MILWAUKEE HARBOR CRUISE

A couple of local rivers empty into Lake Michigan to form Milwaukee's harbor and a couple of companies offer harbor sightseeing cruises.  When my son and his family were here earlier this month we took one of the cruises.  Here are some of the photos that I got during our 1-1/2 hour voyage.  The cruise began on the Milwaukee River in downtown Milwaukee, passed out into the lake past the breakwater, moved north a couple of miles, and then returned inside the breakwater and back up the the river to the downtown area.

Here first is a photo of our cruise ship, the Vista King.

And, by the way, here is a photo of what turns out to be a "houseboat," a decrepit boat that has been an individual's residence for many years, the Solomon Juneau.  At least one could say it has "character."

The cruise passes a number of buildings in Milwaukee's industrial area.  I like older architecture and enjoyed photographing some of the buildings, but others might find the buildings to be forgettable.

The cruise also passes a number of bridges, including the following, known as a bascule design.

The largest bridge we passed is the Hoan Bridge, which spans the river as it empties into the lake.

Here is a shot of a portion of the downtown that includes the northern approach to the bridge.

At the southern end of the breakwater is a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse that sits out about 3/4 mile east of the shore.

On the portion of the cruise heading north, I was able to get a shot of Milwaukee's skyline that I thought worked best as a black and white.

At the north end of the harbor is a spit of land extending out into the lake that includes a line of trees that I thought also worked well as a black and white.

On our return inside the breakwater, a thunderstorm was approaching, and I took a few shots of the Milwaukee Art Museum and Discovery World museum with the storm clouds as a backdrop.

Finally, for what it is worth, I also took a couple of photos of a tableau of rope on our cruise ship.

John