Indiana is a quintessential Midwest state that embodies all the region stands for in terms of hospitable, patriotic, down-to-earth, hard-working, hard-playing, family-oriented Americans. If it’s good enough for a rocker like John Cougar Mellencamp, who has called Indian home most of his life, it’s good enough for the rest of us. Here, visitors can enjoy its many small towns, shop at family-owned stores, and dine at locally-owned-and-operated, one-of-a-kind restaurants, with food that is absolutely out of this world. But that’s not all. City slickers will love the city lights and nightlife of Indianapolis, particularly Broad Ripple, and maybe even catch an Indiana Pacers game. And if touring northwest Indiana, it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump, or for most a quick train ride, over to one of America’s finest and largest cities, Chicago Illinois. Given its proximity to this powerhouse city with its heavy Italian influence, it’s no wonder that many Indiana restaurants serve up tasty deep-dish pizzas, spicy Italian beef hoagies with your choice of sweet or hot peppers, savory sausages, flavorful pastas, and Chicago-style hot dogs. Wow! Its border with Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes, offers residents and visitors alike a waterfront respite from everyday life, where they can while away the hours boating, fishing, waterskiing, swimming, or just taking a nice, relaxing stroll down the beach. It’s also home to both Purdue and Indiana University. And though we don’t quite know where the term originated, like they say in Indiana, “Go Hoosiers!”

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