Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:
Burlington Bees: An Evening at the Ballpark-Connie likes seeing Minor League Baseball games when she travels for some of the same reasons I'm a big supporter of taking in Minor League games when I travel--the ready availability of teams to see in the Midwest and the fact that the games are affordable, family-friendly fun. Her story at Midwest Wanderer shows that her recent experience at a the Burlington Bees' ball park in Iowa to see the team play Grand Rapids Michigan's Whitecaps played out much as our recent visit to see the Indianapolis Indians...the game was a rain-out, but we had a great time anyway!
Navy Pier Ferris Wheel to be Replaced with Bigger, More Modern Version-I loved the huge Ferris Wheel on Chicago's Navy Pier, and it seems so iconic that I found it surprising to learn that the city plans to replace it with a taller and more luxurious ride (can you say year-round climate-controlled gondolas? Check it out at the Chicago Architecture Blog.
10 tourist traps to love-Speaking of iconic sites like Navy Pier with its Ferries Wheel, this list includes the pier and Ferries Wheel, as well as nine other must-see quirky Midwest sites. I've seen several places on this list like South Dakota's Corn Palace, Michigan's Mackinac Island and the Michigan Upper Peninsula site that fully embraces its identity as a tourist trap, Da Yoopers Tourist Trap and Museum. Check out Beth's story at the Midwest Weekends blog.
No Wonder Birds Flock to Gene Stratton-Porter's Limberlost Cabin-Looking for something a little more educationally inclined? Gene Stratton-Porter is an Indiana author, photographer and naturalist who enjoyed immense popularity during the early 20th century. We've visited Gene Stratton-Porter's "cabin" near Rome City, Indiana, and Limberlost (also in northern Indiana) appears like it has many of the same sort of construction details, gardens and nature-friendly features that distinguish the Limberlost North home we saw. Check out Betsy's story about Limberlost at the beesfirstappearance blog.
Visiting the Mankato Minnesota Houses Where Betsy and Tacy Lived-The Maud Hart Lovelace penned series of books about Betsy, Tacy and Tib were another childhood favorite for me, and I'd love to visit the Mankato, Minnesota area where these stories based on the author's life at the turn of the twentieth century happened. Check out Terri's story at the Off the Beaten Page Travel to learn more about these books and the stories behind them.
Positively Classic Cars-Where can classic car fans can check out unique vintage vehicles like a legendary Tucker, the infamous Edsel, a classy Auburn, the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car or something that looks suspiciously like the car Jed and Granny Clampett drove during the 1960s camp-classic television show, The Beverly Hillbillies? Check out Maureen's story about the Classic Car Show at Oakbrook in Chicago, Illinois to find out more!
Lighthouses of Door County-I've visited many lighthouses along the eastern side of Lake Michigan, but I've yet to explore as many of the light stations along the lake's western shore in Wisconsin. Beth offers a nice list of Wisconsin lights I'd love to see! Check out her story at the Midwest Weekends blog.
13 Fascinating Facts about Michigan City and the Old Lighthouse-Some folks are surprised to find that Indiana has a lighthouse, but Indian's scant 45-miles of Great Lakes coastline is home to a very nice pier head lighthouse and a lighthouse museum housed in the old keepers' residence. I've always loved this light and the story of Harriet Colfax who served as the keeper here for an amazing 43 years! Check out Connie' story about the light, Harriet and more at the Midwest Wanderer blog.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Brandywine, Blue Hen and Buttermilk Waterfalls-We've been to this park a couple of times and enjoyed visiting the park's Brandywine Falls, but we've yet to visit Blue Hen or Buttermilk Falls. Thanks to Bob's story on TrekOhio, I can get a glimpse of those two cascades and make plans to make the trek out the them next time we're at the park!
Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive (Or "How to do Sleeping Bear Dunes without wanting to die a billion times.")-So, I think nearly every Michigander does the dune climb at least once, but as Sally encouragingly points out, it's much easier to get to the top of the dunes by taking this scenic drive. Check out her story at the Unbrave Girl blog.
Torchbearers Detroit trip finds a city on the upswing-We're hearing a lot of positive things about Detroit these days, and it's a welcome change from the diet of doom and gloom and ruin porn photos that seemed to dominate the media just a few years ago. Check out this story by Michael and Christa about a group of young visitors who found a lot to like in the Motor City. Check it out at the akronist.com blog.
That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?
Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!
© Dominique King 2015 All rights reserved
Comments