travel ideas?

[linda/IL]

Just wondering if any of you midwesterners can guide me in a short vacation trip for us.  Keep in mind we are babies at this.  LOL  Thought about Door County Wis.-have always been interested about it and many have been there but as I look at the site it seems really "touristy".  Not sure if DH will like that although he would probably enjoy seeing the nature sites of an area.  Not a lot of time left in the season to do a lot that sometimes come to mind such as a longer trip out west. 

We still have our reservations to World Dairy Expo in Madison the first part of Oct.  I'm REALLY dragging my feet on that one.  I can do a day maybe but I'm afraid I'll get really depressed about it not being our life anymore if we do the 3 days we usually go.   Would really rather do at least one of the days to veer off the beaten track for some other diversion.  Any ideas?  Thanks in advance.

[lawinkle]

A few of our favorite miwest destinations.....Nauvoo IL has great history, food and culture related to Mormonism, Hannibal MO for Mark Twain, Branson MO, Mackinac Island and the Upper Peninsula in MI, the Wisconsin Dells, the Amana Colonies in Iowa...let me ask Ed if he has any to add....back in a flash....lolol

[lawinkle]

Brown County Indiana, Mammoth Caves in IN, Lincoln Trail, Put-in-Bay and Kellys Island on Lake Erie in Ohio...

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

Wisconsin Dells, Galena, Dubuque, Little Brown Church in the Vale at Nashua, Spillville, IA where Dvorak spent a summer and there is a clock collection, Sweeney's house of clocks in Waukon, IA.

[linda/IL]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm going to look some of these up. One place we go every year is New Glarus WI. Small Swiss heritage town, great food, and beautiful country. There are many other areas of interest nearby. Oh and there's a fantastic brewery there- looks like a castle. We've just been there so many years they know us by name.

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

Ho, ho, ho.  As soon as you got to New Glaris you could have saved the rest of the discussion.  Swiss heritage town, right.  Great food, you bet.  Beautiful country, of course.  Areas of interest nearby, how culturally stimulating.

My doctor daughter in Denver ordered my wife to go up and get them three cases of beer to take out this very day.  Along with some of our local bacon and chops and my wife's very own genuine brought from Germany recipe for the best brats you've eaten west of the Rhine.

Know you by name, eh?  Do you yodel pretty good after you've been in the "garden" for a while?

Ho, ho, ho.

[linda/IL]

No on the yodeling. Two of our classmates living in WI planned our 35th reunion. Weekend in New Glarus. Got the invite week we returned from there. LOL. There was a special performance of yodeling, jokes, alphorn & singing. Best reunion yet. DH & I decided all that polkaing & those steep hills make those Swiss a hardy bunch.

[Ruby Lou]

We are alike!  We always stopp at Hannibal for the antiquing when we are coming back from Branson.  We really like Branson. The shows are really great, but we do like to take drives and go out on the lake too for a laid back day.  Michigan is another favorite of ours too.  Taquanemon Falls in the UP.  (my co-worker went there this summer) The lower falls were too flooded to row across though.  Door County, Washington Island was pretty awesome too.    This weekend we ventured to Balltown to eat at Brietbach's and then drove on north to the Cassville Ferry. The Cassville Ferry from the Iowa side is down a "dirt" path, I am sure it is flood plain grown up with willows!  The Wisconsin side is Cassville, Wisconsin with the Stonefield Agriculture museum/village.  I loved the ferry ride. Only $15 to get from one side to the other...a short trip down the Mississippi river.  From there we went on to our daughter's house just a few miles from Dubuque.  There was a tractor cade going on on the Iowa side and it looks like they were going to do the ferry too as there were trailers parked on the Wisconsin side. There is a ferry from Door County to Washington Island too, but it is quite a bit longer than the Cassville ferry!

[Suey73]

Places my college friends have gotten together for our annual get togethers.  Amma colonies,  Milwalkee, Wisconsin Dells,(one had a cabin there on a little lake), Dubuque, Springfield, IL,  Chicago,  Minneapolis.   We are still looking at:  Hannibal MO, St. Louis, Door County,  Bridges of Madison County.   If you have not been to the Lincoln Museum it is a MUST see. 

They keep wanting to go on a cruise or visit friend's dad in Myrtle Beach SC.   I really do not want to do either.   Kay,  if they ever decide to go to SC  I might try for a break from:  golf, beaches, and such for a trip to see a hog friend.   How far are you from Mrytle Beach?  they say the setting for North and South Series is not far from there too.    I told them I'd rather vaccinate pigs and powerwash than go to a  "spa" .   I figure I might have to go shopping all day if they ever do decide on that one.  I don't want people touching me!