Moving MIL & college visits - Nashville to Springfield, OH to Brighton, MI & back

So Saturday we leave to go to Ohio to move my mother in law from Springfield, OH to an assisted living center in Brighton, MI.  Coming back through Shipshewana, IN (daughter and I have never been to any Amish communities & we'll be on our own by then) down to Purdue and then back to Nashville.
 
Any suggestions are welcome.  So far it looks like this - Saturday drive up from Nashville probably straight to Springfield - pack her up Sat, Sun & Mon with a trip to Columbus in there somewhere, probably Monday.  She's looking for Engineering programs and OSU is her dad's alma mata and she really wants to go there but.....
 
We definitely have Youngs on the list - Jeff just went there for the first time a couple of weeks ago with his cousin.  Of course we'll have to hit Schuler's bakery - I have to have some fruit bars!!!
 
Tue DH drives his mom's car over to Brighton, MI.  We follow at our own pace I think so we'll have time to swing by some places like Rothchilds to pick up some goodies - we've been there before, mainly like their products more than the cafe.
 
Wed DH flies out of Detroit and DD and I are on our own.  We've never been to any Amish communities and a friend has talked about Shipshewana so we are going to drive over and down and probably spend the night in that area. 
 
Thur we'll head out towards Purdue and tour the campus that afternoon and visit the on campus farmers market.  Not sure if we'll spend the night there or head towards Indianpolis.
 
Fri we'll get up and head on back to Nashville.
 
Not sure if we'll stop at a couple of other colleges or not - still reviewing the list and deciding.

Melissa have a wonderful trip!  If you do end up in Indianapolis the Gray Bros cafeteria is just a bit out of town.  Also Shapiro's is a great stop.

(I couldn't put in a word for South Carolina could I?  Or Cliff would be along any moment to echo the same for Clemson.)

Not at all - we're still trying to look and decide where to look and what we think we can afford.  We've put Virginia Tech on the list and I loved Portland so much that I put Portland State on the list.  But we think OSU and Purdue are probably the northernmost limits of her search and she was quick to let me know that Austin was in Texas and that was not in her range.

Go Boilermakers!  Specialty for Engineering!  If in the Indy area Gray Brothers and Shapiro’s.

Triple XXX Restaurant is in West Lafayette, IN - not far at all from the Purdue campus.  I found it to be an excellent, true Roadfood stop.  They were also featured on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives for a burger that includes peanut butter as a topping.  I passed on that, but did go for a different burger and a fine shake.

I will also echo the sentiment for Shapiro's in Indianapolis, as well as Hollyhock Hill for excellent fried chicken.

I don't know what kind of engineering your daughter is interested in (and she may not, either, at this point), but - in addition to the schools mentioned previously - if she is interested in any "unique" engineering disciplines (and schools in the midwest), you might consider Missouri University for Science and Technology (the former University of Missouri - Rolla).  They have some really cool engineering majors there - i.e. mining, petroleum, environmental, explosives (!!)  Also, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre Haute, IN) has been known to give significant scholarship money to underrepresented poulations (female engineers are SURELY underrepresented).

Lastly - and completely off-topic - make sure you start a search for "outside" scholarships - NOW.  Outside scholarships are monies awarded by civic organizations, major (and local) corporations and businesses, governmental organizations, etc - essentially, anyone who is not a specific college or university.  The great thing about getting this scholarship money is that you can take it to whatever school you choose.  Why now?  Deadlines for applications for this money comes around quick - and, invariably, you (and most everyone else) will be scrambling to find additional aid money to make that "dream school" an affordable option.  Try to do YOUR scrambling before everyone else!

In Shipshewana be sure to eat at the Blue Gate Restaurant.  Other options are the 5 & 20 Restaurant just south of Shipshewana at the intersection of Indiana Route 5 and US Route 20, and at Middlebury (about 10 miles west of Shipshewana on US-20), Das Dutchman Essenhaus located right on US-20 or the Village Inn (reviewed on this web site) in downtown Middlebury.
 
Be aware that Shipshewana has a huge flea market every Tuesday and Wednesday, so there will be a lot of people there on Wednesday.

Thanks everyone for ALL of the advice.

Travelin Man - she's not 100% sure but something in Civil - she met the structural engineer for the Twin Towers at a camp in MA a couple of years ago as well as one of the civil engineers for the Big Dig in Boston so they got her interested in structural and traffic.  She was already interested in civil and environmental.   As for scholarships - that is going to be a big part of where she goes.  We are running behind in my opinion so we are trying to make up for it.  I know there are a lot of little ones out there and there are a lot of people that actually make money on those little scholarships - $200 at a time.  We sat down figuring up all our connections - Society of Military Engineers (DH works for Corps), Eastern Star, my dad's Masonic ties, etc.

Ardee - Thanks for the warning but lots of people okay if we get a big flea market thrown in!  I was surprised how expensive hotels in that area were though - guess maybe I know why now.

South Carolina has majors in both civil e and environmental science, and I think Clemson has a traffic engineering program.