Places cmcsteph Wants to Go

Just off I-55 in McLean, Illinois, is a place where you can play over 100 arcade and pinball machines for 25-75 cents a pop.

This diner serves Route 66 nostalgia and what it claims is the 'original' hot dog on a stick.

Twice a year, this road is closed off to allow for the migration of thousands of snakes, reptiles and amphibians between cliffs and a swamp.

The park that the Chicago Stockyards built.

Chicago’s last original drive-in restaurant is a family-run hot dog joint that started in 1948.

Built in 1869, this now-retired structure looks more like a medieval fortress than a county lock-up.

The world's largest covered wagon is piloted by a giant Lincoln lawyer.

This Mediterranean castle was built for a millionaire and his giant dog.

This tiny historic jail along Route 66 is the perfect fit for exactly one criminal and their partner-in-crime.

The carved remains of a 200-year-old oak tree memorialize the namesake of the iconic "Wizard of Oz" character.

A 400-foot-tall tall map of Chicago makes this once-ignored building stand out.

While he no longer has an eatery to give him context, this off-brand Paul Bunyan still holds his giant hot dog with pride.

A journey begins with a single step, and for many, the road-trip of a lifetime started at this Chicago intersection.

A historic and oft-filmed prison stands in a Chicago suburb.

Spanking machines, fake goats, and more devices of humiliation are on display in this museum of fraternal initiation devices.

No one knows how many bodies are in this vault in a Chicago public park.

You have to love a museum with a truly dedicated focus. A focus on Superman, for example.

Eclectic collection of rare and beautiful stones in a historic home.

Quirky water tower advertises the long-gone Brooks Tomato Products Co.

What was once the second largest steel mill in the US is now a sprawling complex of modern ruins.

Home to a protest movement, a bombing, and a dramatic change in labor history.

Oversized statues are just the tip of this nostalgic Americana roadside attraction.

What may be America's largest classic video game arcade lurks inconspicuously in a Chicago suburb.

Once one of the world's great cities, Cahokia was a place of religious worship, trade and mass human sacrifice before being mysteriously abandoned.