By OnMilwaukee Staff Writers   Published Dec 05, 2005 at 5:37 AM

As much as you love Milwaukee, let's face it, sometimes you just gotta get away for a day or a weekend. You can't spend every waking moment shopping the Third Ward, bar hopping on Water Street or whiling away your day in a warm cafe.

Here are some ideas for enjoying Wisconsin (and some neighboring states) throughout the year. The only rule was that the journey has to be beyond a half hour, and within three hours from Milwaukee. Add your favorites using the talkback feature below.

  1. Take the ferry (SS Badger or Lake Express) to Michigan
  2. Visit House on the Rock
  3. Check out the Baraboo Circus Museum
  4. Tour Taliesin
  5. Hike the Kettle Moraine 
  6. Descend into the Cave of the Mounds
  7. Go back in time at Old World Wisconsin
  8. Visit poet Lorine Niedecker's house in Fort Atkinson
  9. Go to the bathroom at Kolher Art Museum in Sheboygan
  10. Watch birds at the Bong Rec. Area
  11. See the greats at Packers Hall of Fame
  12. Camp at Peninsula State Park
  13. Visit Rock Island
  14. Eat fondue in New Glarus
  15. Canoe the Wisconsin Dells
  16. Raft on the Wolf River
  17. Go outlet shopping in Johnson Creek or Kenosha
  18. Take a road trip to Ikea in Schaumburg, Ill.
  19. See a movie at the drive-in in Jefferson
  20. Slather it on at the Mustard Museum in Mount Horeb
  21. Shop Chicago's Magnificent Mile
  22. Cruise Lake Geneva
  23. Get your kicks at The Shoe Box in Black Earth
  24. Take the Leinie's Tour in Chippewa Falls
  25. Check out the waterfalls in Marinette County
  26. Climb Rib Mountain in Wausau
  27. Ski Little Swiss
  28. Tour Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac
  29. Get your beer on at Oktoberfest in La Crosse
  30. Attend Cranberry Festival in Tomah
  31. Scream at Great America
  32. See great art at the Art Institute in Chicago
  33. Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, too 
  34. Shop on State Street in Madison
  35. Slurp ice cream or have a snack on the newly rennovated Terrace at the UW-Madison Union
  36. Chat with the farmers at the Dane County Farmer's Market
  37. Munch on buttery ears at Sweet Corn Festival in Sun Prairie
  38. Rev it up at the Iola Old Car Show!
  39. Go to a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theater
  40. Get your sea legs at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc
  41. Marvel at the weird planes at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh
  42. Hike around the reservoir in Harrington Beach State Park
  43. Climb the bluffs at Devil's Lake State Park
  44. Eat apple pie in a bag at the Elegant Farmer
  45. See a show at The Fireside
  46. Go cherry picking in Door County
  47. Visit the Rhinestone Cowboy House at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan
  48. See the goats on the roof at Al Johnson's in Door County
  49. Climb Holy Hill
  50. Make a pilgrimage to Kenosha to the birthplace of America’s most celebrated filmmaker, Orson Welles.
  51. Belly up to the shed and grab a burger and old fashioned ice cream at Wedl's in Jefferson
  52. Explore Green Lake
  53. Learn about cows and milk at Hoard Dairy Museum in Fort Atkinson
  54. Imagine what things used to look like at the pyramid city of Aztalan, near Fort Atkinson
  55. Buy a Garden Star lawn ornament in Kenosha
  56. Check the time at the world's largest grandfather clock in Kewaunee
  57. Go back to the future at Tommy Bartlett's Exploratory in Wisconsin Dells
  58. Visit Frank Lloyd Wright's great SC Johnson building in Racine
  59. Disappear into the Houdini exhibit at The History Museum at the Castle in Appleton
  60. See a play under the stars at the American Players Theater in Spring Green
  61. Tap into the world's largest six-pack in La Crosse
  62. Have lunch at the Thorpedo in Thorpe
  63. Take in some old time baseball at Wade House in Greenbush
  64. Shop for pottery in Cambridge
  65. Kick back at The Osthoff resort in Elkhart Lake
  66. Drink at the Bayside Tavern in Fish Creek
  67. Pile one on at the Hamburger Hall of Fame in Seymour
  68. Tip back a drink in the cocktail lounge at Mars Cheese Castle
  69. Enroll for classes at University of Lawsonomy
  70. Get all medieval at the Bristol Renaissance Faire
  71. Find great bargains at Seven-Mile Fair!
  72. Treat yourself to the spa at the Kohler Waters Spa
  73. Go antiquing in Galena, Ill.
  74. Meet the elves at Santa's Village in Dundee, Ill.
  75. Do the Frank Lloyd Wright tour in Oak Park, Ill.
  76. Ride the rides at Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay
  77. Do Halloween on State Street in Madison
  78. Skateboard at the outdoor skate parks in Green Bay
  79. Eat a sundae in Two Rivers, the birthplace of said confection
  80. Zoom into Slinger speedway
  81. See the Temple Lipizzaner horses in Wadsworth, Ill.
  82. Commune with nature at Nicolet National Forest
  83. Tour the State Capitol Building in Madison
  84. Check out the Road Kill Museum in Madison
  85. Charter a fishing boat on Lake Michigan
  86. Hear a concert under the stars at Ravinia
  87. Pet the donkey at the Apple Holler in Sturtevant
  88. Unearth some old treasures at Cedarburg's Maxwell Street Days
  89. Golf at Blackwolf Run in Kohler
  90. Tour the Cornish miners' cottages and shop for art in Mineral Point
  91. See if anyone in Brooklyn, Wis. knows Spike Lee personally
  92. Stargaze at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay
  93. Ride Kenosha's downtown streetcar
  94. Eat gelato on Main Street in Waukesha
  95. See Kenosha County's Chiwaukee Prairie, the most intact coastal wetland in southeastern Wisconsin
  96. Check out how cheese is made at Cedar Grove cheese factory in Plain (north of Spring Green)
  97. Visit Belleville, the UFO capital of the world, for UFO Day in October
  98. Ride the historic train at East Troy Electric Railroad Museum
  99. See the acclaimed collection of decorative arts at Racine Art Museum
  100. Cheer or jeer the birthplace of the Republican Party in Ripon