Midwest Road Trip
I decided over the holidays to join a friend in Chicago and do some sightseeing and we turned it into a Midwest Road Trip! We would visit Milwaukee, Detroit, Michigan City and Chicago. I left the day after Christmas and flew to Chicago, she picked me up and we immediately drove the hour and a half to Milwaukee.
We found a cute Airbnb in West Allis just outside of Milwaukee. The apartment was on a nice street lined with shops, restaurants and a bakery. It was perfect and only ten to fifteen minutes outside of the city. We started our sightseeing with the Milwaukee Public Market. It was great! I loved all of the stalls and they had really great vendors. We shopped around and stopped for some coffee and a treat. While it is hard to find a better market than the one in Seattle, I would say this came in second for me. In the States anyway.
After the market, we strolled around the city and did some shopping at a few boutiques along the way. It was nice to walk around and it wasn’t very crowded.
After touring the city all day, we went to Bradford Beach to take in the views of Lake Michigan. We arrived just before sunset and it was stunning.
In the evening we explored the Bay View area which I liked very much. After a delicious dinner at Cafe India Bay View, we strolled around the neighborhood. The next morning before leaving, we stopped in Aggi’s Bakery which was just across the street from our Airbnb. We stocked up on some treats and started our drive to Detroit.
After our six or so hour journey, we arrived in Ann Arbor where we stayed for the night before exploring Detroit. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about our Detroit adventure. As one of the most dangerous cities in the United States, I wasn’t sure what to think.
We started our trip with a stop at Belle Isle to see the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, Dossin Great Lakes Museum and the James Scott Memorial Fountain. It’s a small island in the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor, Canada. I’m sure in the summer it’s gorgeous. Even in December, I really enjoyed this little island.
Once we finished exploring Belle Isle we headed to downtown Detroit to see the architecture that Detroit is known for, like the art-deco Guardian Building and Penobscot Building. We went into the Guardian Building and it was quite stunning.
After exploring the architecture and walking around, we ran into a cute little holiday market. We did some light shopping before stopping for Detroit Style Pizza. I really enjoyed Detroit, I’m curious to see how it changes over the years. While being at the top of the list of the most dangerous city in the US, it seems it may drop down on that list soon.
On the way to Chicago, we decided to stop in Michigan City. I was curious to see the beach and am still fascinated that a lake can look like an ocean, but it does. It was freezing but worth the stop!
I’ve never been to Chicago before and it has been on my list for some time. While it was December, I still felt that a river tour was in order. I was not alone in that thinking, there were tons of people on the boat tour in the freezing twenty degree temperature. It was worth it, the views were just stunning! It was definitely the best way to see the city.
After the boat tour we went to Lou Malnatis for Chicago style pizza before heading to Cloud Gate park to see the Chicago Bean. Then we went to Chicago Cultural Center to see the beautiful architecture.
After a great day exploring the city we settled into our Airbnb in Oak Park. The following day we went to the Garfield Park Conservatory. It was beautiful!
We completed our Midwest trip with a firework show at the Pier on New Years Eve and lots of tacos from Velvet Taco, Yum!! I loved the Midwest Road Trip. It was so fun to explore cities I have never been to before. While winter was probably not the best time to visit, we had a great time!
