An Ode to the Good Old Midwest

As a lifetime resident of the Midwest, I'm not sure how I've managed to get to the age of 24 without having traveled to more places in my home-region. It's not for lack of cool locales, but rather me not begin aware that such cool places existed in my backyard (I've been to Southeast Asia (twice) but I've never seen Milwaukee...).

My love for travel had mostly manifested itself in international destinations until I moved away from home about 6 months after graduating from college. Naturally at that time in my life I had to take a little hiatus from my jet-setting ways to begin that lovely, soul-crushing process that we 20-somethings know to be called "paying your dues" (also commonly referred to as "putting in your time") aka: getting a full time job. It seemed so unfair, 40 hour work weeks, so little vacation time, and what do you mean no summer vacation?! But what I missed in globe-trotting I began to make up for in Midwest-trotting, without even really noticing it. It may have started as a hassle, having to go back and forth between Chicago (my current digs) and Michigan (my former digs, chalk full of family, friends and memories) but I now realize that I'm kind of situated perfectly for travel to just about any other place in the Midwest. So I'll start this blog off by noting a few of the cities I've visited since moving to the Windy City, and some memorable places in each of them.

Madison, WI
I only spent a few hours in Madison for an afternoon pit stop, but the college-town feel + the proximity of so many lakes + my perception of the city based on the movie Away We Go = I will definitely be back and hopefully soon. Madison gave me a similar, fuzzy feeling that I get in Ann Arbor, MI because the college town aspect makes you start reminiscing about college days, football games, and going back to school in the fall. It was a quick trip so I just got to see a fleeting glimpse of the city and UW's campus. Most of my time there was spent at at Dotty Dumpling's Dowry for dinner, and the food/atmosphere/service/everything was awesome. The walls were covered in UW memorabilia, the waitress was really friendly and the corned beef reuben was delicious (and served with a pickle - a must in my book). 

So my first trip to Madison, although brief, was enough to make me want to go back and spend some serious time there exploring more of the city!

Minneapolis, MN
I was in Minneapolis for a wedding, and it was actually on my drive there from Chicago that I stopped in Madison. Although I'd been to the Mall of America as a little tyke on a family vacation, I didn't remember anything about the actual city of Minneapolis, so I was excited to take more of it in this time around. I stayed from a Thursday night until Sunday, so I had a good amount of time to explore. My boyfriend (Eric)'s cousin was getting married and Eric was in the wedding, which took place at the Basilica of Saint Mary in downtown Minneapolis. 

In our downtime, Eric and I used a little guide that the bride and groom prepared for all the guests, letting us know the cool places to go/things to do while in town. Inevitably we gravitated towards the restaurants and bars on this list, so basically all I did in Minneapolis was eat and drink. It was awesome. We had DELICIOUS brunch at Key's Friday morning before attending the rehearsal at the Basilica. Then there was a very happy, happy hour put on by the mother of the groom at Darby's Pub & Grill, which had a huge, outdoor deck area (perfect for a summer afternoon). That was followed by the rehearsal dinner at an awesome Irish pub, The Local, where I had Magners cider for the first time (won't be the last) and bonded with other wedding attendees, and then we ended the night (yes I went to all these places in just one day) at Brit's Pub. Here I happily sat on the rooftop bar with Eric's family, taking in the downtown views, watching people play bocce ball, and doing Jager shots/eating Scotch eggs with Mr. and Mrs. Coughlin. If you've never had a Scotch egg, it's a hard boiled egg, wrapped in ground sausage then deep fried. It's amazing. Although with Jager, not so much, as we all found out the next morning :) The rest of the weekend in Minneapolis was spent at the Basilica for the ceremony, Semple Mansion for the reception, and of course, another restaurant. Last stop in MN was breakfast Sunday morning at Hell's Kitchen, a kind of rock-and-roll, edgy place to get...brunch? It was an eclectic place to go in the morning, that's for sure, but the food was worth it.

Minneapolis is a really cool city. Target headquarters, another Big Ten campus location, and a ton of different bar and restaurant choices make this city really appealing to me. And it's only a 7 hour drive from Chicago (only!) versus a 12 hour drive from Southeastern Michigan (can you tell my gauge for tolerable driving times has become a little skewed? ha). So more proof that Chicago is a great launching pad from which to see all that the Midwest has to offer. Thanks for checking out my blog, and more posts about travel are sure to come!