<p>D2 and I are driving from Chicago (visiting the Botanic Garden, which D loves) up to Appleton to see Lawrence. Does anyone have suggestions for a good place to stay (nice town on the lake or something) between the north side of Chicago and Milwaukee? We do not need to stay close to Appleton, as her tour is not until after lunch (1:45). We just spent a weekend in Chicago itself last week, so don’t plan to stay there. D will be unwinding from a few weeks of camp, so just looking for someplace relaxing to stop for the evening if anyone has suggestions.</p>
<p>If you want to go straight up the lake, Manitowoc is a cute town…then it will be slightly over an hour west to Appleton. Port Washington is a good stop, also, and about 2 hours from Appleton.</p>
<p>If you leave Chicago early, you could always head up to Door County. Lots of little towns to pick…you’d have to do alittle research to find what interested you. Depending on where you "landed’ you’d still be a couple hours (northeast) from Appleton. Depending on where you are leaving Chicago and how far north you are stopping in Door County you’d have a 5-6 hour drive TBD traffic.</p>
<p>You may want to check out Lake Geneva in Wisconsin.</p>
<p>I went to a business conference in Lake Geneva once. Port Washington looks good, I see there is a hotel right on the waterfront there. I think we will try that. Thanks for the tips. :)</p>
<p>I second the Manitowoc suggestion. My kid lived there for the last three years. Nice park, reasonable hotels.</p>
<p>Appleton’s a great small city.</p>
<p>Kohler (north of Milwaukee, though). Nice resort, and you can go to the toilet museum (if it’s still there!) Not exactly on the way, but only 1.5 hours from Appleton…</p>
<p>Given the recent horribly hot weather, I’d advise sticking to the Lake Michigan Shore. Lake Geneva is inland. </p>
<p>There are lake front lodgings in Manitowoc, Two Rivers, and Sheboygan. I have a fondness for Sheyboygan, due to the two museums. One is in Kohler, the ‘wall of toilets’ museum mentioned above, and the other is a Sheboygan art museum featuring rather amazing art by non formally trained artists. Check out the bathrooms, as it is supported by the Kohler Foundation. </p>
<p>Otherwise, unwind by going to a lakefront state park to walk the beach and trails. Either are not far from the highway. By Manitowoc is:
[Point</a> Beach State Forest - Wisconsin DNR](<a href=“http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/pointbeach/]Point”>Point Beach State Forest | Wisconsin DNR)
and the other, by Sheboygan, is Kohler Andre State Park. </p>
<p>Lawrence is a lovely school, and one D came close to attending.</p>
<p>I would stay in Appleton in a heartbeat at any B&B right near campus. When my son was going to LU and always worked in the summers there, I would fly in for a little summer vacation and loved those visits. As a parent I would stay in the campus guest house near the park. Lovely!</p>
<p>It’s the American Club in Kohler, or the sister hotel in the shopping area nearby. The AC is amazing, and the restaurants are good; the Immigrant Room is the priciest. The spa is quite nice. </p>
<p>The hotels in Milwaukee are mostly just okay; the classic Milwaukee hotel is the Pfister. </p>
<p>Going up the lake is nice but will add a fair amount of time to your trip if you go much more north than Sheboygan. There is a fabulous restaurant in Sheboygan, Trattoria Stefano. </p>
<p>There is the big resort in Elkhart Lake, gorgeous and well-appointed because of the racetrack there. It’s called The Osthoff. EL is a charming little town. Then you would continue west on Hwy 23 and then go north at my old (non-interesting) town, Fond du Lac. Same road if you stay in Sheboygan or Kohler. </p>
<p>Have fun!</p>
<p>There are a lot of things to do in Wisconsin but my understanding is that you are looking for a nice place to spend only an evening. Therefore consider many of the resorts listed by above posters. If the budget allows definitely consider the American Club in Kohler- near Sheboygan, north of Milwaukee. Fancy spa bathrooms and the Kohler showroom is worth the time. If all you want is a place to sleep consider places in Kenosha off I 94, then head north to Kohler enroute to Appleton. </p>
<p>The high heat should abate in a day or two- hotter in WI than Florida this week (we just retired down here)- makes leaving in summer a lot easier! Good luck with the visit. The best shopping will be the Fox River Mall west of town- keep going on College Ave just past highway 41. Around the Lawrence campus /downtown Appleton and near the mall are where most restuarants- mainly chains- are. If you are interested in football you could make the pilgrimage to Green Bay’s Lambeau Field up the road about 30 miles.</p>
<p>Be warned- you can go faster in Illinois than Wisconsin on Chicago area highways (posted 55, going 75 is typical in IL). Keep within 10 miles of the posted 65 mph once you cross the state line- there is a place just south of Milwaukee where trees between N/S traffic easily hide state patrol cars. Kenosha near I 94- highway 50 exit- has outlet malls and gas stations/fast food. And, of course, this is road construction season. Also summer resorts could be booked.</p>
<p>And there is major construction on I94 from the state line to north of Racine. And again just south of Milwaukee.</p>
<p>Also on highway 41 north of Fond du Lac to Appleton and points north into Green Bay. Plan on it no matter which route you decide to go anywhere. Traffic also is dependent on when you travel. The EAA airshow in Oshkosh around the end of July will fill hotels all along the 41 Fox Valley corridor and create highway traffic jams on 41. Summerfest in Milwaukee. The Women’s PGA tournament is over in Kohler by now.</p>
<p>More details- times/dates, for example, could help us be more helpful.</p>
<p>I was just in Manitowoc. I stayed overnight at the Holiday Inn and it was fine. If you take I-43, there is construction between Port Washington/Saukville and the Ozaukee/Sheboygan County Line. There is only one hotel in Two Rivers, and it is the Lighthouse Inn. It was ok.<br>
There are a number of hotel right over the state line at Pleasant Prairie/Kenosha. There is a Premium Outlet Mall at Pleasant Prairie.</p>
<p>The date we will be staying overnight is Thursday, July 26. I went ahead and booked at the Harborview Holiday Inn in Port Washington for that night. It sounds like there are no winning routes for a Friday morning between Port Washington and Appleton… we will have to let our TomTom help us find the fastest route.</p>
<p>Enjoy the lake! That will be the middle of the EAA fly in in Oshkosh- hundreds of thousands of people. You may want to avoid routes through there, ie highway 41. Perhaps catch 10 after heading north on I 43? Lake Winnebago makes life interesting, you have to go around it.</p>
<p>Traffic on I-43 North of Highway 60 (grafton) is rarely bad. Just be careful when you go through the construction area, and you’ll be fine. Milwaukee does have a true rush hour. If you avoid driving between 7-9am and 4-6pm, you’ll avoid it.</p>
<p>Port Washington is a very cute little lakefront town, I think you’ll enjoy it.</p>
<p>Forgot to mention Highway 33, the main exit to Port Washington, is also under construction.<br>
Other places to visit on your trip include the Jelly Belly Factory in Pleasant Prairie. If you like pop/soda, there is the Sprecher Factory in Glendale, WI; it is a little south of the Hampton Rd exit on I-43. If you want to try frozen custard, you can visit Kopps, also, in Glendale, right off the Port Washington Rd/Silver Spring exit. The flavors of the day on July 26 are German Apple Streusel and Grasshopper Fudge. Also, at that exit is the Bayshore mall.</p>
<p>I love frozen custard, it is one of the great things about Wisconsin. Grasshopper fudge sounds great!</p>