Hello! I'll be taking my 21 year old Swiss friend on a May/June trip in the US. She'll be staying in the Midwest for a week or two. Then we want to travel casually for a long weekend without driving too much from that location once we get there (flying) - really exploring one place. Last time I took her to Chicago and she loved it. She prefers to see cities, unique landscapes, deserts or lakes that would have pleasant temperatures that time of year. She enjoys nature, museums, wineries/breweries, big cities/small towns and famous locations. She's interested in visiting most anywhere without any particular ideas. As noted in my title, I'm double her age but we have many similar interests. Thank you for your suggestions!

Traverse City, Michigan?

I am not familiar with Traverse City. Can you please tell me a little about this place?

You say you want to fly to the location . . . so we really need to know where in the midwest you'll be starting because connections will be better/worse from some airports to some destinations.

We would fly/drive from Lexington or Cincinnati area.

New York City
Washington, D.C.
Charleston, NC
Atlanta, GA
Nashville, TN
Richmond, VA

Charleston, SC
Asheville, NC
Washington, DC

Philadelphia
Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Niagara region in Ontario

Portland - you can day trip to wineries, the coast or Mt. Hood.
Seattle
Minneapolis

All would have decent temps in late May or early June, shouldn't be real humid either.