Christopher & Katherine's Summertime Adventures

I've had this little project stewing for a while now, and thanks to the long holiday weekend I was able to finish up all the loose ends. I guess it's kind of an ongoing project, actually, but I think it's finally presentable. That said, I am pleased to present: Christopher and Katherine's Summertime Adventures! (or, All Your Fifth Grade Field Trips and Local Family Trips Are Fun Again! Maybe.)

Since this is the first summer Chris and I are sharing together as husband and wife, we wanted to make the most of it by having fun together, soaking up as much sun as possible, and exploring Michigan and the surrounding areas. With that goal in mind, we compiled a list of summery, local adventures for our free time this season. Think... summer enrichment school meets camp meets family day trips. Hello, world's longest wooden roller coaster. Hi there, museum dedicated solely to recreational vehicles. All the tourist trap, special interest, cheesy and possibly lame Midwestern hotspots? We want to go to there.

1. Oh little Bavarian man from Frankenmuth. You sure do like your traditional German beer stein.  2. Meet Winter Sun the buffalo. He weights over 2000 pounds.  3. The Mid American Windmill Museum has 52 windmills on campus. I don't know much about windmills... at all... but that seems like a lot. 

We've tried our best to think of classic summer activities (the Beach, a Cubs Game) as well as atypical local places (Amish Acres, a buffalo preserve) and combine them into one huge list of general summer awesomeness. Here it is so far, in no particular order:

•  A Cubs Game at Wrigley Field
•  Camping at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park (LEGIT)
•  Wild Winds Buffalo Preserve
•  A trip to Silver Beach
•  The Mid American Windmill Museum
•  Kings Island
•  The American Museum of Magic (Yes. That is a real place.)
•  Elkhart's RV Museum and Hall of Fame
•  The tiny, underrated Potawatomi Zoo
•  A Tour of the South Bend Chocolate Company
•  Fair Oaks Farm
•  Beach Day! (at Lake Michigan, of course)
•  Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival 
•  Kalamazoo Air Zoo
•  Doller Days the Silver Hawks game
•  Shipshewana: The Heart of Northern Indiana Amish Country (oh boy)
•  Elkhart County 4H Fair
•  A double-feature at the Capri Drive-In Theater
•  Frankenmuth aka Christmas Town!
•  Whitewater Rafting at East Race Waterway
•  U-Pick Strawberries or Blueberries
•  The Gilmore Car Museum or the Studebaker National Museum
•  Fernwood Botanical Gardens

Needless to say, we're pretty excited about the whole thing. With two official summer weekends past, we've visited the Potawatomi Zoo and spent a day at the beach, which I'll try to post on a little later. I know our list is probably missing a lot... it doesn't cover any local summer festivals or Chicagoland at all. 

Know of any adventures in the Michigan/Illinois/Indiana area that I didn't list? There are 12 weekends left this summer, so hopefully we can squeeze as much in as possible... let me know if you think of anything!