Honeymoon-A different tale of coasters and fun Pt 1 (long)

As many of you know, I was married a couple weeks ago. For the honeymoon, my very loving wife was ok going with me to the Dells so I could conquer Mt Olympus and Avalanche.

I am going to break this trip report down into a couple parts and highlight areas of fun other than rollercoasters in case you happen to be in any of these areas and need something to do.

The trip started on Monday at 3:00 in the morning. We had a 6 hour trip to the Jelly Belly factory just south of Milwaukee. We arrived at the Jelly Belly factory at around 9:15 and their tours were going every 30 minutes. I would highly recommend this if you are ever in the area.

You walk into the factory and the first thing you notice is a huge Jelly Belly painted on the floor. It looks like a big candy store that has all kinds of different Jelly Belly's to sample and purchase as well as shirts, caps, etc.

Then you walk to what looks like some railroad tracks and then there is a door that leads you into the factory. When you walk in, they had you a paper hat that you have to wear (unless you have a baseball cap). Otherwise, no free Jelly Belly's at the end. You board a train that looks like a big roller coaster car minus the track and then you take about a 30 minute tour of the facility and see how they make Jelly Belly's. At the end of the tour, they give you a free packet of Jelly Belly's and we got a bonus pack of JB'Z chocolate.

After leaving the factory it was off to Milwaukee. We ended up going to the Brewers-Pirates game that night. The ballpark is beautiful, we got some pictures of the field and then the game started. It was a pretty boring game but we were there for 2 things, the infamous Sausage Race and to eat the "cycle". For those who don't know what that is, it is trying to eat a Polish Sausage, Italian Sausage, Hot Dog and Bratwurst all at the same time. My wife and I ended up splitting this as that is alot of food. The 7th inning came and it was time for the Sausage Race. That was fun to watch, if you go to Milwaukee, go to a game just for that. I think the Polish Sausage guy ended up winning. We left after that as the game was boring. The Brewers ended up setting a record that night for most consecutive losses in a row by a NL team (12), but of course the day after we go they would win.

Tuesday we stopped at the Miller Brewery and taking the 1 hour tour (free beer samples). It is amazing how much beer they ship out everyday and also cool to see the conveyor belts with all the bottles and cans and seeing how fast they get put into boxes and shipped out. That night I took my wife to this bar called the Safe House (spy bar). This is a HIGHLY recommended stop in Milwaukee. It is located between two major streets downtown and the only way to get there is to walk. It is like the bar is in a back alley.

Anyway, you walk into the secret entrance and you pay a cover charge. The guy sitting down asks you for the password and if you don't know it, you have to do a trick to get in. Well we didn't know the password (I thought I knew it but was wrong) so we had to walk like Egyptians for 15 seconds. He then let us in through the secret bookcase (Yes a real bookcase opening) You walk in and you see tv's everywhere that show the secret entrance.
What they don't tell you is that inside the bar everyone watches you look like a jackass trying to get inside. We watched other people have to take a hula hoop and get it around 6 people without touching the floor, other people got "frisked and spanked" and one person had to act like a bull while her friend was the matador.

After you get inside, you see tons of spy stuff as well as James Bond/Austin Powers/etc materials. There are pictures of celebrities that have visited (Britney was there). You can then find the secret password in the room with the green ceiling. Sorry can't tell you the password, as a Secret Agent now you are sworn to secrecy. Even the drinks are named after spy characters (we had one called James Bond), there was Agent Q and M and even a Jaws one. Other things to find are a two way mirror and Burt Reynolds in the buff.

This place was too cool, they have a huge piece of the Berlin Wall when it was torn down so that was cool to see. There is so much to see when you are in the bar, when you go to the bathroom, they have real police scanners going and you can hear what is happening in the Milwaukee area.

Well that is the highlight of the 1st two days of the honeymoon. Next report will be how we got suckered into a 3 1/2 hour timeshare gig to get free Mt Olympus tickets.

I live in Milwaukee and didn't even know the Jelly Belly factory was anywhere near here. Can you tell me what city that's in?

I never heard of eatting the cycle, but judging how small the brats are that they give you at the stadium, I don't think it would be that difficult. Did you get the brats with the secret stadium sauce?

As for the Safe House, that is one of my favorite bars in the city. On weeknights they have a really good magician there that serves drinks and does magic tricks and comedy. Some nights they also have blackjack lessons near the UFO bar. Did you leave using the secret exit through the phone booth? I hope you weren't the one that discovered the Burt Reynolds picture as it's in the girls bathroom (or so I've heard ;) ) Of all the places in Milwaukee, that is the one bar that one celebrities tend to stop at (what few celebs that actually visit Milwaukee). On one visit I managed to run into Penn and Teller as they came in to say hi to the magician.

Definately looking forward to hearing what you have to say about Avalanche.

Bob, the factory is in Pleasant Prairie I think, it is about 45 minutes south of Milwaukee, definitely worth the drive.

As far as Burt Reynolds, I didn't look for that, I was just reading the menu card that you got and it had things to look for and those are the ones I can remember. Yes, the magician was there but we couldn't watch as I had the "In Her Majesty's Service" planned for my wife. If you don't know what that is, PM me and I can tell you. It is pretty funny.

As far as the cycle, they are pretty small so it wasn't hard to eat by splitting them, we didn't get the special stadium sauce though, will have to next time we are there.

My friend had the opposite sex version of "In Her Majesty's Service" done when we were there for his bachelor party. They call it "Hail to the Chief". Lots of laughs.

That is correct Bob, my wife was so embarrased when they raised her through the floor, they told her she was getting a cheese shower.

Late to the game here but oh well.

Bob, you live in Southeastern Wisconsin and didn't know about the Jelly Belly factory in Pleasant Prairie?

Heck, it's only about 25 mins from SFGAm.

Here is the link.

If you have small kids, they will love this place. And for adults, Jelly Belly is the best Jelly beans in existence.

I'm in the same boat as Bob, I live about 90 minutes north of SFGam and did not have a clue it was there. But lets just say a trip is alread in the works.

It is a must do for candy lovers, my next trip is to

M & M World in Las Vegas.

M&M World in Vegas rocks! As for Jelly Belly, a trip is also in the works for me.

My wife has been there Bob and she loves it, if you loved the M & M World then you will love the Jelly Belly place. The best part is the free samples that you can try before you buy. Hey you might even get to try their "rookies" like we got to. That would be cool if they came out with those as new candies, we would be part of history (ok not really but still would be something to tell your grandkids)