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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...
A Peek at the Historic Park Inn in Mason City, Iowa
Historic Park Inn Hotel The Historic Park Inn showcases the trademark details of the only remaining Frank Lloyd Wright-designed hotel, one of six designed and five built. As a result, the halls ooze with history. These are the same halls where big band stars...
How to Spend 24 Hours in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Upon their arrival, the settlers found rocks rather than farmland. Although the immigrants weren’t mariners by the late 1800s, they made schooners and became fishermen. Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, was a fishing village. Codfish was king in those days, and Lunenburg became...
Traverse City, Michigan: A Luxury Destination
Things to Do in Traverse City Discover Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Traverse City is home to Lake Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Congress designated it as a coastal area with natural and recreational importance that requires preservation,...
13 Best Restaurants in Traverse City, Michigan
Aerie Restaurant One of the best restaurants in Traverse City, located inside the Grand Traverse Resort, on the sixteenth floor of the Tower, is Aerie Restaurant. Their floor-to-ceiling windows wrap around the tower, featuring stunning views to complete your...
The Great Wildebeest Migration
Thousands of Wildebeest Make the Journey Each Year Giraffes on Tanzania's Northern Serengeti “We’re going to ignore the giraffes on the right,” Frances yelled over the roaring engines as we sped along the path at 40 clicks per hour. The heat poured down from the...
7 Best Restaurants in Wichita, Kansas (2024)
Home Grown HomeGrown, with three Wichita locations, serves made-from-scratch breakfast and lunch, thus dubbing itself “the daytime eatery.” The downtown location sits next to Naftzger Park and features a patio. The same Homegrown company also owns Peace, Love &...
Best Things to Do in Medora, North Dakota in 2024
Medora Uncork'd - A Wine Bar and ShopAronia Berry wine from Wolf Creek Winery in Cole Harbor, North Dakota Friday Afternoon, Unwind at Medora Uncork’d We kicked off the weekend at Medora Uncork’d with a glass of Aronia Berry wine from Wolf Creek Winery in Cole Harbor,...
A Guide to the Best of the San Francisco Peninsula
While you’ll have three airports to select from on the peninsula, positioned between San Francisco and San Jose, you’ll find the largest airport, the home of San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The other two include San Carlos (SQL) and San Jose (SJI). Thank...
The San Francisco Peninsula: A Coast Side Day Trip
Rosalind Bakery Rosalind Bakery in Pacifica was our breakfast stop, just a block from the ocean. Pacifica is the perfect San Francisco day trip. The bakery owner, Matthew Kosoy, told us that the negative ions from the surf and the mellow climate positively affect...
How to Plan a Vacation: 7 Ways to Pack More Travel into Your Over-Scheduled Life
When faced with finding a backup or coming back to a mountain of work, the whole idea leaves you overwhelmed. You feel like it’s easier to forget those vacation days. Don’t. Travel planning doesn't need to be a lot of work. Here are seven approaches I’ve used to...
Lansing Michigan: 12 Fun Facts
1. Centrally Located in Lansing, Michigan Lansing is centrally located and within 90 minutes of 90% of the state’s population, so Lansing is not only a great place to explore on its own, but it’s also a fantastic base for day trips throughout the southern half of the...
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.