Midwest Guest

Midwest travel links for September 2012

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

• In Response to Matthew Power's GQ Article on ArtPrize-We love Grand Rapids' (Michigan) ArtPrize and enjoyed Tim's thoughtful response to Power's critical take on this west Michigan art competition at his Great Lake Guru blog.
  
  
  2011 ArtPrize finalist, "Rusty" by Ritch Branstrom
• Roller Derby-I remember watching roller derby on late-night television long ago. I became curious about the sport again as I noticed the resurgence of women's roller derby in recent years, and I became even more curious about the sport when I discovered that my hairdresser was a member of a local roller derby team. Hayley's story about roller derby at The Awesome Mitten blog is fun, and I suspect I'll have to check it out soon!

• Exploring the Merry-Go-Round Museum (Sandusky, Ohio)-Speaking of things that go 'round and 'round, Justin posts a fun story about this museum dedicated to carousels at his InACents blog. We've seen this building a few times, but haven't had a chance to visit it yet. Given my affection for carousels, this is a place that is on my list for sure!

• Family Vacation in Dubuque, Iowa-Julie files this report at Road Trips for Families filled with some great ideas for planning your trip to Dubuque. Riding the little Fenelon Place Elevator, a short and scenic railway, looks like fun to me.

• Experiencing Pinconning Cheese-It's easy to take Pinconning cheese for granted as it's always readily available in the grocery stores here in metro Detroit, but Nicole gave me a new appreciation for this Michigan treat with her story on her Arrows Sent Forth blog.

• Looking for something spooky? Old Hendricks County Jail awaits-Ericka takes us on a tour of this spooky Danville, Indiana landmark at Hendricks County's All Access blog. What's the spookiest thing about this place? In my opinion, it would be the rumor that the notorious killer Charles Manson spent a wee bit of time here in the 1950s!

• CLE Reads: Harvey Pekar's Cleveland-Amanda reviews Harvey Pekar's Cleveland at Clue into Cleveland, giving readers a sense of Pekar's life, work and why he was such an integral part of the Cleveland scene. I remember seeing the episode of Anthony Bordain's show featuring Pekar and think it, as well as the book, are well worth your time.

• Cincinnati, OH: Flying Pigs, Fountain Square, Purple People Bridge-Check out Adam's story about his family's recent visit to Cincinnati on his Visit Flyover Country blog. Adam found the city very walkable, as we did when we visited there, walking from Ohio to Kentucky via one of Cincinnati's many bridges over the Ohio River.
  
  
  Fountain Square detail
• Five downtown Chicago attractions worth seeing-Pola takes readers of her Jetting Around blog on a tour of downtown Chicago, and includes some of my favorite attractions in that city like Millennium Park and The Art Institute of Chicago.

• Chicago Avenue Water Tower and Pumping Station-We stumbled across this magnificent water tower building when shopping in Chicago. The crew at the designslinger blog post this story about the history of this nineteenth-century "castle", along with some really great images of the building.
• Trace your Indiana Roots-I first became aware of Indiana's Allen County genealogical resources when researching a story online, so I enjoyed reading about Emily's experiences there researching her own family tree at the Indiana Insider blog.

© Dominique King 2012 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for May 2012

I found a lot of great Midwest-related stories online during this past month, making it particularly difficult to keep my list to a dozen this time!

• El Gran Midwest Viaje-Author Stephanie Elizondo shares her Iowa road trip adventure at Around the Blog, visiting places like the Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum and Library, the ball field from the Kevin Costner "Field of Dreams" flick and Dubuque's Museum of Arts while sampling some Iowan cuisine and visiting a couple of indie bookstores.
• Prairie Avenue Bookshop Lives on as Art-I fell in love with Chicago's Prairie Avenue Bookshop when we found it several years ago, only to find that my first visit there would be my last visit ever. The architecture book store was one of just a few left in the country when it closed in 2009, but The Chicago Architecture Blog recently reported that Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates purchased the store's stock and used it to create a unique public archive on the city's south side. This article also links to John's report, Theaster Gates and the Prairie Avenue Bookshop Archive, on A Daily Dose of Architecture blog.
  
  
  
  Prairie Avenue Bookshop in 2009 (above)
  
• See Chicago Like Ferris Bueller-Need suggestions for an itinerary next time you visit Chicago? Follow Ferris Bueller's footsteps with Amanda at Film & Travel and check out many of the sites featured in this classic John Hughes flick featuring actor Matthew Broderick.

