Midwest Guest

Midwest travel links for December 2015

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

6 Michigan Lighthouses too Pretty for Words-I love Great Lakes lighthouses and have a special affection for Michigan light stations, so I found this article on the Shalee Wanders blog particularly interesting. I've visited, and written about, several of the lighthouses on Shalee's list like Big Sable, Grand Haven and Grand Island, plus I've got photos and notes ready to go for writing a story about Pt. Iroquois Lighthouse at a later date. Getting a good view of the Port Austin Reef Lighthouse and heading on over to see the St. James Lighthouse on Beaver Island are still on my Michigan bucket list, though!

 

Hotel Vandivort: Local History, Art, Food-I love staying in places that have an interesting story and a rich history, and the Hotel Vandivort in Springfield, Missouri looks like just such a place. An urban boutique hotel in a former Masonic Temple, the hotel pays special attention to its local history and showcases the work of local artists and stresses the use of locally sourced food. Check out Connie's story on her Midwest Wanderer blog.

At Old Jail Inn, spend a comfy night behind bars. Really!-Willingly spend the night in jail? Erica assures readers that they'll want to do just that at this unique bed-and-breakfast inn on the downtown square in Rockville, Indiana. Check out her story on the Indiana Insiders blog.

A Photo Tour of the East Cell Block of the Historic Mansfield Reformatory-The curious and the brave may want to try spending overnight at the Mansfield Reformatory in Ohio (featured in scenes from film, "The Shawshank Redemption"), but if you want to ease into that idea a little more, Tonya suggests a tour of the former prison's imposing and scary enough East Cell Block. Check out her story on The Traveling Praters blog.

Forest Home Cemetery: Paying Respects to Milwaukee Beer Barons-Connie talks about the fascination she has for old cemeteries where she can learn a bit more about a place by learning a bit more about its culture and history through cemetery plots, markers and monuments. This story about a graveyard full of local business people, politicians, military heroes and other local leaders reminds me a bit about writing about Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio (which is full of similarly fascinating locals, art and interesting architecture details). Check out Connie's story at the Midwest Wanderer blog.

The one time when it took almost 20 years to find a place to build a zoo-Amy asks the question "Why did it take about two dozen years to establish, and finally settle into, a zoo site in Detroit?" The story of the zoo is certainly a long and convoluted tale, especially for those of us familiar with this Detroit gem and curious about how early 20th-century politics worked in the city. To find out more about the zoo, Amy, her book, "Hidden History of Detroit", or other projects like Detroit Drunken History Society, check it out at The Night Train blog.

Scandinavian Christmas in Minneapolis-Here's a fun look at holiday traditions at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis. Terri checked out the trees, trolls and more Scandinavian traditions while enjoying a Swedish meatball or two at the institute's Turnblad Mansion. Check it out at the Off the Beaten Page blog.

Hidden Gems of Decorah, Iowa-A strong Norwegian culture, an impressive county courthouse and the Seed Savers Exchange Heritage Farm are just a few of gems Deb found in Decorah, Iowa. Check out her story about this Iowa town at the Just Short of Crazy blog.

TrekOhio Highlights of 2015-Deb and Bob's blog features stories and photos about "hiking the parks and preserves of Ohio", and here is a nice round-up of the best of their stories and photos from last year. You'll see a lot of great parks and geological features you might never suspect are in Ohio and be inspired to explore more of the state's natural gems and pleasures. Check it out at the TrekOhio blog.

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!

© Dominique King 2016 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for November 2015

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

4 Places to Capture Chicago Music History-Some of you may remember my review of the book, Exploring Chicago Blues by Rosalind Cummings-Yeates, late last year. Well, Rosalind tells us that she is writing for a lot of other publications this year in addition to her Farsighted Fly Girl blog. Check out Rosalind's latest story about Chicago Blues at the Good to Go blog.

 

 

How to Piss Off a South Dakotan-Not that you want to do that, mind you, but Laura gives us a list of peeves that drive her crazy when folks ask her about her home state. Check out her story on the Matador Network blog.

Overland Park Arboretum beauty abounds-Check out how much fall color remained at this beautiful nature center near Kansas City, Kansas during early November! Tim and Lisa of The Walking Tourists' blog had fun exploring the gardens, statuary and other attractions here to share with their readers.

Kansas City Holiday Bucket List-Discover polar bears, barbecue, bright lights and more in the Kansas City area during the winter holidays! I'm thinking those sound like great ideas to me, and I also like the idea of visiting the Union Station to check out the trains and the Mayor's 100-foot-tall tree. Check it all out in both Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri at Kim's Oh My! Omaha blog.

