On Saturday we dropped Jake off at O'Hare, and simultaneously picked up Roland & Vivian to start our Lake Michigan Loop drive. We usually do a lot more research before we head off on a trip, but this time all we did was book hotels based on a blogger Viv found, and so our planning was done on the fly each day!
We were able to soak up the gist of Milwaukee in the two nights we stayed there. The Milwaukee Museum of Art was a welcome surprise architecturally and their collection was excellent! We also went on the Best-Pabst Brewery Historical Tour, and learned about the history of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
On our drive up to Green Bay we came across Kohler Village, just west of Sheboyan, WI. We were pleasantly surprised at the Kohler Design Studio. There was a Kohler history museum downstairs, as well as full bath vignettes on the upper floor...now we all want Kohler fixtures!
Made our way to Lambeau field, which is also the home to Green Bay's Hall of Fame Museum. The tour was interesting - we learned about how they are a fan owned team...and for a team with such a big presence in the NFL, we thought the town of Green Bay would be much bigger, but it was actually quite small and quaint.
On our way out of Green Bay, we found a great little cafe called Grounded Cafe, which is a non-profit that supports seniors and people with disabilities. The food was excellent, and we loved their mantra.
We stayed in St. Ignace for two nights so that we could spend a day on Mackinac Island (pronounced "mackinaw"). The island, town and hotel was made famous in the movie "Somewhere in Time" starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. It was fun to take the ferry over. The island has no motorized vehicles. Everything is delivered and moved by horse or bike. In the winter when the lake freezes over, it creates a "land bridge". People will cross on foot or snowmobile!
On Thursday we took our time driving down to Holland, MI, stopping at another lighthouse, farms and small towns. The fall colors were amazing, and the small towns we visited were adorable. They really reminded us of New England towns - we did not realize how much east coast/british influence there was in this area.
Finally arrived in Holland late, but hungry for sushi!
We explored Holland and the surrounds on Friday. The sand at the beaches is similar to the sand at our California beaches. You can easily forget that you are on a lake since it is such a huge lake! We've loved stopping at small farms along the way, and ended up filling our car with pumpkins and other goodies!
The city of Holland decided they wanted to purchase an authentic windmill to celebrate and honor the Dutch heritage of many residents here, so in 1964, they purchased the last working windmill allowed to leave the Netherlands. Fully restored, it still works!
A highlight for me, was to visit with my dear friend and Mentor from Toyota, Robin Haugen in Saugatuck just a little ways south of Holland. She and her partner Lynn had just gotten married a few weeks before, so we celebrated their nuptials and our anniversaries at dinner 💕 Sadly we forgot to take a group photo, so I put together a collage using some photos she sent me.
The week with Roland & Viv went by too fast...we wrapped up on Saturday with a drive down to Indiana Dunes National Park by way of another farm, Cranes, where we had an amazing brunch, and of course bought more stuff!
Always a great time with our travel buddies!
...and we got to celebrate our 22nd & 33rd anniversaries with a dinner at Lou Malnati's!!!
We left the Wong-Galang's on Sunday at the hotel near O'Hare. Barry & I still had 4 more days to go on our drive back. We decided to stop in Springfield, Ill for two nights. Springfield was home to Lincoln and his family for almost a quarter century up until his presidency....also home to a Portillo's, which we devoured before exploring the sights of town. We got to tour Lincoln's home (where he planned to return after his presidency), visit the Lincoln Library/Museum, as well as Lincoln's tomb. The museum was AMAZING! We both thought it was infused with "Disney" inspired displays and exhibits...very impressive.
One surprise in Springfield for us was that there is a fully restored home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright located right in town. We were able to get a spot on the free tour. We think this is the most well-preserved FLW home we have been to! It is huge (18K SF), and has 16 levels! A progressive minded heiress named Susan Lawrence Dana asked Wright to design her a home in which she could advance ideas about education & democracy, so it is more of an "event" home where she would host gatherings to fight for issues like women's voting rights, etc.
On our way out of Illinois we stopped at a funny place called the Pink Elephant that we spotted on our way up to Chicago but did not have the time to stop at.
Even though we travelled through Little Rock on a previous road trip (during the pandemic) we did not get to go inside the Clinton Library, so we raced to get to Little Rock before they closed. The library has a replica of the Oval Office as well as Cabinet Room, and was packed with great info and history - we were still in awe with the Lincoln Library though. 😉
Arrived back home Wednesday, Oct. 16 after driving almost 3,500 miles! Great trip, but now we have to go on a diet!
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