• Chicago's Top Ten Accessible and Economical Summer Hotspots-Check out Michell's post at TravelinWheels for some great ideas for your next Chicago visit, along with tips about parking, public transit and other information geared to assist travelers with disabilities.

• Happy Gwen Frostic Day!-A visit to author and artist Gwen Frostic's studio and store has always been a "must" when I visit Benzie County, Michigan (about a half hour from Traverse City). Gwen is gone now, but her artistry and words live on at her studio, and I was surprised to learn that May 23 is actually a designated as Gwen Frostic Day in Michigan. Check that story out at Michigan in Pictures.
  
  
  
• 12 Lesser-Known Michigan Inventions and Celebrities- What do Buster Keaton, Gumby, the "real McCoy" and Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers all have in common? Tim has the answer to this question at Great Lakes Guru with a fun list of people and places sharing a Michigan connection.

• Detroit history in Washington, D.C.: Alexander Macomb-Amy has a knack for uncovering stories about Michigan's fascinating history in the most unexpected places. Check out her story about Alexander Macomb, a War of 1812 hero and namesake for the metro Detroit county immediately east of my home. Check it out at The Night Train.

• Pavek Museum of Broadcasting in St. Louis Park, Minnesota-Linda takes readers of her Travels with Children blog on a visit to this fun museum where her family played a Theremin, competed in a quiz show, and created their own radio show in the museum's radio studio.

• Cleveland: Up-top Terminal Tower-I love seeing sites from a birds-eye view and taking photos from those high vantage points. Click on over to The Adventures of the elatlboy to check out Aaron's great shots of Cleveland, Ohio, taken from atop the city's historic Terminal Tower skyscraper.

• The Pictured Rocks Expert - An Interview with Bill Thompson-What is the best way to explore Michigan's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore? Jesse's interviews local sports expert, Bill, who shares some great tips about kayaking, snowshoeing, camping, hiking, ice climbing and other unique ways to explore this beautiful area along Lake Superior at Things to do in the U.P.



Cedar Falls, Hocking Hills State Park
• Old Man's Cave-Hocking Hills State Park-We love Ohio's Hocking Hills area, and I enjoyed Raji's photo essay about Old Man's Cave at her Travelog. Raji's images of Hocking Hills State Park taken on a rainy day show the landscape's lush greens and velvety texture of the waterfalls to especially stunning effect.

© Dominique King 2012 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for May 2011

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

• Ohio: The Ice Cream Capital of the Universe-As you can tell from the title of this post at Discovering Ohio, Joe is pretty enthusiastic about the state’s ice cream offerings. We stopped for a pecan-topped sundae at Taggart’s Ice Cream Parlor in Canton, Ohio, last month, and I’d suggest it as a worthy addition to Joe’s list.
  
  
  The Bittner sundae at Taggart's
  
• Riding on Square Wheels-A tricycle with square wheels? Mathematics students in Wisconsin developed such a contraption in 2007, and Ivars tells readers at The Mathematical Tourist about a surprisingly smooth ride he took on a square-wheeled trike in St. Paul, Minnesota.
• Grant Wood Studio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa-Artist Grant Wood’s American Gothic is one of the most recognizable pieces of American art and holds a certain fascination for many of us in the Midwest. Join Linda and her family at Travels with Children as they check the studio where Wood created the iconic painting.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art-We’ve visited Cleveland’s Museum of Art a couple of times during recent years for special exhibitions, when only a few galleries remained open during the museum’s ongoing renovation and expansion. I enjoyed this update on the museum’s renovation at What Locals Like About Cleveland Plus and look forward to visiting again now that more of the galleries are regularly open to visitors.
• Milwaukee Art Museum-I love unusual architecture, and I especially appreciated this look at Milwaukee’s museum with this set of photos taken by Carl for Life in the Great Midwest.
• Top 5 Things to Do and See in Chicago-Visiting Chicago? Check out this list of must-see places from Chicago native Rosalind at Farsighted Fly Girl. She and I agree that the Chicago Cultural Center is a must-see when visiting the city.


