Blog
Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden in East Lansing
The Pizza Garden in Spring The Pizza Garden One of our favorite gardens at the Michigan 4-H Children's Garden was the Pizza Garden, where we found everything it takes to make pizza. The six feet in diameter garden has a mysteriously missing slice and concrete “crust”...
Burgdorf’s Winery: Award-Winning Wine from a Garage
From Hobby to Business For the Burgdorfs, it all started 30-some years ago as home winemakers, in the Haslett, Michigan countryside east of Lansing, with a bumper crop of wild black raspberries. Dave laughed, “You can only make so many jellies, cobblers, and pies. We...
How to Spend the Perfect Day in Put-in-Bay, Ohio
Should you take your car to Put-in-Bay? You could, but I didn't and was glad. During weekends and holidays, you can't take your vehicle for a day trip. You must show evidence of an overnight stay. Parking is difficult, and some areas are congested. Renting a golf cart...
Top Places for Outdoor Activities in Michigan in 2024
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Waterfalls One of the best outdoor activities in Michigan is chasing waterfalls. While Michigan’s Lower Peninsula has only one waterfall, the Upper Peninsula is the perfect place to chase waterfalls. The UP has over 300 waterfalls. Spend...
The Best Things to Do in Wichita, Kansas
In the 1920s and 1930s, business people and aeronautical engineers established several aircraft manufacturing companies. Lloyd Stearman, Clyde Cessna, and Walter Beech established the Travel Air Manufacturing Company in Wichita on January 26, 1925. Wichita became a...
4 Michigan Children’s Gardens: Move Learning Outdoors
You might be a bit concerned that a garden might leave the kiddos begging for an early departure, but that’s not the case in any of these gardens. While each includes flowers and plants, they also feature a variety of activities to engage the kiddos through...
Traverse City, Michigan: Cherry Capital of the World
Cherry Republic Traverse City Cherry Republic in Traverse City, Michigan Photo Credit: Traverse City Tourism Cherry Republic is an iconic establishment that has become a mecca for cherry enthusiasts seeking a taste of Michigan’s famous Montmorency tart cherry. After...
Olivia’s Chophouse in Jonesville, Michigan
Olivia's Chophouse During Lunch Service Olivia's Chophouse serves upscale gourmet meals that include steak and seafood specialties. That said, you’ll find more casual daily specials like Taco Tuesday and Pizza Thursdays. Be sure to ask about daily specials. We had a...
7 Lansing, Michigan Best Restaurants in 2024
Experience One of Michigan’s Best Scratch Kitchens at Zaytoon Zaytoon, Arabic for olive, is a Mediterranean restaurant focused on the Middle East and some Greek dishes with an American twist. “Fast Food - Cooked Slow” -- it’s a healthy alternative to fast food. They...
10 Things to Do in Lansing, Michigan
Food and Drink Saddleback BBQ Saddleback BBQ (#17) is a hand-crafted, Southern BBQ shop specializing in four types of meat—back ribs, brisket, pulled pork shoulder, and chicken quarters. With this BBQ you could add a fourth C, culinary to the list of things to do in...
Abilene, Kansas: Wild West to White House
In 1867, Abilene became the western end of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, where it met The Chisholm Trail. The town was the wild west in the truest sense, as cowboys herded cattle from Texas to Abilene and boarded them into railroad cars to ship them throughout the...
Deciding Dessert First
Call me crazy, but dessert requires some planning. When cooking at home, it isn’t an afterthought, and it shouldn’t be in a restaurant. I ask to see the dessert menu right upfront. Even more daring is requesting the server to bring the dessert tray before ordering....
Clarkston Union Bar & Kitchen in Clarkston, Michigan
Stained-Glass Window at Clarkston Union Bar and Kitchen Today, the pews that once sat congregants now seat families and friends around their dining tables. The original stained-glass windows add interest. While they maintained many of the former church’s...
Nova Scotia’s South Shore Lobster: Ocean to Table
Lobster Fishing Off Nova Scotia's South Shore The temperature at the dock was in the low 30s, but I wasn’t shivering. I dressed in several layers in anticipation of the colder offshore temperatures. I could barely bend my limbs because the bulk made navigating the...
How to Spend a Perfect Day in Clear Lake, Iowa
Entrance to Central Gardens North Iowa 9:30 a.m. Central Gardens of North Iowa To start off our morning, we went to one of the best things to do in Clear Lake, Iowa, Central Gardens of North Iowa. We found a lot going on during a midweek morning. Line dancing was in...
2024 Maple Syrup Festivals and Events in Michigan
Michigan Maple Syrup Weekends This year, spread throughout Michigan, members of the Michigan Maple Syrup Association will participate in this year’s Annual Michigan Maple Syrup Weekends from mid-March through early April throughout both...
While Piper is a lifelong Michigander, she’s had adventures worldwide. Bomb-sniffing dogs chased her in the middle of the night in Bogota (working late), gate agents refused her boarding to Paraguay (wrong visa), and US Marshals announced her seat number on a plane while looking for a murder suspect (she’d traded seats). It’s always an adventure! She even finds exciting activities in her home state of Michigan, where she lives in Lansing with her husband, Ross Dingman, her daughter, Alexis, and two granddaughters.