Hello. Shame of me. I've been going to casinos very frequently and then realize that have lost some money, so this year I can not go to Europe.
And I decided to take a trip to the Great Lakes, an area I always wanted to visit.
I am leaving this Thursday night, going in my car, via Vegas, Denver, Omaha, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, (maybe Toronto), ST Louis, Dallas, Albuquerque, Phoenix, and home in Riverside, California, all in 18 Days. Well I like to drive.
wonder if there will be any socials in the area, what to visit after the tourist attractions.
(and if there are casinos on the road).

Since this is a Spain message board you might want to take a detour up to Santa Fe from Albuquerque. It has a Spanish colonial flavor. Or, you might want to drop south on I-25 to ElPaso and visit Ciudad Juarez, the largest city on the U.S. - Mexican border.

I think every Indian reservation in AZ has a casino...down here you also get some SPANISH (note my attempt to connect to the message board here!) language and architecture ( ok,pseudo architecture!)

Rafael, as someone who grew up in the Great Lakes area, I recommend the western coast of Michigan along the lake (lake Michigan). From the Mackinac Bridge down to Saugatuck, (especially the Traverse City area and the peninsula near Traverese City) it is beautiful. Sleeping Bear dunes national park is my favorite getaway from Chicago. There are casinos in that area but I've never been to them. If you are looking for a social scene, however, I would stick to Chicago & Toronto. Not a lot of trendy places up there in Northern Michigan but that is exactly why I go! Good scenery, good camping and maybe a dive bar.

If you are really ambitious and want some fantastic scenery, you can drive along the northern coast of Lake Superior through Canada. Well, you said you like to drive...

Erhm- Everyone- he DID post on the NON-SPAIN Discussion thread!

Oh yes driving around the Great Lakes is what I want to do, and posibly going to Canada. Want to go around Michigan, then go to Green Bay Packers headquarters, and some other places.
and the temperature will be very nice, here in Riverside we are at 105 degrees every day.
Thanks for remind me, I have forgotten about Santa Fe, and I must go there, I've heard it is the oldest city in the US.
About the casinos I would like to know more because they offer cheap rooms. I stayed in a casino close to Memphis Tennessee last April, the hotel was excellent, and the room, big, comfortable, and also the bathroom has a TV. Now I've got an invitation to stay again in that casino for 20 dollars per night.
Well I posted in a non hispanic discussion but as all of us have Spain in our minds it is natural that we can not stop talking about Spain.

Rafael, I believe that Santa Fe is the oldest US capital city, whereas St. Augustine in Florida is the oldest city in the US.

I like your idea of driving around the Great Lakes. I think it the best way to get to know the area you're visiting.

Ever drive up the California coast on Hwy 1? It is truely breathtaking!

Chicagoan, wasn't there/isn't there some sort of casino that was on a boat of some kind? I don't remember if it was on a lake or a river...and it is possible it was a seasonal thing. Somehow I got the idea it was at Arlington Park...but I can't imagine that unless they flooded an area of the backstretch! The rationale was that casinos couldn't be located on any LAND in Illinois (or maybe just Cook County)but that WATER was perfectly fine.

Arlington has a racetrack. There are a few big floating casinos here near Chicago, I think it may be on the Indiana border. You are right, they have to be over water. However, unless you are really, really into gambling I would see other things here instead - museums, restaurants and bars for example. (I know of a few good spanish ones!) The casinos are not, how do I say it, the hippest places to hang out around here. I don't think it's like Las Vegas or anything like that. In Wisconsin there are casinos on Indian reservations and there is a huge casino in Michigan near Traverse City called Kewadin. Aside from Casinos, if you have any other questions about this part of the country you can send me an e-mail. I am partial to Michigan over Wisconsin having grown up there but they are both beautiful! If you want to go to Canada I highly recommend highway 17 north of Lake Superior.

You could stop by my fair, native city of St. Louis, on the way through. Park and take a little stroll through the underground national expansion museum under the Gateway to the West, the world reknown St. Louis Arch. Walk along the levee, through old town Laclede's Landing. There's a riverboat, the Admiral, where you could get some gambling in.

Enjoy.