Tiffany dome detail from Chicago Cultural Center


• Indiana Wind Farms: Wind Turbines-I see a lot of farms when I’m traveling, especially in Michigan’s Thumb region. I enjoyed learning more about these giant turbines in this story at Little Indiana where Jessica interviews her husband Jeremiah (who she describes as a former “wind farm whisperer”).
• Ways to Enjoy Indiana State Parks-Annual park passes or museum memberships have to be one of the best buys for travelers exploring their own state or region. Nicole tells readers at the Indiana Insider why her annual state park pass is a great investment for her family.
• Celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Detroit-Charlie checks out Detroit’s colorful celebration of its 47^th annual Cinco de Mayo parade at Bikes, Books & A Little Music.
• Detroit People Mover: In Honour of Mary Chase Stratton by Pewabic Pottery-Some of Detroit’s most stunning and fascinating public art installations are in the stations along its downtown People Mover route. Check out the beautiful tile work at the Cadillac Center in this post at Visualingual.

© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for April

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

• Belle Isle Boat Club: A Quick Tour-I've been to Detroit's Belle Isle a number of times, but I've yet to see the inside of the Belle Isle Boat Club. Fortunately, Charlie found the building open during one of his two-wheeled explorations of the city and scored an invitation to take a quick tour inside! See photos and read Charlie's thoughts about this Detroit gem at Bikes, Books & A Little Music.

• Wabash, Indiana Homes: Architecturally Awesome-Check out Jessica's collection of photos of Wabash's Victorian-era homes at her Little Indiana blog. Jessica also has a couple of posts about Indiana's covered bridges this past month, featuring bridges in Roann and Dane.

• Stark County, Ohio's Connection to the Octagonal Era of Round Barn Construction-I always enjoyed spotting some of Ohio's remaining bicentennial barns when traveling the state, and I've got an upcoming story about one of Michigan's octagonal barns. Anthony tells readers a bit about octagonal barn construction and shares some great photos of an Ohio example in his Stark County, Ohio, News and Views blog.


Ohio Bicentennial barn, Ottawa County 

• Spend a Day in Dubuque, Iowa-Read about how Linda and her family spent time in Dubuque as she shares highlights of their visit to this Iowa city along the Mississippi River at Travels with Children.
• Better Know a State Park-Amy visits the John A. Latsch State Park near Winona, Minnesota at A closer look at flyover land. I particularly enjoyed her photos of the stunning view of the Mississippi River and Highway 61 from the top of the park's Charity Bluff.
• The Boyhood Home of James Arness-Fans of the old Gunsmoke television know it was set in Kansas, but the star of the show had roots in Minnesota. This story at the Nokohaha blog tells readers a bit about the Minneapolis childhood of actor James Arness (and his brother, actor Peter Graves), plus a photo of his boyhood home.
• Our Place in Time: Bring the Past to Life by Tracing Your Genealogy in Historic Kirtland-One of my cousins spent a lot of time researching our family's lineage, and I remember her traveling to Salt Lake City to do research. Keith tells readers about the Kirtland Family History Center at the What Locals Like About Cleveland Plus blog. Genealogists can study at this Ohio research facility in the Kirtland LDS Church and access records from around the world.
• Historic Cleveland: Where Would You Take a Visitor?-We search out interesting historic sites when we travel, and we've enjoyed visiting sites mentioned in this post like the Garfield Monument in Lake View Cemetery and Cleveland's fabulous West Side Market. I'll be interested to see what other sites Christopher highlights in the follow up to this post at the Cleveland Area History blog.


West Side Market, Cleveland

• Insider's Perspective: Joe Eszterhas, Author-Hollywood writer Joe Eszterhas (creative mind behind such stories as Flashdance, Basic Instinct and, well, Showgirls) may have been born in Hungary, but he lives in Cleveland, Ohio, where he moved with his family when we was very young. Jeff talks with Joe for What Locals Like About Cleveland Plus about some of his favorite Cleveland places, music and how living in Cleveland influences his writing.

• Ohio's Geographic Advantages-I thought about some recent stories I've written about Ohio's canal history when I read Aaron's thoughts about Ohio's advantageous location along major cross-country routes at the Urbanophile blog. As always, Aaron posts a thoughtful article, but the many comments on his blog are often fascinating food for thought as well.

 

© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved

 

Midwest travel links for March

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

• Baseball's First Opening Day-Catch this story at Cleveland Area History about the first major league baseball game. Cleveland Ohio's Forest City team and Indiana's Fort Wayne Kekiongas became the first baseball teams to play in a major league game on March 17, 1871, with the Cleveland team falling 2-0 to the Kekiongas at Fort Wayne.