Home Sweet...Dymaxion Dwelling Machine?-Inventor and designer R. Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller had a lot of innovative ideas that he most famously expressed in his design of the geodesic dome home. Fuller first developed his pre-fab and environmentally friendly home during the 1920s, but didn't see it mass-produced until after World War II in an aircraft factory in Wichita, Kansas. We're lucky enough to have the only surviving example of Fuller's forward-thinking design on display in the Detroit area at The Henry Ford. Check out Kath's report about this unique home at her Great Lakes Gazette site.

 

 

Dymaxion dwelling at The Henry Ford behind Candy Band performance

 

Learn About America's 23rd President at Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site-President Benjamin Harrison called North Bend, Ohio his birth place, but lived much of his life in Indiana. Join Kayleen as she tours the Indianapolis mansion that President Benjamin Harrison called home for many years and learn a bit more about his life. Check it out at the Indiana Insider blog.

Milton Creamery: Award-Winning Artisan Cheese-Galen Musser received his first U.S. Cheese Championship award at the age of 17! I found Connie's story about Musser and the cheeses produced by his Iowa creamery especially interesting as the company works with area Amish farmers who provide milk from their cows to create Musser's artisan cheeses, much as the Ohio cheese makers we visited in Holmes County do. Check out Connie's story at the Midwest Wanderer blog.

Milwaukee Art Museum: A Peek at Its Renovation-I've long wanted to visit this museum, but the fact that it was in the midst of a major renovation project was one of the reasons we decided to delay our planned visit this past summer. Fortunately, Connie recently visited the museum during a media preview and posted some great images and information about the nearly-finished renovation. Now I'm more anxious than ever to see this unique building designed by architect Santiano Calatrava! Check it out on her Midwest Wanderer blog.

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!

© Dominique King 2015 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for October 2015

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

12 Ways to Map the Midwest-Where, exactly, is the Midwest? I've heard this question endlessly debated, and Aaron gives us eleven various ways to look at this region of the country at the Urbanophile blog. I generally think of the Midwest as including the regions considered the East North Central and West North Central regions by the U.S. Census (#2), but as Aaron demonstrates, there are folks who might consider states like Oklahoma or Alabama as part of the Midwest. What do you think?

The 2015 Edition of Autumn in Pure Michigan-Aaron shows us some beautiful reasons why we love autumn in this state so well. Check out his beautiful images of fall foliage, corn mazes and a traditional fall visit to one of Michigan's cider mills. Check it out at The Adventures of elATLboy blog.

 

 

Iowa Steel Cows-Many folks consider a view that includes cows grazing in a field as a quintessentially Midwestern image, and Deb found a host of these images gracing the scene in Decorah, Iowa. Check out her story at the Just Short of Crazy blog about finding these quirky cows and the clever artist who created them.

Pappaw's Honey Farm: Hidden in Hagerstown-I love finding a farm that sells locally produced honey, and this honey market on a farm  in Hagerstown, Indiana sounds like some of the family honey producers I've found elsewhere in the Midwest (like in Grand Rapids, Ohio). Check out her story about it at the Little Indiana blog.

Apostle Islands Grand Boat Tour, Bayfield-One of our most memorable evenings when we visited northern Wisconsin a number of years ago was the evening that we went on a Sunset Cruise to tour lighthouses in the area. I still have the photos somewhere, although they're not as easy to find now as our trip happened in our pre-digital camera days. I'd love the chance to visit the area again one of these days with the idea of capturing more lighthouse images, but meanwhile, I'll share this link to Kenneth's story and lighthouse images from the Bayfield area in his Wisconsin Explorer blog.

The Madeline Island Ferry-We also visited Madeline Island during our trip to northern Wisconsin and have fond memories of that excursion as well. Check out Kenneth's story about his ferry trip to the island at the Wisconsin Explorer blog. Thinking we should heed Kenneth's warning about visiting the island soon before too many other tourists discover it!

Pick Up A Penchant for Pudding Stones At Gene Stratton-Porter's Wildflower Woods-We recently visited Michigan's Upper Peninsula and heard about pudding stones on Drummond Island. Pudding Stone is the name of conglomerate rocks consisting of rounded pebbles held together with a sort of cement of finer grain stone, and the he rock looks like some sort of raisin pudding. We'd actually seen this before at the northern Indiana home of author Gene Stratton-Porter, which has a large pudding stone fire place. Check beesfirstappearance blog to read Betsy's story about Stratton-Porter's home and State Historic Site in Rome City, Indiana  

 

 

REA Power Plant Museum: The Beginning of Rural Electricity-The 1930s was a time of great economic hardship in the United States, but it's always interesting to read about public works and grant projects that still made some great improvements possible like this farmer-owned electrical co-op (and now museum) in Franklin Country, Iowa. I loved the classic Art Deco-style architecture of this building and reading this story by Connie of how it came to be the first farmer-owned cooperative to go live west of the Mississippi. Check it out at the Midwest Wanderer blog.

