Midwest travel links for July 2010

Here are a few interesting Midwest-related stories I've read online this past month:

A Visit to Round Island Lighthouse-This little gem of a lighthouse near Michigan's Mackinac Island opens to the public one day each year, so is a special treat when Jennifer shared these photos of her recent visit to the lighthouse with her friend Bree on Bree's Mackinac Island Blog.
The J.W. Wescott II mail boat-A boat with its own Zip Code? Read about it at Sweet Juniper as Jim writes about the Detroit River Post Office aboard the J.W. Wescott II, the only boat in the world dedicated expressly for mail delivery to vessels along the Detroit River.
Cincinnati's Dramatic, Multi-Billion Dollar Riverfront Revitalization Nearly Complete-Urban planner Randy Simes details this Ohio city's riverfront $3 billion transformation from an aging industrial space into an exciting mixed-use district at the Urbanophile. We visited completed components of this revitalization like the Great American Ball Park and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center during our last visit to the city.

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center-1

Milwaukee, A Walker's Paradise-Andrew takes readers on a tour of walkable Milwaukee at Urban Out, checking out some downtown bars, eateries, shopping districts, and residential neighborhoods.
Chicago's Grocery Store in the Sky-Wayne takes us to one of Chicago's most exclusive stores, a grocery store on the 44th floor of the John Hancock building called the Potash Gourmet 44. Visitors must pass a lobby security checkpoint, pass the 44th floor lobby receptionist, and be a building resident (or with a resident) to go shopping there. Or you can enjoy this virtual visit with Wayne.
Wayne County Treasures: The Levi Coffin House-We learned a bit about Levi Coffin and his role in the Underground Railroad in Ohio when we visited the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, so it was especially interesting to me to learn a bit more about his earlier days with the Underground Railroad in Indiana. Check this story by Andrea on the Indiana Insider Blog.
Flint Portraits: Lloyd Copeman-Next time you fill up your glass with ice by flipping ice cubes out of your flexible ice cube tray, you can thank Flint-area inventor Lloyd Copeman. The flexible plastic ice cube tray earned this prolific inventor an astounding $500,000 during the late 1920s. Gordon writes about Copeman and his many inventions at Flint Expatriates.
Jolly Green Giant Statue-Beth and her family visited the big green guy in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Read about their visit to this 55-foot-tall landmark and roadside attraction at The Vacation Gals blog.
Two Miles an Hour-Did you ever wonder what it was like to cross the prairies in a covered wagon? Join Andrea at Horizontal Lines as she takes on a day-long trail ride in northwestern North Dakota to relive her immigrant ancestors' experiences as they settled into a new land.