Midwest travel links for December 2009

Check out some of these Midwest-related blog posts from other writers I've enjoyed as we bid 2009 adieu:

• A Transformative Trip to Hocking Hills-We love visiting the Hocking Hills area in Ohio, and while autumn is long past at this point, these photos from Kristen were just too amazing not to include on this list of links.

• Following Foodie: Columbus, OH-We've driven through Columbus a few times on the way to, or from, Hocking Hills. Hockey? A great bookstore? Good eats? I'm thinking should check out some of Jessica's suggestions next time we're down that way and make a couple of stops in Columbus!

• Cleveland? A Whole Lotta Love for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-I've visited the R&R HOF+Museum many times (I've had a charter membership to the museum since before it opened), so it was a lot of fun to read what Wandering Educators' Julie thought about her first visit to the museum.

• Christmas Delights in Frankenmuth-This Bavarian-theme Michigan town, home the incomparable Bronners Christmas Wonderland and the subject of Laura's story for Moon Travel Guides' blog (thanks for the shout out to Midwest Guest, Laura!).





• The Guardian Building: Detroit's Beauty-Take a tour of one of Detroit's Art Deco-style gems. Detroit Moxie's Becks takes us on a tour of The Guardian Building, built for a banking company in 1929, and includes photos of many of the building's grand architectural details. I know this tour will be on our calendar of things to do in 2010!

• Santa and the Ren Cen: Tour the Best of Detroit- The sleek and modern Renaissance Center, like the venerable Guardian Building, offers free building tours. Join Jackie and her son at Free is my Life as they tour another Detroit landmark and visit Santa.

• Old Main and Wayne State University-Visit Michigan's only urban research university (and my alma mater), Wayne State University in Detroit, at the Michigan in Pictures site. Old Main, built in 1894, looks pretty magnificent here-it would make a great postcard! Be sure to click on the slide show link for more great architectural photos on Wayne's campus.

• Chicago: Comparison + Opinion-This Build Blog article is a great comparison between the new addition at the Art Institute of Chicago by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and the Pritzker Pavilion by Gehry Partners. While Frank Gehry's design of the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, wowed me, I found his Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago far less impressive. Interesting to see that the team at this architectural firm in Seattle, Washington, seemed to share my opinion about these Chicago landmarks.





• Minnesota Tourism's Top 20 Wackiest Requests-Check out this fun post at eJourna where Ron shares some of the strangest requests for information received by folks fielding questions at Explore Minnesota's call-in and state highway travel information centers. Queries about snowmobile rentals in July and whale watching tours in Minnesota are only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

• North Dakota's Enchanted Highway-This state seems to corner the market on Big Things. Linda finds more out-sized roadside attractions along this stretch of highway between Regent and Gladstone, North Dakota. This group of outdoor metal sculptures lures travelers away from the I-94 expressway to explore some of the state's small towns.  

© Dominique 2010 All rights reserved

Comments

[Linda]

Thanks for including me in this excellent list of links. I'm off to read some of the others!

[Dominique King]

Linda-Hope you find something interesting on this list. I found some great stories this month :)

[Becks Davis]

I'll echo Linda and say thanks for including me. Plus I have lots of reading ahead of me to check out all the others.

Very interested to read all of them but the 20 wacky requests, Cleveland, and the Wayne State one are calling out to me!

[Andrew]

Great links, especially like the Hocking Hills - amazing photos.

[Dominique King]

Becks-I had to include the Wayne State link...it was great to see Old Main looking so good as it was in pretty dismal shape when I went to school at WSU (no one wanted to have a class in Old Main at that point or get that station for your fundraising bagel sale--I did both). Last time I was in the building, they'd done a lot of work on it and it was really pretty nice.

Andrew-Thanks for stopping by. I love cool architecture and like to write about some of the buildings/structures I see on my travels. I really enjoyed reading your site's take on the museum and the pavilion in Chicago.

[Craig Zabransky]

Great to see Kirsten's blog make the list. Hocking Hills was a true surprise in so many ways. Who knew?

stay adventurous,
Craig

[Sharon G.]

Wow, what fabulous photos! I especially loved the "fiery lantern" shot. It really takes your breath away.

Sharon

[Dominique King]

Craig-We've been down to the Hocking Hills area a few times, and we've never been disappointed. Great place to go and just chill, be outside, and enjoy some really beautiful scenery.

Sharon-Frankenmuth is fun. My parents just went up there this past weekend, and my dad was saying that the outdoor holiday light display was particularly nice.

[Ron]

Dominique, thanks for including eJourna in your list! We're flattered and very appreciative!

[Dominique King]

Ron-I love putting together these monthly lists as I find so many other cool blogs with articles about the Midwest.
I enjoy reading eJourna and thought people would enjoy your post about the crazy MN questions. Thanks for writing it!