The National Mustard Museum (Or "not quite chipmunks in hula skirts. But still pretty awesome.")-Well, yes, it appears to be! This museum near Madison, Wisconsin has long been on our bucket list, but Sally definitely makes it sound like a must-do because (as Sally might say)...guys...Free mustard samples! Check out the story at Sally's unbrave girl blog.

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!

© Dominique King 2015 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for September 2015

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

Harpersfield Covered Bridge Metropark-I remember this bridge as being one of my favorites when we toured all of the covered bridges in Ashtabula County, Ohio. I liked seeing these recent images of this bridge from Deb and Bob at the TrekOhio blog.

 

 

World's First Chicago-Type Drawbridge Undergoing Repair in Bucktown-Check out Patrick's update about the ongoing repairs at this unusual "Chicago" bascule-type bridge on the Chicago Architecture blog. The bridge, named by the American Society of Civil Engineers as an Engineering Landmark and a Chicago Landmark by the city, is more than 100 years old. Check out Patrick's book, Chicago River Bridges, to learn more about this bridge and many others in the Windy City. Also check out my story about a bascule bridge in Ashtabula, Ohio and see an image of the bridge in action.

Historic Bridge Park: 5 Restored Truss Bridges in One Location-Check out one of the newest entries on my Midwest bucket list. Connie, Midwest Wanderer, writes about this unique park in Battle Creek, Michigan. I'm surprised I have yet to get to this place, but it is definitely on my need-to-see list on one of our next visits to the west side of the state! Meanwhile, is it any wonder that I own both the book about Chicago Bridges by Patrick T. McBriarty that I mentioned above, as well as Historic Highway Bridges of Michigan by Charles K. Hyde (a college prof who I had for several classes at Detroit's Wayne State University)?

 

 

Punderson Manor State Park Lodge: Beauty and History in Geauga County, Ohio-The Manor at Punderson State Park Lodge is another favorite destination. I spent several years attending a writers' conference here, so I'm well aware of the park and the manor's haunted history! I really enjoyed reading Karyn's story and seeing that the manor remains as beautiful and elegant as I remember it from my prior visits (see my stories at Midwest Guest and the Discover Ohio blog) and check out Karyn's story at the Sand and Snow...and Everywhere in Between! blog.

Remarkable Life, Tragic Death: Fairmount Boy James Dean-We had a chance to make a quick stop in Fairmount on our way home from Indianapolis earlier this summer and see the grave site and former high school of actor James Dean, so I was particularly interested to learn more about the legendary actor, his early life in this small Indiana town and his tragic death. Check it out at Jessica's Little Indiana blog.

From motorcycles to jelly beans: 7 cool things to see and do in Wisconsin-Check out Scott's list of quirky Wisconsin attractions at the Quirky Travel Guy blog. Not surprisingly, there are a few places on his list that are on our own Midwest bucket wish list--the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, the Jelly Belly tasting room in Pleasant Prairie and the State Capitol building in Madison, to name a few. Need more Wisconsin fun? Check out Scott's second list of quirky Wisconsin fun at the blog this month-Donut chickens, dinosaur bones and cheese koozies: Discovering the offbeat side of Kenosha, Wisconsin. I'm ready for trip to the Badger State soon!

 

 

Glacial grooves on Gibraltar Island

Escape to Kelley's Island-We've visited Ohio's Lake Erie Shores and Island region multiple times, but we've yet to get to Kelley's Island. We did get a peek at some glacial grooves on nearby Gibraltar Island, but I understand that Kelley's Island is the place to really get a good look at this natural wonder.Check out Mike's story on the OHventures blog.

Bully! Theodore Roosevelt National Park a gem in North Dakota-We traveled out to Wyoming and Montana some years back, planning our drive to go through the Dakotas. We only planned to drive straight through North Dakota on our way west, but we decided to stop at this beautiful National Park and badlands...and decided that a few hours were not nearly enough time to spend here. We've always wanted to return to North Dakota to spend at least a few days out near the Teddy Roosevelt National Park, so I really enjoyed reading about Lisa and Tim's adventure there. Read about it at the Walking Tourists' blog.

 

 

North Dakota prairie dog

 

Buhl Building by Wirt C. Rowland-Detroit has a lot of beautiful art deco-style buildings and skyscrapers, and while I see a lot of stories about places like the Guardian and Fisher buildings, the Buhl Building doesn't seem to get the same sort of attention. I remember being in the Buhl Building when I was heading over to tour the nearby Guardian Building and I remember thinking at the time that the vintage 1925 Buhl Building would be worth a separate trip to explore. Michael and Maya apparently felt the same way! Check out their story at the VisuaLingual blog about one of Detroit's lesser known architectural gems,

Marshall Carriage Company Ghost Tour in a Horse-Drawn Buggy-Getting in the mood for Halloween? Check out Connie's story about this ghostly tour of haunted homes in Marshall, Michigan on The Midwest Wanderer blog.

