For the fourth month of my travel challenge I decided to road trip through the fly-over states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Being from Minnesota, I had spent some time in Wisconsin previously. Additionally, I had made a brief stop in Illinois a few years prior, long enough to snap a selfie anyway, and had technically just been to Michigan (Isle Royale) the previous month. However, I had never stepped foot on Indiana soil, never spent any real time in Illinois, and never been to the mainland of Michigan. So, when I saw one of my favorite musicians, Parker McCollum, was playing in Michigan, I decided to map out a road trip. With Grand Rapids, MI being the final destination, I coerced my dad into being the co-pilot on this trip. When I picked him up near his home in Menomonie, WI and his first question was “how many ponchos should I bring?” I wondered what I’d gotten myself into. All in all, we had a successful long weekend visiting some neighboring states!
Our first full day of the road trip was a beautiful Friday in October. I putzed around the town of Eau Claire, WI (meaning got coffee) as my dad is not the early riser that I am. Then we headed south. Aside from gas stations, our one notable stop in WI was to drive through the town of Wisconsin Dells. The Dells is a big deal in WI. Full of theme parks and entertainment centers, Wisconsin Dells has something for everyone as it also lies along the Wisconsin River and has numerous nature trails and camping options. We didn’t have much time to spend in The Dells, but we took some pictures with Transformers before headed back on the road, our final stop for the night to be Chicago, IL. As seamless as the day of driving had been TO Chicago getting THROUGH Chicago was equally unseamless (not sure what the opposite of seamless is?). It took us an hour to go exactly 14 miles. For a girl from a one stoplight town, it felt brutal. BUT, sitting in traffic staring at the city skyline there was a rainbow, so I took it as a good omen. We checked into our motel, the Ohio House, around 5:00PM and walked directly across the street to a restaurant with a neon sign advertising Chicago Style Pizza. THIS was something multiple people had told me I just HAD to try. Probably I should have done a little research, hangry as I was though I jumped at the first sign I saw. And I won’t lie to you readers, I was a bit disappointed. The crust WAS the deep-dish style I had been hearing about but the slices were not the size of my head and the cheese and toppings left something to be desired. My own fault for letting the hangry win. Gratefully, pizza choice and traffic aside, Chicago was a great time! While eating we decided to purchase tickets to The Comedy Bar for an array of six comedians that had us laughing off that deep dip crust in no time. A mix of modern and historical buildings, the city was lit up and bustling until well into the night. Well known for its shopping, we wandered up and down Michigan/Chicago Avenue peering into some stores that I knew well and others that I don’t think I could have afforded to step foot in. We swung into a bar (sadly I do not know the name) with some quirky styles and some flair bartending like I had never seen. It was there that we decided it was time we checked out this infamous bean everyone had been going on and on about. So, we Ubered to the bean, ready to take alllll the selfies but were quickly driven away by security saying the park was closed for the night. It wasn’t a failed mission though, the walk back led us to a spectacular view of the Chicago River, lit up beautifully by the city lights. Closer to the hotel we were jonesing for a nightcap. So, hearing live piano music, we swung into one last bar. It was at this bar that I learned that the term Speak Easy not only refers to illicit establishments for liquor (during prohibition) but also used to refer to illegal establishments to “get cozy” if you catch my drift. Being emotionally scarred having walked in there with my father, we beelined it back to the motel. Not without stopping to take one last picture with a swaggy pink limousine though!
We woke up in Chicago Saturday, with a couple of things left to see before leaving the city. My dad wanted to see the Cubs stadium, so we drove past there where he hopped out and I circled the block a few times as parking wasn’t ideal. At one point we both jumped out real quick like to take a pic. Lastly, we had to stop and see that bean now that the park was open. It was for sure one of those things you need to do in the place you’re supposed to do it kind of things. We headed out of the city with what I thought was plenty of time to spare. After getting lost and sitting in a toll booth line for at least 30 minutes (have I mentioned I’m never driving in Chicago again) we unfortunately barely had time to plant our feet in Indiana before needing to continue along in our journey to make the concert on time. When we got to Grand Rapids, MI we checked into our home for the evening and headed to my dad’s go-to establishment Applebees (the bees as he would say) for an app and a beverage. One of HIS goals is to visit every Applebees in the US, so it was nice to check something off his list! The concert venue, GLC Live at 20 Monroe, was perfect. The lines for anything, bathrooms, drinks, to get in, were never too long. The space was intimate. There were high top tables in the back so if you didn’t care about being too near the stage you could sit at a table. The opening band was local to the area, and it was one guy with a guitar, the other guy with a maraca. It was the first time I’d seen Parker McCollum perform and he blew me away. I resolved then and there that I’d meet him some day (little did I know, I wouldn’t have to wait long).
We got up bright and early despite the late night previously because we had one last adventure planned to end the trip. We drove north about an hour to Ludington, MI where we drove onto the SS Badger Carferry which would take us across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, WI. The ferry was the biggest ship I’d ever been on. On board was a large dining area offering a game of bingo, theater, museum, gift shop, lounge area and ample deck seating. We spent the four-hour ferry ride checking out alllll the things and having a White Claw on the deck when it wasn’t too chilly. Not only did it cut our drive time significantly, it was a great experience with an awesome view of one of the great lakes! I reflected on our road trip and the states we had just visited while ironically listening to the radio as the MN Vikings squeaked out a 19-17 victory over the Detroit (MI) Lions.
