So I need some Ideas. My wife and I are going to go visit Itasca State Park in Minnesota this fall. The plan is to shoot straight up there, stay a couple days, then take a couple days to come back. One of the places we want to stop on the way back is the Mall of America.
Mainly I want to know what is through Wisconsin to stop at on the way home. We're planning on stopping at the Jelly Belly Factory and the Mars Cheese Castle.
Can any Fellow GRMers have any other non-automotive suggestions?
Austin, Minnesota: SPAM town, U.S.A.
They have a museum.
Harley Museum. Miller brewery tour (Sprecher & Lakefront brewery tour)...all in the MKE.
Valleyfair, depending on what time in fall there's some cool haunted houses.....MN Zoo is pretty sweet if you like zoos... trying to think of what else is around here.
I've driven through rural Wisconsin a couple of times, and it seems the only things there are race tracks, Walmarts and self storage facilities. I could decipher no visible means of support from what I saw on the side of the highway.
Nice ta look at, though.
The Zoo sounds promising.
Depends on what you like, but there's always the Dells. If that's too touristy, there the Circus museum at Baraboo, and a nice railroad museum in the area too. Of course, it's been almost 20-years since I was last there, so none of it may exist now.
I also remember going to some caves near Blue Mound as a kid. I remember this, because at that time it was also the location of the DeTomaso dealer, and I was very disappointed we didn't go by for a test drive.
mndsm wrote: Valleyfair, depending on what time in fall there's some cool haunted houses.....MN Zoo is pretty sweet if you like zoos... trying to think of what else is around here.
Milwaukee zoo is highly rated---and open 365 days.
i don't get the fascination with the Mall of America- it's a frustratingly big mall with a theme park in the middle and everything costs 20% more than it does anywhere else..
also, there's the gang violence..
i think the last time i was there was 1999 or so, but i did eat at the IHOP right behind it a few years ago..
Go to the Essen Haus in Madison and drink good German beer out of 5 liter steins or 2 liter glass boots. Enjoy German cuisine and a small polka band as the college kids pretend they know how to polka. It's a good fun rowdy bar. Or just take an afternoon and check out some shops and restaurants on State Street. But don't forget to see a sunset on the Terrace at the Memorial Union.
novaderrik wrote: i don't get the fascination with the Mall of America- it's a frustratingly big mall with a theme park in the middle and everything costs 20% more than it does anywhere else.. also, there's the gang violence.. i think the last time i was there was 1999 or so, but i did eat at the IHOP right behind it a few years ago..
The gang violence isn't what it seems. I actually used to work out there, and there was only one incident in my time- and it was relatively minor... couple of idiots fighting over a girl. I actually go there fairly regularly because it's a great place to kill time with my kid on a Saturday.
There's a very nice driving road running through/past Itasca State Park, it's been years since I was there but I think it's highway 113. Lots of nice swooping curves through the woods, take it early in the morning before all the RVs and campers hit the road.
Google Maps shows the most direct route from Minneapolis to Itasca is to go NW on I-94 to Sauk Center and then north on highway 71, but on the way there I'd suggest going straight north from Minneapolis on highway 169 - that will take you past Lake Mille Lacs and through the Brainerd Lakes area, which is pretty scenic. On the way home you can take the Sauk Center route for a little variety (Sauk Center is the home town of Sinclair Lewis, if you're into literature they have a museum dedicated to him.)
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