Help me map out a Midwest road trip in the dead of winter

You have a week off in the middle of December. You have a car. You start in Chicago. You want to go on a road trip and find some fun things to do both along the way and at the end. Where do you go?

And by you, I mean me and my wife. We can't figure out where the hell to go, and don't really want to spend the money necessary to fly somewhere warm. We'd probably prefer to drive someplace warm, but there really aren't any within 18 hours, at least. And we only have seven days total, max.

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

 

Toronto...

 

http://www.stuckeys.com/search.php

 

I thought about that, but is it worth going even colder? Besides the Hockey HOF (which I'd love to see), what else is there in the winter?

Memphis and Nashville worth the trip this time of year? Go all the way to New Orleans, but only have three or four days to stay there? Go skiing at some rinky-dink Midwest "resort"? Some cool wintry national park I don't know about in northern Michigan or Wisconsin or Minnesota?

 

I've always wanted to go to Italy. That's my answer: Italy.

 

There's lots of theatre happening (besides my show). The Ontario Science Centre is amazing and Niagara Falls is close by. Hard to get hockey tickets here but Buffalo is on the way and games there are a blast.

 

This place is pretty nice, though I've never been in December... http://www.maumeebayresort.com/

 

Memphis would be a good trip. Graceland lights will be lit Nov. 21. Won't be a ton of music in the alleys on Beale, but the music in the bars is still good. So's the food. There are several folks here who could vouch for that, including Inky and myself.

You could hit St. Louis, Memphis, Tunica and maybe even juke your way down to Clarksdale and make a blues trip out of it.

 

www.exploreminnesota.com

The Hollidazzle Parade in downtown Minneapolis is pretty cool. Northern Minnesota has many attractions from skiing (Giants Ridge) to Duluth (take in a college hockey game at the DECC) to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth. That's just a microscopic snippet of things to do in Minnesota in December.

 

Drive down to San Antone and see the parade on the river. Damn sure unique.

 

Aren't there some indoor water park thingies in Wisconsin Dells?

 

I am now hiring 3Bags as my official travel agent.
You can even hit Tupelo and do the full Elvis thang.