Travel Help Needed for Milwaukee, Wisconsin

[tarheelmjfan]

As some of you may remember, DH & I often travel last minute for his job. We took 6 months off to take care of my terminal MIL, but sadly she passed. We're back at it again.

Unfortunately, I never know where we're going in time to do extensive planning. I've gotten so many great travel tips here in the past that I decided to start an ongoing thread to ask for last minute travel advice from locals & those who have visited the area we're going to next.

This evening our plans changed & I learned we're going to Wisconsin next. I wish I would have known this sooner. As a person of half German descent, I've always wanted to visit Milwaukee. It just so happens that our route takes us near there. I'm currently searching online for travel tips, but haven't found what I'm looking for.

Unfortunately, the downtown hotels are out of the companies hotel allowance. We're considering charging them for one night & paying for the other, since this is a free weekend between job sites. However, finding a convenient location within their price range would be preferable. Is there another convenient location we should consider where the hotels are nice, but cheaper?

Any other suggestions for visiting Milwaukee, will be very much appreciated. I'm especially interested in anything that focuses on Germans & their heritage.

For Milwaukee posts, skip to post 16.

Disclaimer: I also neglected to mention earlier that our home is still occupied. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be posting our travel plans online.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

You could go see the bridge to nowhere



It's prettier at night than in the day and the end of it has a view of the river which is obviously better in the day.
The thing cost millions of dollars. Some reviews say it smells like pee so be advised there may be problems in that area.

They do have an art gallery and a botanical garden but I don't know if the latter is the thing to do on February 5th. There is a state historic site Blackhawk. Campbell's Island also has a state historic site. There are various parks you can go to on the river. They have the ubiquitous kids science attraction that everyone seemingly has. Not any place I'd go unless I was going there for something else but seeing as how you are, there are things to do. I went one time on the way to somewhere else just to cross stepping foot in Iowa off my 50 state list.

 

[mousefan73]

PP gave some ideas. Cant recommend any dining but google is your friend.. to be honest. Quad cities is a place my friends from there were happy to get out and they all moved to east to the Chicago area.

 

[sam_gordon]

Go to Trip Advisor. Put in the city/town you're going to be in. Search. Then click on "Things to do".

Nothing against the Dis, but you're going to get so many more ideas on Trip Advisor.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

You could go see the bridge to nowhere

View attachment 831597


They do have an art gallery and a botanical garden but I don't know if the latter is the thing to do on February 5th. There is a state historic site Blackhawk. Campbell's Island also has a state historic site. There are various parks you can go to on the river. They have the ubiquitous kids science attraction that everyone seemingly has. Not any place I'd go unless I was going there for something else but seeing as how you are, there are things to do. I went one time on the way to somewhere else just to cross stepping foot in Iowa off my 50 state list.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look them up.

Great minds think alike. We're also planning on driving over to Davenport to mark Iowa off the list. I agree you can't come this far & not make the drive across the river.

Go to Trip Advisor. Put in the city/town you're going to be in. Search. Then click on "Things to do".
View attachment 831625
Nothing against the Dis, but you're going to get so many more ideas on Trip Advisor.

Thanks for the tip. I have looked there. Occasionally, locals have suggestions for little known things to do that aren't easily found online. It's worth a try to ask, anyway.

 

[DisneyTeacher]

Harris Pizza is a local favorite.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Harris Pizza is a local favorite.

Thanks

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Harris Pizza is a local favorite.

This is an example of something you don't easily find searching travel sites, which is why I like to seek advice from locals & people who have visited the area.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

You could go see the bridge to nowhere

View attachment 831597

We did see that bridge. lol The bridges were all beautiful at night. Unfortunately, we didn't have as much time as I'd like, but we were able to get a quick overview of the area. Davenport was a nice little town. We could definitely spend a weekend wandering around there. For anyone interested, we stayed at Hyatt Quad Cities. Our room was nice, most importantly very clean & had a beautiful river view. The restaurant on the 9th floor only served apps & drinks, but the drinks we ordered were all worth the visit. We found out too late that the lobby bar had a bigger menu. For the locals, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel to anyone coming from out of town that's looking for a place to stay.

 

[sam_gordon]

This is an example of something you don't easily find searching travel sites, which is why I like to seek advice from locals & people who have visited the area.

I totally get it. When I'm travelling for work, I ask the locals where to eat & what to do. I just wasn't sure whether you knew TripAdvisor was even an option.

 

[Kelandsam]

For dinner, highly recommend https://www.blackrockrestaurants.com/portage. It’s off Westnedge Ave. They don’t do open Table but you can call to be on a preferred seating list. Super fun experience of cooking your food on 755 degree volcanic rocks.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

For dinner, highly recommend https://www.blackrockrestaurants.com/portage. It’s off Westnedge Ave. They don’t do open Table but you can call to be on a preferred seating list. Super fun experience of cooking your food on 755 degree volcanic rocks.

Thanks. Sounds interesting. We've never eaten at a restaurant like that.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

For dinner, highly recommend https://www.blackrockrestaurants.com/portage. It’s off Westnedge Ave. They don’t do open Table but you can call to be on a preferred seating list. Super fun experience of cooking your food on 755 degree volcanic rocks.

We booked a priority seating for tomorrow night. As I mentioned earlier, we've never eaten at a restaurant that offers this experience. I'm not sure what to expect. Is the food pre-seasoned, when they bring it to you? Also, DH & I typically share an app, entrée & dessert with drinks. Will that be a problem? We're fine with paying a plate sharing fee.

I noticed we have one of these restaurants very near our home that wasn't on my radar. If we enjoy it, we'll have a new option at home. Thanks again for the recommendation.

 

[Kelandsam]

Hi! I’m not sure about sharing if you do the bundle (we always do our own rocks). Pretty sure the meat is unseasoned as there are seasonings on the table for you to add. We DO share the cheesecake as it’s massive. Have fun

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Hi! I’m not sure about sharing if you do the bundle (we always do our own rocks). Pretty sure the meat is unseasoned as there are seasonings on the table for you to add. We DO share the cheesecake as it’s massive. Have fun

Thanks for the feedback. It's good to know what to expect. We'll be trying it soon.