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!

Midwest travel links for August 2015

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

A Tale of Two Lighthouses: Crisp Point and Whitefish Point-I've been to a number of Great Lakes lights, but this breathless account of Sally's adventure at two remote lighthouses in Michigan's Upper Peninsula reminded me that, while we've visited Whitefish Point in the past, visiting Crisp Point is still on my bucket list. Check out her story at the always entertaining Unbrave Girl blog.

Whitefish Point

Classic American Road Power-Uke's Harley Davidson-This Harley dealership/museum in Kenosha, Wisconsin is definitely on our bucket list! Keith Ulicki opened the first Uke's in 1930, and his family still owns the dealership, Wisconsin's oldest. Check out Tony's story about this motorcycle enthusiasts' Mecca at The Walking Traveler blog.

Classic Car Collection: Kearney, Nebraska-With more than 200 vehicles, there is plenty to see at this classic car museum in Nebraska. Cool cars make for a cool and interesting stop if you're driving along I-80 says Sara. Check out her story about the museum at the Travels with Sara blog.

Lincoln Highway provides history and sites and Iowa-We love the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway in the United States, and enjoyed exploring it through Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and parts of Illinois and Pennsylvania. I especially enjoyed parts of and a few notable stops in Iowa like the hometown of actress Donna Reed and the historic Harrison County Courthouse. Check out Tim and Lisa's story about this legendary road at The Walking Tourists blog.

Short original brick section of the Lincoln Highway in Indiana

A Perfect Weekend in Indianapolis-We enjoyed our visit to Indianapolis earlier this summer, but Maya and Michael offer a few ideas for more things we should check out next time we visit Indy. I particularly liked seeing images of the city's cool vintage Indianapolis Central Library, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame and this couple's picks for local shopping. Check it out at the VisuaLingual blog.

What I Found in Indy-I like Max's approach to seeking out some of the more hidden treasures like the Slow Food Garden in Indianapolis' White River State Park and cool urban initiatives like a booth allowing visitors to send a postcard from Indy free of charge! Check out his story at The Urbanologist blog.

Slow Food Garden, Indianapolis

Downtown Wooster: A City Full of Surprises-I like nice surprises, and the small town of Wooster, Ohio looks like a good place to experience pleasant surprises. We've driven through Wooster, but we've yet to visit it and stay a while. We hope to remedy that and experience some surprises on our own soon. Meanwhile, I enjoyed getting a peek at the town and the nearby Lehman's Hardware store, which several people have suggested as a must-visit for Tim and me. Check out Tonya's story at The Traveling Praters' blog.

The white squirrels are (almost) everywhere in Olney, Illinois-Albino squirrels are everywhere you look in Olney. Their images adorn police cars, city welcome signs, trash bins, shops and more in town, but Scott had a little difficulty in finding a real, live white squirrel in town. He finally achieved success in his search after reminding himself to "Think like a white squirrel!" (hey, the same tactic sometimes works for me when I'm searching for a misplaced item--"if I were a set of keys, where would I be?"). Check out Scott's search and success story at the Quirky Travel Guy blog.

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!

Midwest travel links for June 2015

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

Burlington Bees: An Evening at the Ballpark-Connie likes seeing Minor League Baseball games when she travels for some of the same reasons I'm a big supporter of taking in Minor League games when I travel--the ready availability of teams to see in the Midwest and the fact that the games are affordable, family-friendly fun. Her story at Midwest Wanderer shows that her recent experience at a the Burlington Bees' ball park in Iowa to see the team play Grand Rapids Michigan's Whitecaps played out much as our recent visit to see the Indianapolis Indians...the game was a rain-out, but we had a great time anyway!

At a Grand Rapids Whitecaps game

Navy Pier Ferris Wheel to be Replaced with Bigger, More Modern Version-I loved the huge Ferris Wheel on Chicago's Navy Pier, and it seems so iconic that I found it surprising to learn that the city plans to replace it with a taller and more luxurious ride (can you say year-round climate-controlled gondolas? Check it out at the Chicago Architecture Blog.

10 tourist traps to love-Speaking of iconic sites like Navy Pier with its Ferries Wheel, this list includes the pier and Ferries Wheel, as well as nine other must-see quirky Midwest sites. I've seen several places on this list like South Dakota's Corn Palace, Michigan's Mackinac Island and the Michigan Upper Peninsula site that fully embraces its identity as a tourist trap, Da Yoopers Tourist Trap and Museum. Check out Beth's story at the Midwest Weekends blog.  

