Sometimes you need a break from city life, and to get out to have a closer experience with nature and a slower pace of life. Lately, I’ve had this feeling of wanderlust, and going on mini road trips around the Midwest has helped. I don’t have a major vacation planned until September so I need smaller trips to tide me over. This spring I’ve visited some places not too far from my home base of Chicago that are only a few hours away. Luckily, there are many fun places and festivals around so the sky is the limit, but here a few places I’ve visited that I wanted to share with you.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite books so I have always wanted to visit the House on the Rock in Spring Green, WI. In the book, Mr. Wednesday and Shadow Moon stop there on their road trip, and the recent season of the TV series had an episode that was filmed there. The book did such a great job describing the place, but it still did not prepare for how odd and interesting the House is. If you are a fan of unusual places and spaces then this is worth a trip.
Alex Jordan designed the place and opened it to the public in 1959. Additions continued to be made over the years, and there are three parts you can visit (I recommend seeing them all). It takes a few hours to get through and see it all. The main house seems to be a parody (or twisted homage) of Frank Lloyd Wright’s style. Interestingly, one of the homes, Taliesin, Wright designed, is nearby. As you enter the grounds, there is a Japanese Garden outside. In the main house, you have to check out the Infinity Room, which juts out 218 ft. without any support. As you continue, you will experience the Streets of Yesterday, which recreates an early 20th century town. It also reminds me of the exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. The Heritage of the Sea has a nice surprise in there; a friend that went didn’t want to spoil it for me so I’ll do the same for you. You can purchase tokens to put into musical animatronics around the house as well.
The most famous part is the Carousel Room, which features the world’s largest indoor carousel. They don’t let you ride it unless you’re Neil Gaiman or one of the gods that gets a special token (see American Gods TV series). The carousel is full of mythological creatures and surprisingly, no horses. If you look up in the room, you’ll see angel mannequins above you. As you leave, you head into the mouth of a dragon. I also really enjoyed the Organ Room with its massive chandeliers and ramps going around the space. The red lighting adds to the sense of eeriness. There are more carousels, and you’ll run into one that is full of dolls. There are collections of doll houses, memorabilia from the British Crown, Tiffany lamps, vintage cars, and so much more as you continue your journey through the House on the Rock. This is a place worth visiting and spending hours in, taking in all the amazing surroundings.
If you want to pretend you’re in the Netherlands, I recommend a visit to Holland, MI. Holland definitely makes the most of its Dutch heritage with different events like the Tulip Festival, which was when I visited. It is the largest tulip festival in the United States, and claims to have five million tulips. Fair warning, it was really crowded; I think over 100,000 visitors come to the fest. There is Dutch market, a parade, Dutch dancing, and many more activities during the week of the festival. The tulips are spread over different locations in the town so downloading or printing the map is helpful.
I started out on Windmill Island, a park that has rows and rows of bulbs planted there, and has the De Zwaan Dutch windmill located there. The area also has replicas of Dutch buildings, and the market was there. It also rained on the day I attended, which helped clear out people, so I ended up enjoying myself more. Thankfully, I brought my umbrella. I think the Main Street and downtown area are charming with small businesses and restaurants. Take a stroll to Centennial Park for more tulips, dancing, and music. There were large decorated clogs all over the fest.
One of my favorite breweries is in Holland: New Holland Brewing, which makes Dragon’s Milk. You can eat at the restaurant or tour the brewery as well. Michigan has many fantastic breweries so you can even focus on touring some of those if you are a beer lover. You can also see the lighthouse, known as Big Red, or hike up Mt. Pisgah dune for a great view. It is worth staying overnight in Holland since you can’t do everything in one day. I recommend staying at the City Flats. There are plenty of things to do so you don’t need the fest as an excuse to go; it’s actually probably more fun without the bus loads of tourists that come for Tulip Fest.
South Haven, MI has a Mermaid Megafest that all the mermaid lovers have to check out. The festival’s mission is to “Protect our Water Wonderland!” and bringing attention to the challenges that the Great Lakes face. Hannah Mermaid was there offering a workshop for aspiring underwater models, and Harlow Photography was doing mermaid photo shoots (her work rocks). I made it a family event and took my nieces, who are four and five, since they love mermaids. The mermaids gathered at South Beach near the lighthouse (which was built in 1872 and is still operational). Hannah was really nice and took pics with the girls (had to jump in for one with all the mermaids too). It’s a pretty small fest, and doesn’t take much time to go through. The girls were happy since they won prizes at the carnival games. The main attraction is the Island Moon party at Lake Arvesta (on a man-made island) where the mermaids swim in the tank, music, bonfires, and the beer has glitter in it.
South Haven is small town with a nice downtown area as well. It is a port city located on the mouth of the Black River on Lake Michigan. It has a charming old fashioned feel with many small shops and businesses. The houses on the waterfront are beautiful. I recommend a trip to Three Blondes Brewing where you can taste some of the local craft beer, and eat some good food. The brewery was started by three blonde sisters from South Haven, and just celebrated their year anniversary. As far as I know, it’s the only brewery in town, but you can correct me if I’m wrong. Like New Holland, you don’t a fest as an excuse to spend some time there.
These are some of the places I have enjoyed visiting to get away from the big city life. Let me know if you have any suggestions. If you like my Facebook page, there are videos from the trip posted that you can check out as well. I also update the Instagram WayfaringGal page with new posts. Thank you for reading, and comments and feedback are always welcome since that is how we learn and grow.