  
  
  Toledo Mud Hens' ball field in Toledo, Ohio
  

• Civic Iconography Done Right: Chicago's City Flag-Aaron writes about Chicago's brilliant use of their flag as an iconic symbol to strengthen the city's visual identity at the Urbanophile blog.  You'll find this readily recognizable civic symbol everywhere in Chicago--flying in front of city and commercial buildings and displayed as a logo on everything from city police cars to tattoos on a local bartender's arm.

• Millennium & Grant Park-I loved reading this story at the designslinger blog about how Chicago's Millennium Park evolved out of an effort to clean up the lake front after Chicago's devastating fire in 1871 and how the original Frederick Law Olmsted plan for a grand park became even grander as famed architects Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett expanded on Olmsted's ideas and incorporated elements of the City Beautiful Movement into its design.

• Gambling? No.-Stop by The Night Train to wish Amy well as she plans her wedding at the beautiful Casino building on Detroit's Belle Isle. Amy tells us that Frederick Law Olmsted, a champion of the City Beautiful Movement, planned most of Belle Isle, although the city rejected his plan for a sheltered promenade. His son later suggested that the casino building include some of the features of the promenade originally suggested by his father.





• Raise a Glass on 313: National Vernors Day-Kath writes about this day dedicated to Detroit's own "deliciously different" soft drink at Great Lakes Gazette. Detroit area ex-pats often go to great lengths to satisfy their craving for Vernors if they can't find it where they live, and I used to carefully pack and ship 12-packs of the pop (yes, it's "pop", not "soda") to my cousin in California until she finally found a local source for Vernors. Ask any Detroiter--if it's not Vernors, it's not real ginger ale.

• The Oldest Ford Plant Still in Operation-I recently saw a presentation a local history conference by a group seeking to preserve portions of the historic Ford plant in Highland Park, Michigan, which pioneered modern mass production with the first continuously moving assembly line in 1913. Ford closed down operations at the Highland Park plant years ago, but check out this story at the Nokohaha blog about a 1924-vintage Ford factory in St. Paul, Minnesota, that now holds the distinction of being the oldest Ford plant still operating.

• Bridges of Madison County (and beyond)-I enjoyed Linda's story about visiting Iowa's famed Bridges of Madison County at Travels with Children. She also includes a few other useful links for finding covered bridges in the Midwest.

  
  
  Pointing the way to covered bridges in Ashtabula, Ohio
  

• Monkey Business in Rockford, Illinois-I always wanted a sock monkey as a kid (in fact, I still do!), but maybe I just need to visit Nelson the world's largest sock monkey in Rockford. Julie writes about her visit with Nelson at the Midway Village Museum and other Rockford attractions at Road Trips for Families.

• Musings on Museums-Amy writes about visiting one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood homes in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, at A Closer Look at Flyover Land. She found the museum there a little disappointing, but advises that fans of Laura's books will find the Ingalls family dugout home site well worth the stop.

• Keeping the Union (and Ohio's Civil War History) Alive-It was all in the family for Kyle Yoho as he grew up the only child of parents who shared their love of historical re-enactments with him. The 21-year-old still travels the country as a member of one of Ohio's most active Civil War re-enactment groups and shares his thoughts with Discovering Ohio's Ashley about why young people continue to enjoy the hobby as we move into celebrations of the Civil War Sesquicentennial.

© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for January 2011

Here are some great Midwest-related stories I read online during the past month:

• Gooseberries on ice and Ice caves of the Apostles-Folks in the northern Midwest know how to embrace the season and find plenty of winter fun. We've visited Minnesota's Gooseberry Falls State Park and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin during past summers, but after reading these stories at Midwest Weekends, I really hope we can eventually visit these places during the wintertime.

• Minneapolis Millers Hockey-Regular Midwest Guest readers know that I love hockey and minor league sports, so it should be no surprise that I enjoyed this nostalgic look at minor league hockey in Minneapolis (with cool vintage photos) at the Nokohaha blog.

• Museums Galore: Discover the Unexpected Arts + Culture of Cleveland Plus!-Being outdoors in the cold weather isn't your thing? Check out some great museums. We visit Cleveland fairly often and we've been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art, but I found quite a few places that sound interesting for future visits on this list of the city's lesser known museums at What Locals Like About Cleveland Plus: An Insider's Look at the Lake Erie City.