No Wonder Birds Flock to Gene Stratton-Porter's Limberlost Cabin-Looking for something a little more educationally inclined? Gene Stratton-Porter is an Indiana author, photographer and naturalist who enjoyed immense popularity during the early 20th century. We've visited Gene Stratton-Porter's "cabin" near Rome City, Indiana, and Limberlost (also in northern Indiana) appears like it has many of the same sort of construction details, gardens and nature-friendly features that distinguish the Limberlost North home we saw. Check out Betsy's story about Limberlost at the beesfirstappearance blog.

Limberlost North

Visiting the Mankato Minnesota Houses Where Betsy and Tacy Lived-The Maud Hart Lovelace penned series of books about Betsy, Tacy and Tib were another childhood favorite for me, and I'd love to visit the Mankato, Minnesota area where these stories based on the author's life at the turn of the twentieth century happened. Check out Terri's story at the Off the Beaten Page Travel to learn more about these books and the stories behind them.

Positively Classic Cars-Where can classic car fans can check out unique vintage vehicles like a legendary Tucker, the infamous Edsel, a classy Auburn, the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car or something that looks suspiciously like the car Jed and Granny Clampett drove during the 1960s camp-classic television show, The Beverly Hillbillies? Check out Maureen's story about the Classic Car Show at Oakbrook in Chicago, Illinois to find out more!

Lighthouses of Door County-I've visited many lighthouses along the eastern side of Lake Michigan, but I've yet to explore as many of the light stations along the lake's western shore in Wisconsin. Beth offers a nice list of Wisconsin lights I'd love to see! Check out her story at the Midwest Weekends blog.

13 Fascinating Facts about Michigan City and the Old Lighthouse-Some folks are surprised to find that Indiana has a lighthouse, but Indian's scant 45-miles of Great Lakes coastline is home to a very nice pier head lighthouse and a lighthouse museum housed in the old keepers' residence. I've always loved this light and the story of Harriet Colfax who served as the keeper here for an amazing 43 years! Check out Connie' story about the light, Harriet and more at the Midwest Wanderer blog.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Brandywine, Blue Hen and Buttermilk Waterfalls-We've been to this park a couple of times and enjoyed visiting the park's Brandywine Falls, but we've yet to visit Blue Hen or Buttermilk Falls. Thanks to Bob's story on TrekOhio, I can get a glimpse of those two cascades and make plans to make the trek out the them next time we're at the park!

Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive (Or "How to do Sleeping Bear Dunes without wanting to die a billion times.")-So, I think nearly every Michigander does the dune climb at least once, but as Sally encouragingly points out, it's much easier to get to the top of the dunes by taking this scenic drive. Check out her story at the Unbrave Girl blog.

Torchbearers Detroit trip finds a city on the upswing-We're hearing a lot of positive things about Detroit these days, and it's a welcome change from the diet of doom and gloom and ruin porn photos that seemed to dominate the media just a few years ago. Check out this story by Michael and Christa about a group of young visitors who found a lot to like in the Motor City. Check it out at the akronist.com blog.

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!

© Dominique King 2015 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for February 2015

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

Omaha's Ford Birthplace and Garden honors nation's 38th President-Michigan proudly claims President Gerald R. Ford as a favorite son, but few people realize that he was actually born in Omaha, Nebraska. Although he spent only a couple of weeks in his birthplace, the city still fondly remembers his life and accomplishments with several memorial tributes set in a beautiful garden. Check it out with Tim and Lisa at The Walking Tourists blog.

Another tribute to President Ford, his gravesite in Michigan

UW Geology Museum, Madison-I loved Kenneth's article about the Geology Museum at the University of Wisconsin's Madison campus. Like Kenneth, We've found some of the most focused and interesting museums tucked away on university campuses, plus I'm a real fan of museums with extensive rock and mineral displays. Check it out at the Wisconsin Explorer blog.

Wisconsin State Capitol, Madison-I love beautiful State Capitol buildings like our capitol building in Lansing, Michigan. Kenneth earns a second spot on this month's link love list with his great feature about Wisconsin's beautiful capitol building at the Wisconsin Explorer blog.  

Perry County Old Courthouse Museum in Cannelton-I love vintage county courthouses, and I love seeing vintage buildings gain new life through a re-use of the facility. So, I found a lot to love about Jessica's story about this old building, the mystery and intrigue behind the story of its time as an Indiana county courthouse and its current identity as a museum. Check it out at the Little Indiana blog.

Wall Drug: From Free Ice Water to Free Fun-It is difficult to miss the 200-plus Burma Shave-style signs lining the highways through South Dakota urging drivers to make a stop at Wall Drug. Connie checks out this drug store complex, which has to be one of the state's most visited tourist attractions, and didn't seem to be able to resist the idea of posing for a photo atop the "jackalope"! Check it out at the Midwest Wanderer blog.

