Author Melanie Holmes' first travel book is part bucket list, part love letter to her home state.
Published in 2023, 100 Things to Do in Illinois Before You Die intentionally covers attractions, events and activities all across Illinois from top to bottom — including several spots an arm’s length from Bloomington-Normal.
Holmes visits Central Illinois this week for a free book talk on Tuesday, July 23, at the El Paso Public Library.
100 Things to Do in Illinois Before You Die is organized by category, highlighting food and drink; music and entertainment; sports and recreation; culture and history; and shopping and fashion.
Holmes additionally suggests itineraries based on particular interests or time of year. She based her decisions on what to include on “user experience,” drawing from personal experience traveling the state plus input from family and friends from a variety of regions.
“People have asked me how long it took to write this book, and I say a lifetime,” Holmes said. “I honestly don’t think you can write a book like this unless you really are getting out there, taking those back roads, and really just appreciating the winding road that can take you to all these unexpected places.”
Holmes said she is uniquely positioned to represent Illinois. She hails from Manteno, a fast-growing village 50 miles south of Chicago. It was a rural farm town when Holmes lived there; she relocated to Chicago for employment purposes and now lives in the Chicago suburbs.
“When I was touring the state and talking with people in the southern parts of Illinois, I heard the comment, ‘People in Chicago don’t think anything south of I-80 exists,’” Holmes said. “I was born south of I-80, and that’s what I bring to this book.”
Holmes’ mother instilled her with a wanderlust, but it was the COVID-19 pandemic that pushed her pursue 100 Things to Do in Illinois Before You Die. Cooped up and itching to travel, Holmes and her husband obeyed mandates by road tripping within state lines, finding interesting things by using a maps app. She describes touching a piece of the Berlin Wall at Eureka College as an “epiphany moment.”
“When I touched that, I had tingles,” Holmes said. “To touch a slab that used to stand between East and West Germany, and to wonder who else may have touched that — or shot at it — that was the moment at which I knew I wanted to write this book.”
Holmes said Illinoisans don't give themselves or their state enough credit. Entries point to Illinois’ indigenous peoples, agricultural heritage and Civil War history as a free state surrounded by slave states. Others speak to the state’s geographic diversity — a surprise to many.
“You can go white water rafting. You can go downhill skiing in the driftless zone, which is the northwest corner of the state,” she said. “We have an almost 300,000-acre national forest that covers Southern Illinois.”
Looking for Lincoln in Lincoln
Among the Central Illinois listings is the Lincoln Heritage Museum and the city of Lincoln, noted by Holmes as the first city named for Abraham Lincoln before he achieved national recognition.
“We can look for Lincoln everywhere,” she said. “Finding Lincoln in Lincoln — that was pretty fascinating. It’s a fun place to visit.”
Holmes suggests visiting the museum, wandering courthouse square and stopping at the historic depot and giant covered wagon — the latter along Route 66.
“For something quirky,” the entry reads, “stand at the east corner of Courthouse Square and look east across the intersection at the roof of City Hall — it’s a phone booth… on the roof. Why? Ask a Lincolnite!”
Farm and table
Holmes was thoroughly impressed by Epiphany Farms, noting the restaurant group’s unique model sourcing produce, eggs and meat directly from its farm in Downs.
“There’s a place in the book you can learn about the history of farming,” Holmes said of Kline Creek Farm, an 1890s-era operation in West Chicago. “Epiphany Farms is farming now. It’s not farm to table as much as it is farm and table. They are serving you what they grew. That is a unique model.”
Holmes does not pretend to present a comprehensive guide to Illinois, though her “100 things” is more like 125 with the book’s added tips and roundups. It’s intentionally brief, aimed at sparking people’s excitement for getting out there and exploring the off-the-beaten-path.
"It had to be something pretty spectacular or unique to make it into the book," Holmes said. "If we're going to tell Illinois' story through a collection, we want to make sure we're really rounding out those experiences."
Melanie Holmes is the author of 100 Things to Do in Illinois Before You Die, from Reedy Press. Holmes speaks at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the El Paso Public Library, 149 W. First St., El Paso. The talk is free and open to the public.
