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One of the reasons that I'm planning a gargantuan road trip from Texas to Chicago this summer is for the simple reason that I don't know enough about the US Midwest. 

I realize that one trip is not going to solve that problem, but it's a start.  The great Midwestern city of Chicago has long been on my "must-see" list; although I visited briefly for only one afternoon, years ago, I knew that I needed to return.  This past weekend, I flew to Chicago for a great blogging conference, but we were out at O'Hare Airport and again, I only had a few brief hours in town to confirm that yes, I really like the "city of big shoulders" and made the right decision to travel there for a longer visit this summer.  Ironically, I'm going for another blogging conference -- we're a social lot, we bloggers!

On the way to the Windy City, my teenage daughter and I will see parts of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin plus a little Oklahoma and Arkansas for good measure. It should help a lot when I'm putting together one of those US map refrigerator magnets with my kids and we try to figure out where Iowa or Nebraska fit.   All of this planning had me thinking about places that are not your typical travel destination, but perhaps should be, and that maybe some of our international visitors would like to know about them.

One of the UK's most popular travel-related blogs is Darren Cronian's Travel Rants, and I just finished a guest post for him about places that are off the beaten path in the U.S.  Mind you, I wrote it for a UK and international audience who perhaps only think about travel to New York or one of the Disney properties, so some of my selections may not seem that "lesser-known" to US readers.  Then again, maybe they will!

I wrote briefly about five places:  Providence, RI/Block Island, north central Florida/Panhandle Beaches (see more about north central Florida in my post on the Perceptive Travel blog) Portland and Astoria, Oregon, Chicago/Door County Wisconsin, and Fort Worth plus rural East Texas. I even put in a plug for the fall foliage fest of Autumn Trails in my Mom's little Texas hometown, Winnsboro, and the Christmas Holiday Trail of Lights in pretty Victorian Jefferson. 

Travel Rants also had a recent post on the best deals for 2007 holiday travel in the US (remember that the British and many other Europeans use the term "holidays" or "going on hols" instead of the term "vacation.")  Cities suggested include Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Raleigh-Durham, Orlando-Daytona Beach, Kansas City, Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland and Washington D.C.  Yes, indeed, your hometown might be considered a value vacation destination by international tourists.  You are somebody! :)

So look in your own backyard for new places to travel, and beat the rush. Stay tuned here, because next week I'm on assignment in North Carolina for Automotive Traveler, and I'll post some new gems you'll find in Charlotte and western North Carolina, along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Technorati tags:  travel, family travel