Yup, everyone has to pose with the Jackalope, including me!

5 Reasons Cincinnati Chili is Misunderstood-I've long loved Paste Magazine for its music coverage, but I recently discovered the fun story about Cincinnati's unique chili. I'm a fan of the 3-way variation of Cincinnati chili over spaghetti noodles, topped with grated cheese and accompanied with oyster crackers, which I often make at home. Check out Max's story about the origins and variations of this southern Ohio city's signature dish at the Paste blog.

101 Things to do in Columbus (by Neighborhood)-Mike never seems to lack for things to do in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Here he helpfully lists 101 great things to do in Ohio's capital city that include taking a tour of the state's capitol building, touring the town via Segway, visiting a local tiki bar, checking out some local brews and much, much more. And if that wasn't enough, he also posted the list organized by types of activity. Check it out at the OHventures blog.

Positively CLASSIC-I love touring classic car museums and Maureen posts this article (complete with some great images) about touring a private collection of stunning vehicles with the Greater Illinois Region of the Classic Car Club of America. Check it out at her Positively Tuesday blog.

5 Ways Curling is a Lot Like Being Single-If you've ever wanted to check out curling (and so help me, I always thought it would be fun!), Sally checks to out so you can get an idea of what you're in for. Sally, who manages to write entertaining pieces about adventures like finding a pee funnel for a winter camping excursion in Michigan , makes me laugh until I'm ready to...um....well...check it out at her Unbrave Girl blog.

Four Surprising Facts you May Not Know about Ohio State Parks-Ohio has a lovely State Park system with 75 parks and more than 1,000 miles of hiking and biking trails. Tonya shares a few facts about what make the parks such great places to camp, boat, hike and more (including the Hocking Hills State Park, which is one of our favorite places to photograph. Check it out at The Traveling Praters blog.

Cedar Falls, Hocking Hills

Start Your Engine and Make Tracks to the Honda Heritage Center-Betsy visits the Honda Heritage which recently opened across the street from the Honda assembly plant in Marysville, Ohio, the company's first manufacturing facility in the United States. Learn about the company's history and role in manufacturing products like cars, motorcycles, airplanes, robots and more. Check it out at beesfirstappearance blog.  

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!

Midwest travel links for December 2014

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

Winter Magic: Our First-Time Family Excursion to Grand Rapids!-We frequently visit Grand Rapids on the western side of Michigan, but it was fun to see the city and it's attractions from the point of view of a parent with young children. Amy's post about her family's visit to the city at the My Experience Grand Rapids blog included one of my favorites-riding the carousel inside of the Grand Rapids Public Museum-and a couple of other things I thought would be fun for "big kids" like Tim and me-root beer tasting at The Electric Cheetah (which is already on our GRap bucket list) anyone?

Traverse City: A Beloved Getaway for Michiganders-Traverse City Michigan's northwestern Lower Peninsula is another favorite destination for us. We're planning to head up that way later this winter. Meanwhile, Max takes readers of the Go Nomad blog to some of our favorite TC destinations like Horizon Books and Cafe, Cherry Republic, Leland's Fishtown and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Fishtown harbor during winter

28 Fun Things to do in Indianapolis-Natalie shares this great list of Indianapolis area attractions at the Doing Indy blog. We've visited places around the city in recent years, but it's been years since we've visited the city itself. Spending a little more time in Indianapolis is another item on our Midwest bucket list, and this list looks like a great place to start planning future visits there!

Cheap Winter Getaways-Check out this great list of winter travel suggestions from the crew at the Midwest Weekends blog. I'm a big winter fan, and although I've visited places like the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in northern Wisconsin, Copper Harbor in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, some of Chicago's museums and places like Ely and Duluth in northern Minnesota during the summer, several of the things on this list have long been on my personal Midwest travel bucket list.

Grand Forks' Ralph Engelstad Arena offers hockey fans great facilities, play-Hockey in North Dakota? I'd be all about that. We've seen the University of North Dakota play at college tournaments in Detroit in the past (including one memorable time when we sat through two overtimes to see UND win a Great Lakes Invitational tourney). I really loved getting this glimpse of the team at their home arena from Tim at The Walking Tourists' blog.

4 Reasons to Love Detroit (Yes, I said LOVE. And, no, I'm not kidding.)-And I LOVED this post about Sally's recent visit to the D at the unbrave girl blog. Again, I see another visitor came to Detroit with some less than stellar memories of previous visits here and surprise themselves by finding a lot to like about Detroit.  I thought Sally did a great job of capturing some of the city's highlights and resurgent spirit. Go ahead Sally, get out there on the street corner with your pom poms and give us a cheer...I'll have your back :)

Thirty-One Thresholds: Discoveries at the National Mustard Museum? Indeed!-I love this idea from Wisconsin photographer an blogger Bo Mackison that requires her to head out of her home and visit some Madison-area attractions with her camera and write about those experiences on her personal blog. The National Mustard Museum has long been on my Midwest travel bucket list, so I loved getting a glimpse of the museum and its history here.

