Midwest travel links for June 2011

Check out some of these great Midwest-related stories I read online during this past month:

• I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Indiana Ice Cream-Last month, I shared a link to a list of Ohio sweet treats. This month, Amy shares some of her favorite sweet treats from the Hoosier State at the Indiana Insider blog.
• My Hometown-Linda remembers getting some of the "biggest, best ice cream cones" for only a quarter in her hometown of Niagara, North Dakota. This fond tour of a small town at Travels with Children reminds readers to slow down and enjoy those road trips because even the tiniest towns have plenty to see and do if you take the time to stop and look around.


Marshall Fredericks' "Star Dream" in Royal Oak, Michigan

• Marshall Fredericks Sculpture Museum, Saginaw, Michigan-Marshall Fredericks had a studio in my own home town of Royal Oak, Michigan, for years, and his "Star Dream" sculpture adorns a water fountain near City Hall here. I've yet to drive up to Saginaw to see this museum, so I appreciated Amy's look at it on The Night Train.
• Traveling in My Backyard: An Ohio Weekend Itinerary-Amanda treats readers to a tour around Sandusky in northwest Ohio at A Dangerous Business. We've visited Marblehead and its beautiful lighthouse many times, but I found plenty of other suggestions here to consider for my next visit to the area.
• Getting in touch with nature in Chicago-Francesca and her family enjoy a day on the farm at Chicago's Green City Market. Eating farm-fresh goodies, petting some goats and posing in front of a big red barn were all part of this family's day in the heart of the big city. Read about it at The Working Mom's Travels blog.
• Book Review: John Gallagher's Reimagining Detroit-I read Gallagher's Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City some time ago, and I've heard Gallagher speak about the book a couple of times. The book is an optimistic, yet honest, assessment of Detroit's possibilities for the future, and I thought Patrick did a good job of reviewing the book and the issues it covered in this story posted at Rustwire: A Voice for Change in the Industrial Midwest.


 Grand Traverse lighthouse, Michigan

• Exploring Michigan's Traverse City Region-I enjoyed Laura's take on some of her favorite spots in the Traverse City region at Donna's My Itchy Travel Feet blog. Laura's list includes many of my favorites like the Old Mission and Grand Traverse lighthouses, the Sleeping Bear Dune climb, the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, Fishtown at Leland and cherry goodies at the Cherry Republic.
• A Family Vacation in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin-Sheri takes her family to a resort in the heart of Wisconsin dairy country. Geocaching via go cart, learning defensive driving skills, checking out the local cheese factory (what trip to Wisconsin would be complete without this?), and just chilling by the lake are all part of the plan in this post at Travel Savvy Mom.
• World's Largest Tiffany Glass Dome, Chicago, IL-I absolutely loved the Chicago Cultural Center and its Tiffany dome, so I was glad to see Julie share that same enthusiasm for this architectural wonder at Traci's Go Big or Go Home blog. Visiting with kids? Julie has a couple of suggestions for making a visit here interesting for your whole family.
• Santa Claus Museum in Santa Claus, Indiana-I've been to Christmas in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but here's another chance to enjoy Christmas in July. Take a trip to Santa Claus, Indiana with Jessica at the Little Indiana blog.
• St. Paul's Wabasha Street Caves: Ghosts and Gangster History-Join Beth to learn about some of the 1930s most notorious gangsters who frequented this chilly cave and look for a few of the ghosts that reportedly haunt this Minnesota hideaway near the Mississippi. Check it out at The Vacation Gals blog.

© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved

Comments

[Donna Hull]

What a great collection of links. I especially enjoyed Linda's nostalgic look at her hometown.

Thanks for including a link to Laura's Michigan guest post at My Itchy Travel Feet. After reading it, I'm ready to book a trip to Traverse City.

[Dominique King]

Donna-

I liked Linda's story a lot as well :)
Laura's story is getting me primed for a visit to the TC area later this summer. We'll check out our usual haunts, and maybe a new (to us) place or two.

[DangerousBiz]

Thanks for the shout-out! Glad you enjoyed my Sandusky post, and even more glad to know I gave you some ideas for your next visit to northwest Ohio!

[Dominique King]

Sandusky seems like a great little town. I do love a lot of the old sandstone buildings there...like the Carnegie Library, which I've written about :)