walk. The room was small and adorn with modern decorating elements. We both showered and snacked and then Swati wanted to nap until 6PM. I decided to knock out a blog while enjoying my over priced downtown view of Milwaukee.

Downtown Dinner:

I eventually woke Swatz from her slumber and we walked the streets of Milwaukee looking for dinner. After strolling for some time we decided on Water Street Brewery. We were fortunate enough to score some outdoor seating as the place was packed with bikers both inside and out. I tried the beer sampler to which the Oktoberfest brew was my favorite (Swati agreed). I then thoroughly enjoyed rosemary chicken, mashed potatoes and spinach. I don't usually order chicken when out so this was a pleasant surprise. Swati got some vegi dish that unfortunately I cannot remember! (9 beer sampler worked its magic!). At around 10:00 pm we decided to call it a night and had a carefree hand in hand walk back to the hotel.