Mayberry Cafe: Blast from the past-Visiting this quirky eatery in Danville, Indiana is a special treat, especially for fans of the old Andy Griffith television show from the 1960s. Tim and I ate here a couple of years ago, so I especially enjoyed revisiting it virtually via this post from Kayleen on the Indiana Insider blog.  

Wordless Wednesday: Randolph County Courthouse in Winchester-I'm a big fan of old county courthouses, and Indiana seems to have a number of great ones worth visiting. Check out one of Jessica's favorite Indiana courthouses with this story at her little Indiana blog.

Indiana Bridges: Ferris Wheel Turned Dunns Bridge-I'm also a big bridge fan, so I loved learning a little about the creation of the Ferris wheel and this unique bridge in northern Indiana that may, or may not, be able to trace its origins to an attraction at the 1893 Chicago's World's Fair. This story is also at Jessica's Little Indiana blog. (For what it's worth, I also love true crime books. Want to learn more about Chicago's historic World's Fair? Check out The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson).

The City That's Using a Trail to Unite Its Citizens-Check Max's story at the National Swell blog about the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. The pedestrian and bike path official opened in May of 2013, and this story cites its positive effect on the city's cultural life, economic health, community life and the health of residents and visitors to Indianapolis. The Indianapolis area has several other nice pedestrian and bike trails, including the Monon Greenway, which we spotlighted in a story here after our visit to Carmel a couple of years ago.

Monon Greenway

History through headstones-We often visit old cemeteries when we travel, and we don't see that as creepy at all. Cemeteries can be interesting places to learn about an area's history, take photographs of beautiful statuary or architecture and opportunities to geocache. This story from The History Center of Allen County and Fort Wayne spotlights historic cemeteries and the Little Turtle Memorial in downtown Fort Wayne, which we discovered ourselves a couple of years ago. Check out the story at the Visit Fort Wayne Insider blog.

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!

© Dominique King 2015 All rights reserved

Midwest reads: Great Midwest-related books to give or receive!

Here are a few Midwest-related books that I've enjoyed reading recently:

Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: And all the Brilliant Minds Who Made the Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic by Jennifer Keishin-What made this 1970s television show set in Minneapolis such an enduring classic? This show inspired Oprah to pursue a career in television and inspired many more women with the idea that they could do anything they wanted to do in their lives. Folks watching reruns of this show today may think that they are watching a typical 1970s sitcom, but many of us watching this show during its first run had the idea that we were watching something far more revolutionary. The Mary Tyler Moore Show was one of the first to have a female lead character who was a "career woman" making her own way in life without relying on a man to carry her through life. I remember loving this show for its "family" of characters and for the idea that housewife, teacher or nurse might not be the only viable career options for girls growing up at the time to consider (says the girl who had a high school counselor tell her she should consider taking cooking instead of an advanced Geometry class because it cooking would surely be more useful than math in her future). It was fun to learn what later happened to the people who created the show and played the characters and how the show changed the television industry...for good.

 

Mrs. Lincoln's Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini- I featured the historical novel, Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, on one of my book lists early last year. This is another engrossing Civil War-era story from Wisconsin writer Chiaverini. This time, Chiaverini bases her novel on the life of Kate Chase, the "Belle of Washington", who engaged in a fierce rivalry with Mary Todd Lincoln for primacy in the Washington D.C. social and political scene. The book runs through the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln's assassination and the first year of Chase's contentious marriage to William Sprague (Rhode Island's "Boy Governor"). Chase loved her husband, but his alcoholism, infidelity and abuse made remaining married to him impossible. In real life, after the time period covered by this novel, Kate took the then relatively rare steps of divorcing and taking back her maiden name. The end of her life was rather sad as a son committed suicide and Kate lived the rest of her live as a poverty-stricken recluse. I'm curious to read a good biography of this woman, and I'm also curious to learn more about her younger sister, Nettie, who I later learned authored and illustrated children's books.

 

The Spymisstress by Jennifer Chiaverini-Another engrossing historical novel from Madison, Wisconsin author Chiaverini. This time, the novel focuses on the tale of Union loyalist Elizabeth Van Lew who lived in Richmond and served as a spy during the Civil War. The book gives you a real sense of the despair, poverty, wartime casualties and prisoners from behind Confederate lines up until the day that Richmond finally fell to the Union Army. Van Lew experienced the wartime poverty, as well as the ostracism and suspicions of her neighbors as she carried on her work with other Union loyalists to get essential information to the Union forces. I later read a biography of Van Lew (Southern Lady, Yankee Spy by Elizabeth R. Varon) and found that Chiaverini's fictionalized version of the story hewed pretty closely to the events and spirit of Van Lew's true life story).

