Genealogy

Just north of the Indiana state line in Michigan lies a string of eight, charming, little, lakeside towns just far enough away from Chicago for weekend getaways: Michiana, Grand Beach, New Buffalo, Union Pier, Lakeside, Harbert, Sawyer, and, slightly inland, Three Oaks.

Grand Haven’s signature attraction is its famous musical fountain, which shoots water into the air with more than a thousand nozzles creating water formations synchronized to lights and music every evening during the summer. It’s been entertaining visitors since 1962, after a local dentist and former Grand Haven mayor began drumming up support for the project. He managed to make his vision come to life through local funds, volunteers, and repurposed old municipal pipes.

The old lumber port of Charlevoix stands apart from the lakeshore towns of western Michigan in several respects. Its main drag is lined with petunias, planted each spring by a small army of volunteers. Its waters are lined with the yachts of its many well-to-do summer residents. And some of its homes look as if they just might be inhabited by…hobbits. Called “mushroom houses,” they are the distinctive creations of Earl Young, an architecture-school dropout and collector of large stones who designed dozens of homes here in the early twentieth century.

The twin cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, Michigan are a popular vacation destination for families with young children, most notably because of the carousel, children’s museum, and fountain that doubles as a splash pad, all within steps of Silver Beach.

Nestled in between the Indiana Dunes and Michigan’s Harbor Country, Michigan City is a place most visitors come to shop. But there are also many places to eat, drink, and explore. In the summer, for example, Michigan City offers both formal gardens and nature trails at the Friendship Botanic Gardens; a regular concert series at the Guy Forman Amphitheater; and the Works Public Administration-constructed Washington Park Zoo. There is also a range of shops to explore – from the well-known outlet mall to a number of independent and vintage boutiques, many of them concentrated in downtown Michigan City.

Situated between the nation’s largest steel plant in Gary and a coal and natural gas-fired power plant in Michigan City, the Indiana Dunes nevertheless contain some of the most biodiverse wild spaces in the U.S. That’s right: in terms of biodiversity, the National Park Service ranks the Indiana Dunes number seven among its more than 400 properties.

The ad doesn’t lie: there really is more than corn – and even roller coasters – in and around the Indiana Beach Amusement Park in Monticello, Indiana. The public is welcome at the Tippecanoe Country Club’s 18-hole golf course. Speedboats and pontoons can be rented; fishing also is popular on Lake Shafer. And an array of Hoosier-made wine, beer, and spirits can be enjoyed at the Kopacetic Beer Factory.

With its deep canyons and rushing waterfalls, Starved Rock State Park is an anomaly in the flat Midwestern landscape. That – along with its proximity to Chicago and rich history – has made it an extremely popular destination for generations of Chicagoans.

With its cobblestone streets, historic buildings, and occasional brushes with Civil War-era re-enactors, Galena, Illinois often feels like a step back in time to the mid-nineteenth century, the town’s heyday.

A trip to Springfield, Illinois is a rite of passage for almost any middle-school student raised in the Land of Lincoln. But it also attracts travelers of all ages interested in learning more about our state’s history, witnessing the workings of its government, trying out some unique Illinois cuisine, and, of course, walking in the footsteps of the most iconic Illinoisan of all time.