Blog
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...
Walking the Las Vegas Strip at Night: A 2025 Tour
When you think of walking the Las Vegas Strip at night, you can’t help but think of neon, LED, and incandescent lights. They all help bring energy and life to the night. The International Space Station images show Las Vegas as the world’s brightest city.
According to research from Smart Lighting Industries, a firm based in the United Kingdom, the Las Vegas Strip, with over 12,000,000 lights, is the most expensive tourist attraction in the world to light. The light bill on the Strip is about $443,521,846 annually. It all starts when you enter the Strip. One interesting, fun fact is that the 4.2-mile Las Vegas Strip is outside the city limits.
Twelvemonth: A Vegan Restaurant in Burlingame, California
LEEDS Certification and Sustainability The restaurant’s modern aesthetic, with earth-brown exposed brick, booths clothed in ocean blue upholstery, and green tiles trimming the bar, the colors of planet Earth are well-represented in Twelvemonth’s décor—another...
5 Best Restaurants in Surrey, British Columbia
Guacamole Mexican Grill run by Marvin and Rosa Magana, is a bit of an anomaly. While the restaurant serves Mexican food, the family who runs it is from El Salvador. On the menu, you’ll also find some El Salvadoran dishes, like Pupusas. While the restaurant is a bit off the beaten track, it’s worth seeking out for the food and the fun. Look for the bright green building, which reminds me of guacamole.
11 Best Foodie Experiences in Shipshewana, Indiana
As a foodie, when I travel, I often look for ways to recreate dishes at home that I found on the road. This article explores Shipshewana’s restaurant scene, rooted in the traditions of the Amish community, and markets where you can purchase authentic ingredients....
Porto’s Bakery & Café in Buena Park, California
A cordoned-off lane made sense of the line, while an employee at the entrance served as a traffic cop, directing customers inside to the bakery or café line—whichever line was shorter. Since this was my first visit to Porto’s Bakery and Café, I followed directions and...
Les Cheneaux Culinary School Restaurant in Hessel, Michigan
I arrived mid-service on a Sunday evening, and while the restaurant was busy, the atmosphere was calm and pleasant, even on my behind-the-scenes kitchen tour. The kitchen was buzzing with activity in a relatively small space, yet collaboration and teamwork were...
The Kansas City Taco Trail: 10 Must-Try Taquerias
Kansas City’s Hispanic heritage began in the early 20th century when Mexican immigrants came to Kansas to help build the railroads. Congress limited the number of European immigrants through the 1918 Foreign Exclusion Act after World War I. As a result, in 1910, 55...
A Foodie’s Guide to the Best Restaurants Near Fairfield, Iowa
Fishback & Stephenson Cider House My foodie fun began when the locals introduced me to Fishback & Stephenson Cider House, one of the best restaurants near Fairfield, Iowa. Their cider flights sparkled like jewels in the afternoon sun. Some of my favorite hard...
The Mitten Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan
The Atmosphere The 120-year-old Mitten Brewing Company building has exposed brick throughout. The baseball theme starts in the lobby with four blue stadium-style seats from the original Detroit Tiger Stadium. An old English D symbolizing the Detroit Tigers adorns one...
10 Grand Rapids Breweries to Throw Back a Cold One
Use the Beer City Ale Trail Map to plan how you will explore Grand Rapid's 50-plus craft breweries. Many of these also offer dining experiences, so you may want to visit those around mealtime. Piper’s Pro Planning: You won’t need to drive to enjoy the Beer...
One Perfect Day in Carmel, Indiana
Breakfast – Eggshell Bistro Asparagus Strata at Eggshell Bistro We started the morning early with breakfast on the City Center’s north side at Eggshell Bistro, where Chef Larry Hanes is creating a Euro-influenced oasis in the middle of Indiana. Eggshell Bistro makes...
Nova Scotia’s Lighthouse Route
Chester Foc's'cle Restaurant in Chester Famous for Lobster Chowder Leaving Halifax, Nova Scotia’s oldest and capital city, my first stop down Nova Scotia's Lighthouse Route was the town of Chester, where wealthy 19th-century American families went for summer getaways....
Year-Round Festivals in Marquette, Michigan
Skiing in Marquette Michigan Photo Courtesy of Travel Marquette Heikki Lunta For an authentic “Yooper” celebration of Finnish heritage, the Heikki Lunta Festival is an annual mythology event created for the fictional Heikki Lunta. This creature would dance to make it...
The 360 Experience Aboard the Discovery Princess
A Cocktail with Blue Curacao at the 360 Experience on the Discovery Princess Like every other foodie, I’m constantly searching for the next over-the-top experience. I look for events like cooking classes where we make fresh squid ink pasta, ocean-to-table lobster...
Community Orchard: A Family Fun Itinerary in Fort Dodge, Iowa
The orchard lies along the beautiful Des Moines River Valley, where the orchard grows over 5,000 trees and includes more than 15 varieties of fresh-from-the-tree-picked apples. They also offer sunflowers in summer and continue through autumn with pumpkins. Denny &...
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.