 

Capitol Park: Historic Heart of Detroit by Jack Dempsey-Michiganders know that the beautiful state capitol building is in Lansing, but how many people know that the first capitol building was in Detroit, Michigan? This book is an interesting history of the location of a little known Detroit landmark and the city's history as Michigan's first state capital.  I found Dempsey's writing style a little stilted and flowery and thought that the inclusion of so many entire documents and event transcripts bogged the book down. Still, I found the book valuable as I learned a lot of interesting things about Michigan's early days as a state.

 

Come back later this week as I share my thoughts about other Midwest-related books I've read recently.

© Dominique King 2014 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for October 2014

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

Wisconsin Cranberry Harvest-Cranberry sauce is one of my favorite parts of the Thanksgiving holiday, so I loved Julie's first-person account of harvesting these tasty little gems in Wisconsin's Cranberry County. Call me weird, but I'm definitely jealous of seeing Julie wearing waders and standing hip-deep in a cranberry bed! Check it out at the Wisconsin Parent blog.

West Side Market-This is one of my favorite year-round farmers markets, and we've wanted to get back to Cleveland to visit this market again, Seeing Mike's post about the market really got me in the mood for some holiday shopping, although I'm with him on knowing that if I spent too much time there, I'd spend a TON of money on some really great local food! Check out his story on the OHventures blog.

West Side Market

Uncovering Secrets at the Clinton County Courthouse-I am definitely a sucker for late-nineteenth-century county courthouses. The architecture and decorative details in Ohio's Clinton County Courthouse are stunning, and like many courthouses of this vintage, there is plenty of great history to go with the building. Read Tonya's story about it at The Traveling Praters blog.

Visiting Marblehead Lighthouse State Park-As much as I love great courthouse buildings, I'm probably even more fascinated with lighthouses. I've written about plenty of Great Lakes lighthouses here at Midwest Guest, and Ohio's Marblehead lighthouse has to be among my favorites. We've been out to Marblehead to take photos in the summer and winter, but we've yet to make it at the height of the autumn color season. Check out Tonya's story about the lighthouse and nearby the keepers house (which is also on my bucket list of places to go), also on the Traveling Praters blog.

Marblehead Lighthouse

A Yen for Yurts-I've never been much of a camper, but I could totally get behind the idea of staying in a yurt. This has long been on my bucket list since seeing one in northern Minnesota a number of years ago. This article at the Midwest Weekends blog reminded me of why the idea of a yurt stay originally fascinated me, and it includes a list of places to find yurts in places like Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and (be still my beating heart!) Michigan.

Can the Hotel Itself Be the Destination?-I'm always on the lookout for unusual and unique places to stay, and I remember hearing about the Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa a couple of years ago when several blogging friends stayed there during a conference. Sheila apparently saw the same messages about this hotel during the conference and recently found an opportunity to stay there herself. Check out her story at the Perceptive Travel blog.

Michigan-Henry Ford Museum-We love close enough to this museum and have memberships to The Henry Ford, so we visit fairly frequently throughout the year and sometimes just sneak over for an hour or so for a walk or to take some photos. Terri and her family sagely stuck with just doing the museum during their one-day visit, but hopefully they'll be able to return and spend the day at the Greenfield Village as well. Check out the story of her visit to the museum at the Travel 50 State with Kids blog.

Inside Lamy's Diner at The Henry Ford

Northern Indiana's Tombstone Trail tells tales of the departed-We've long included cemeteries in our travel plans because we like the historic tales we can often learn about a location by visiting the local graveyard. Additionally, these locations are among the best geocaching locations and provide some of the best opportunities for taking great photos we've found in our travels as well. Check out Maggie's story about a self-guided "Tombstone Trail" in northern Indiana's DeKalb and Noble counties at Indiana Landmark's Hidden Gems blog.

Tour a Former Asylum at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, Traverse City-I remember seeing this complex back in its deserted and derelict days and the excitement I felt when hearing about its proposed transformation into a mixed use development of residential, commercial and recreational spaces. I really wanted to take this tour when we last visited Traverse in northwestern Michigan earlier this fall, but the tour didn't run the days we were there. The place has an interesting history as an asylum, but I love seeing various parts of the complex reborn into more cheerful uses. Read about Connie's tour of some of the buildings still awaiting redevelopment at her Midwest Wanderer blog. Meanwhile, if you do get up to the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, be sure to check out the gravesite of a champion milk cow on the grounds that I wrote about here-Honoring Traverse Colantha Walker.  

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!