• Next Stop, Cleveland!-Matt recently took his family to Cleveland where they enjoyed some of my favorite places there, including the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Check out Matt's story at Road Trips for Families.

• Where The Honk of the Motor Horn is Heard-We visited the North American International Auto Show in Detroit early last month, and I will post some photos from that visit later. Meanwhile, I got a charge out of the vintage photos and story of the beginnings of Detroit's famed auto show at Belle Isle Home. Check out the early electric car!



2011 North American International Auto Show


• Yes There Are Grocery Stores in Detroit-It annoys James that visiting journalists continue to spread falsehoods about Detroit like the untruth that there are no grocery stores in the city. I linked to a story James previously published about a third-generation, family-owned market in the city on his Sweet Juniper blog, and I enjoyed his most recent debunking of the Detroit-has-no-grocery-stores myth hosted at the Urbanophile: Passionate About Cities blog.

• Stop Treating My City Like the Fat Kid in Gym Class-Check out Jen's equally passionate debunking of media myths about Flint, Michigan, on the University of Michigan-Flint's University Relations blog. Jen's list of Flint's positive features includes its well regarded farmers market, which is on my list of places to visit soon.

• Landmark for Peace: A tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy-Nicole writes about one of her favorite Indianapolis landmarks at the Indiana Insider Blog. The Landmark for Peace Memorial in Martin Luther King Jr. Park honors King and commemorates a speech Kennedy gave in Indianapolis on the night of King's assassination stressing the importance of honoring King by continuing to carry on his life's work.

• Good Food: Iowa's Maid Rite-Road food is a favorite topic among travelers, and it's always fun to check out some of the best in regional eats as you travel. Linda checks out a classic Maid Rite diner and its loose meat sandwiches along the Lincoln Highway in Iowa. Yup, I thought of The Lanford Lunch Box, the loose meat sandwich restaurant Roseanne owned in her television show, too!

© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for November 2010

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

• Art Deco Landmark: Guardian Building-Kirsten Alana managed to drag in her heavy camera equipment (normally prohibited) and dodge security guards to capture these fantastic images of a real Art Deco gem in Detroit, Michigan. It's very difficult to capture the beauty of the Guardian Building with a hand-held camera, so my own shots never pleased me, but Kirsten's images really do capture much of the colorful grandeur of the classic building.
• Roebling's Last Gleaming-I fell in love with the Roebling Bridge when I first spotted it during a visit to Cincinnati. I became even more fascinated with the span after reading more about it and its link to the Brooklyn Bridge. Needless to say, I totally fell in love with Gordon Bombay's story from the Queen City Discovery blog and his stunning photos from atop the Roebling Bridge.



• Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky-Aaron, the voice behind The Adventures of the elatlboy, takes us on a tour of his favorite stops in this area along the Ohio River in Ohio and Kentucky. Just the mention of stopping at Skyline Chili makes me hungry!
• Halo Burger: Past, Present and Future-Bernard checks out this Flint, Michigan, classic (I love the olive burgers at Halo!) at the Flint Expatriates blog. He chats with the local chain's long-time owner and wonders if new generations of Flint residents will be able to enjoy the beloved burger as a new owner takes over the operation.



• Can I get that with a side of jet engine?-I remember when going to the airport to watch planes take off and land was a cheap date, so I enjoyed this post from Nicole at Arrows Sent Forth about visiting Hanger 5 in Columbus, Indiana, with her son. Mom and son enjoyed lunch while watching planes land and take off from a window by their restaurant booth. Can't think of many places you can do that in these days of heightened security concerns and theater!
• A Prairie Home Celebration-Minnesota photographer Valerie Jardin shares her photos and story about the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul at Travel Between the Pages. The theater, which celebrates its centennial this year, is home to Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" and earned a spot on the National Registry of Historic Places in August of this year.
• 50 Reasons to love Minneapolis/St. Paul-the staff at City Pages put together this eclectic list of Twin City favorites to remind residents of why they love their towns as they hunker down for yet another winter.
• Pikes Peak State Park, McGregor, Iowa-Linda takes us to Pikes Peak at Travels with Children. No, it's not the famous mountain in Colorado. This Pikes Peak in Iowa predates Colorado's Pikes Peak, but both bear the name of explorer Zebulon Pike. He visited the bluff named for him in the Iowa park that overlooks the Mississippi River as he traveled westward.

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved