Mid-West USA
Probably best known as Chicago and Milwaukee, the midwest is so much more. While there is certainly much to see in Chicago, with art and history museums, concerts and much more - it's a different world to travel just an hour or two outside of the city. Places like Peoria, set along the Illinois River, have less excess than the big cities but still plenty to see. Take a tour of industrial places like Caterpillar or John Deere, both which call central Illinois home but are shipped world wide. Galena, Springfield, Bloomington and other smaller cities as well as the areas around them all many things representing this region as unique.
The small town of Kewanee hosts a celebration every Labor day celebrating a heritage of pigs - once named the "Hog Capital of the World" there is massive barbeque grills put up that cook thousands of pounds of pork chops. Outside of town is Francis Park, which has an unusual ahead-of-its-time home on the property that offers guided tours for a small fee which goes towards the upkeep of the park. Nearby Bishop Hill you can step back to handcrafted items of many kinds that are made while you watch and small shops that offer things for sale.
In August one of the largest state fairs happens that hosts everything from livestock to grandstand shows to a wide variety of food concessions, horse shows and much more. Watch wood carvers, browse crafts and edible entries from throughout the state, watch standardbreds strut their stuff on the racetrack and visit the midway. But bring comfortable shoes and plan to spend all day! Admission is under $10 which covers most things except admission to the grandstand entertainment (which you can hear from anywhere near the grandstand!); parking in many lots surrounding the fairgrounds can be found for an additional fee.
Similarly, many parks, museums, historical attractions and festivals celebrating everything from pumpkins to dairy cattle dot the region through Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. From the Farm Toy museum in Dyersburg Iowa to Branson Missouri's abundance of music and country entertainers (second only to Nashville) there is much to see and a chance to get out of the glitz and high dollars of the city. Public transportation is less common but with a hired car you will see many things that not only feature modern ways but traditional rural roots.
