The new year is rapidly approaching, yikes-2017 is here and gone. Now that this year is nearing a close, I figured I’d take a glance back and write a little retrospective.
2017 witnessed a series of firsts for me, including blogging from a travelers perspective, or blogging about anything for that matter. I can’t believe it, but since August 1, I’ve stayed true to my goal of a destination a week. It’s crazy to think, but I’ve cranked out twenty-one posts, that’s twenty-one different attractions or towns. I doubted I could discover that many places worth writing about, all within a day’s drive from my current location in Green Bay, WI.
As I took my challenge seriously, I started to visit places I’ve heard good things about, yet never visited, being the procrastinator that I am. I was drawn to a place I’ve known about all my life, actually I was born and raised maybe forty-five minutes away. Cave Point exceeded my expectations and I felt obliged to Include it in my recap of my favorites from this year.
I decided that if I was to blog about travel destinations, I wasn’t going to break the bank. So my tag, ‘ Affordable Sights and Travels in the Upper Midwest’, was decided as best. Combine the search for affordable places and a love of beer and I couldn’t pass up a free brewery tour. What’s more, it’s located in the city that has earned the nick name ‘Brew Town’, can’t beat that. From Caves to Corporation is the tale of my journey through Miller Valley, a brewery in Milwaukee WI, owned by the Miller-Coors corporation.
In the past year, I’ve written about quite a few museums. In Wisconsin, there are ties to many ways of life, as I discovered a museum on an industry that has been with Wisconsin since the states inception. 
Although I’ve spent a good portion of my childhood on a farm, I was a short bike ride from the bay and relatively close to Lake Michigan. So, needless to say, I’m used to seeing boats, a ton of different craft, as I grew up on a Peninsula known as Door County. Door County, itself, is a title passed down from maritime lore, as the tip of the peninsula was known as ‘Port des Mortes'(Death’s Door’) because of the many shipwrecks that occurred on that turbulent waterway. Wisconsin Maritime Museum , while not in Door County, was a must on the list. It didn’t disappoint, as along with the price of admission to the museum came a tour of a WWII submarine.
Checking out new places is fun, add a family get together and it really can be fantastic. I mentioned I was raised in Door County, well, it is a rather well-known tourist spot in the Midwest. There are plenty of Bed and Breakfasts, condominiums and hotels in this place that, on a map, looks like a thumb if Wisconsin was a left hand. With its lighthouses, three hundred plus miles of shoreline, and New England type landscape, it is known as the Cape Cod of the Midwest. My sister came from Minneapolis for a visit and my parents, my other sister, and myself visited one of the more popular towns in the county with her. Fish Creek- My family Meets in the classic Door County setting told the story of my sister’s visit.
My favorite discovery, this past year, has to be Munising. It is unlike any place I’ve visited thus far, and this simplistic small town literally blew me away with its natural beauty. Munising: Isolated, beautiful and affordable is the tale of a town on the southern shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Some places are just fun. I’ve never driven a motorcycle, as a matter of fact, my only attempt came test driving a Sportster at a Harley dealer. Actually, I tried to test drive it. I gave the bike throttle and sent the stylish vehicle crashing down on the pavement-I must have apologized to the salesman a thousand times over. That doesn’t mean I don’t get thrilled when I see a motorcycle. As thrilling as it is to see them, it puts chills down ones spine to see the bike known as Serial Model Number One, the bike that started it all for the legendary motorcycle giant known as Harley-Davidson. The Harley-Davidson Museum-Industry and pop culture. tells of the most thrilling visit I’ve come across this past year.
Finally, a trip to a sprawling metropolis is a very rare event for me. Chicago is fun, interesting, classy and has many attractions to keep any visitor preoccupied. From museums to pizza and blues clubs to hotdogs there is food, culture, and a great nightlife in the ‘windy city’. Chicago Done in Chicago Style is my story of an impromptu visit during the Christmas season.
These are my favorites of my new endeavor. My goal is to, one day, fund my dream of traveling the world, like many others I love to read. For now I’ll settle for the Upper Midwest, it’s actually a place with character, charm and interesting sights. I hope you tag along on my adventures, as I’ll try to give you an honest and, hopefully, descript account of my experience. Who knows, maybe I’ll inspire you to make the visit yourself.
Midwestern Escapes 
One response to “Year in review-Karas’ favorite places”
HI Chris! Fun to see a re-cap of your adventures! We love Chicago too– our daughter lived there for a while… Hope you have a great travel year ahead!!
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