Has anyone been to St. Charles IL? We are looking for small towns with nice scenery and gift/craft type shops? Or nay suggestions in the Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois area?

Mary:If you do go to St. Charles, do so on the first weekend of the month. Kane County Fairgrounds has a HUGE "flea market" then - & it is never cancelled - regardless of weather. You might also consider Galena - beautiful scenery & lots of shops.

You might investigate the Nashville/Brown County Indiana area. It is very quaint. Some cute B&Bs, antique store, amish area etc. It is very popular in the early fall to see the turning of the leaves. Beautiful country and still very natural. St. Charles is nice but very built up. I* live in Chicago and would choose Nashville, Indiana or the Bellvue/Dubuque Iowa on the Mississippi River for little excursions.

I have only been there a couple of times and I really like the little downtown. However, it seemed to me there were more antique stores (if you like that kind of thing). But the neighboring town of Geneva has a lot of cute little gift shops. You must go to The Little Traveler if you go there. Have you considered Door County, WI? It sounds like what you are looking for but it can get very crowded over the summer. good luck.

Mary: If you take Laurie's suggestion & stay in Geneva, check out Herrington Inn in that city. Someone posted about it this past winter - it has a website & looks fantastic!

In Indiana, there's Amish country out near South Bend in Shipshewana/Middlebury/Nappanee. There's a flea market on Tues and Wed in Shipshewana and an auction every Wednesday as well as a bunch of little shops and antique stores. There are a couple of Amish family style restaurants-Essenhaus in Middlebury and Amish Acres in Nappanee. I prefer Essenhaus.

A couple of other ideas might be Galena in Illinois and Saugatuck in Michigan

Thanks to all who replied! We got alot of good suggestions.

My husband & I just stayed at the Herrington Inn in Geneva a couple of weeks ago. I agree, it was very nice. We splurged on a room with a river view - we thought it was worth it!