Growing up in Wisconsin is an interesting experience. Often children emerge from their upbringing with a strong work ethic, a sense of honesty, pride, and if lucky, an unaccented voice. Another byproduct of a typical Wisconsin upbringing seems to be family vacations. Unlike the vacations of others in the country, it appears as if nearly every Wisconsin family embarks on two pilgrimages: Disney World and the Black Hills.
The two places couldn’t be farther apart in location or substance; yet, like the millions of Muslims who embark on hajj to Mecca every year, the Wisconsin family loads up the car annually to visit a staple of their culture while rolling down the interstate in the tire marks of our forefathers.
Growing up it seemed that everyone I knew had embarked on one of these journeys, if not both. I knew my time would come but at the age of 12 I was beginning to wonder if my Illinois heritage would take over the Wisconsin urge to travel to the most worthless of places. My fears were unfounded and in the summer between my 6th and 7th grade years my family decided to visit the Black Hills of the Dakotas. People often ask what is in the Black Hills and the answer is simply…nothing. Nothing at all. This coming from a person who is in love with nature and serenity; the rocks, water, and sand often provide more joy to me in travel then do the people I meet or the commercialized places I visit. Still, there is nothing. In case you haven’t made the excursion yourself a typical trip would go something like this:

Day 1: Leave
Day 2 and 3: Drive through Minnesota (stop at Mall of America if lucky)
Day 4 and 5: Visit Mount Rushmore and Wall Drug
Day 6 and 7: End up lost in Montana
Day 7- on: Try to get home

There is no lesson to be learned or messaged to be gained from this post, there is simply nothing to do. I remember vividly sitting in the car for hours on end listening to the radio (until reception ran out in South Dakota). Mount Rushmore looks exactly as you might imagine it and unless you have a resounding urge to buy an overpriced t-shirt or shot glass with the landmark on it, there is really no reason to go.

After our two weeks of fun and excitement in the West, my family never did go to Disney World. Of course I was depressed but other stuff came along and I went other places. Finally last year, at the age of 20, I had the chance to visit my lost childhood dream of castles and fairy tales. I went down to Florida with some friends and we decided to go to Disney for a day. Not really interested anymore in the place, I spent an hour or so walking around the parking lot and what I saw didn’t surprise me at all. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana: all Midwest plates and every car was full of luggage and coolers. Nothing had changed.

Maybe the families of the Midwest feel a need to educate their children on the many people and cultures of our country. Or possibly people actually want to visit Disney World and the Hills of the west. I don’t know. Yet, I believe that a long time ago in Wisconsin a man stood up and said (probably sometime in December) “I’m cold, were going to Florida as soon as the snow melts”. A man on the other side of the street probably said something similar but decided to visit the west instead. Keeping up with the Jones, the next year everyone went to one of the two locations until someone went to both, then of course everyone had to. I believe the rest is history.

Let us make it the call of our generation to change vacation destinations. To where? Who knows. Anywhere but the Hills or Disney will do.