Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GREAT LAKES IN…
Five Days
Spend the first two days in
Chicago
. On your third day, make the 1½-hour trip to
Milwaukee
for culture, both high- and lowbrow. Take the ferry over to Michigan and
spend your fourth day beaching in
Saugatuck
. Circle back via
Indiana Dunes
or
In-
diana's Amish Country
.
Ten Days
After two days in
Chicago
, on day three make for
Madison
and its surrounding
quirky sights. Spend your fourth and fifth days at the
Apostle Islands
, and then
head into the Upper Peninsula to visit
Marquette
and
Pictured Rocks
for a few
days, followed by
Sleeping Bear Dunes
and the wineries around
Traverse City
.
Return via the galleries, pies and beaches of
Saugatuck
.
Local Culture
The Great Lakes region - aka the Midwest - is the USA's solid, sensible heartland. It's
no surprise that novelist Ernest Hemingway hailed from this part of the country, where
words are seldom wasted.
If the Midwest had a mantra, it might be to work hard, go to church and stick to the
straight and narrow…unless there's a sports game happening, and then it's OK to slather
on the body paint and dye your hair purple (or whatever team colors dictate). Baseball,
football, basketball and ice hockey are all hugely popular, with the big cities sponsoring
pro teams for each sport.
Music has always been a big part of local culture. Muddy Waters and Chess Records
spawned the electric blues in Chicago. Motown Records started the soul sound in
Detroit. Alt rock shakes both cities (think Wilco in Chicago, White Stripes in Detroit)
and has also come out of Minneapolis (the Replacements, Hüsker Dü) and Dayton, Ohio
(Guided By Voices, the Breeders).
The region is more diverse than outsiders might expect. Immigrants from Mexico,
Africa, the Middle East and Asia have established communities throughout the Midwest,
mostly in the cities, where they are making welcomed contributions, especially to local
dining scenes.
