The Harley Davidson Museum

Laura, our exchange student, had expressed interest in seeing the Harley-Davidson museum here in Milwaukee, so I picked up a free family pass from the library and (after the doggo diversion) Lisa, Laura, Junie, Bella, and I headed on down to the museum. 

Harley's are pretty ubiquitous here in the company's hometown, but this was our first visit to the museum. It was much nicer than I expected, featuring clean industrial lines, well thought out exhibit spaces, and a diverse collection of Harley related items. 

I'm not going to lie. While I appreciate a motorcycle, seeing a few hundred at the same time make me empathize for all the times I've dragged people to the bookstore - if you've seen one X, you've seen them all. 

But then again, it was hard not to appreciate a beauty like this: 

Of interest: the original "factory" was just a shed built in the backyard on 37th and Highland, a short walk from our kids' school.  As mentioned on the placard, an illuminated border on the exhibit floor shows you just how small that initial building was in 1903.

I own a cast iron motorcycle toy much like the one in the top left of this picture: 

At one point the girls designed their own bikes: 

This is a cycle that washed away from Japan during the tsunami and showed up on the beaches of western Canada. At the owner's request, it was unrestored and donated to the museum. 

Then there was an area you could pose on bikes like you were rolling down the road yourself: 

When you visit Milwaukee, make time to check out the Harley museum!