Lake Michigan Trip Day 2

Lake Michigan Trip Day 2 Monday August 3, 2015

Today we rent a motorcycle and get under way
Destination is Fond du Lac Wisconsin
Pausing in Milwaukee, WI at Harley-Davidson Museum

Places Visited Along The Way, Photos, and Notes

I woke up and looked out the window of the Best Western Plus
The forecast was for no rain, but the sky raised some question in my mind

The front desk called a taxi for me but he took his sweet time arriving.
Of course, I was anxious. Chicago Harley-Davidson does not open to 10:00
That is very unusual for a HD dealer and I usually like to get an early start when on the road.

On the way to the dealer, it became evident that the taxi driver did not know where to go
He got us into the general area and then I guided him with Google maps on the iPhone

At the dealer, naturally I bought a shirt, a dealer pin, and some poker chips

all the papers were notated with initials and signatures and dates
and then a technician with the bike appeared. It is a black beauty

The rental fellow was very tactful. He suggested that I ride it around the parking lot
to see if it ran okay. What he was really doing was seeing if I had the skill to ride it.

Heading up the road, I spotted a sign for a HD dealer that I had not
noticed in my preparations: Lake Shore Harley-Davidson

As I am getting ready to leave, the technician from where I rented the bike
walked up. He was running an errand and happened to be there too.

Next stop was in Waukegan for the Lake County Illinois Courthouse
to pick up an "L" county letter

Then on to Kenosha, Wisconsin

As I rode through the town, I noticed some blue to the east a few blocks down the streets
I headed toward there and found Lake Michigan shoreline
There is a nice Kennedy Park with sand beaches and vast lawn areas

In the right photo above you can see a blur just above center.
That is a dragon fly that buzzed by just as I was taking the photo. They are big here.

I was planning on getting a photo of Kenosha County Courthouse
For a "K" county letter but I got so excited at being at the lake that I forgot

Then on to the city of Racine for an "R" county letter
photo of the Racine County WI Courthouse

There seems to be HD dealers everywhere you look around here
Must be the proximity of the Harley-Davidson Headquarters
So I stopped at

Racine Harley-Davidson which is actually in the village of Mt. Pleasant

As I continued, the weather was perfect. High 70's, Low 80's and clear

About this time, I was feeling a bit tired. I hadn't ridden too many miles yet, why tired?
Then I remembered 5 hours on an airplane the day before and losing 2 hours of time zone.

Milwaukee, WI is the headquarters of Harley-Davidson
two dealerships, a museum, corporate offices, etc

Milwaukee is an old city. One is reminded of this while driving through town

I found House of Harley-Davidson and stopped in

Looks like this is where the Milwaukee police get their bike maintenance

As I was leaving, a group of about 20 people streamed in the door.
Turns out they are from Norway, touring on rented bikes
I did not have the presence of mind to get a photo of them

One of the highlights of this part of the trip was to be
the Harley-Davidson Museum. It did not disappoint

Hundreds of bikes from some of the very earliest through all the years
It was a bit startling to see bikes in a museum that are newer than mine.

There is an entire building dedicated to Willy G. Davidson, chief designer for many years

I noticed a group photo happening
It was a large group of riders who are from Brazilia

Harley enthusiasts touring the U.S.

It was getting late and I decided to skip the Harley-Davidson Corporate Offices

Next stop was Milwaukee Harley-Davidson

Not the most friendly place. I asked if they had a water fountain and the
greeter at the door directed me to a vending machine
I had to have someone paged to check me out in the clothing section

I stopped in Menomonee Falls at the Harley-Davidson Factory - Power Trains
This place has tours only on Mondays during the early day