One of my favorite parts about the mini road trips we take are the tiny towns that we visit along the way. In this particular case, we found ourselves in West Bend, Iowa to visit the Grotto of the Redemption. But as lunchtime neared and our stomachs began to grumble, we knew we needed to do a little exploring…
Megan Bannister
After grabbing lunch at NewBo City Market, we wandered around the adorable Cedar Rapids neighborhood of New Bohemia. Before we hopped back in the car to embark on the next leg of our adventure, we stopped in at a few shops and took in some of the adorable atmosphere of this unique neighborhood…
A few weekends ago—on our trip to pick apples and visit the future birthplace of Captain Kirk—a friend and I found ourselves in Cedar Rapids at lunchtime. While I’d admired it from afar, I’d never visited the newly built NewBo City Market in the New Bohemia neighborhood of Cedar Rapids. So naturally it seemed the perfect place for a quick bite to eat…
If you happen to be a Star Trek fanatic—or even if you aren’t—you probably know that Captain James T. Kirk is on the roster of proud Iowans. Granted he won’t be born for another 215 years, but the people of Riverside, Iowa hasn’t let that stop them from celebrating their (future) local celebrity…
To celebrate the first official day of autumn—though the temperatures in Iowa have still been in the mid-70s and 80s—I hopped in the car with a friend and headed to Wilson’s Orchard near Iowa City. We arrived just after the orchard opening and snagged a few fresh apple cider donuts for our rumbling stomachs…
Last week I wrote about my trip to the famous “American Gothic” house in Edon, Iowa. A town of just over 900, Eldon is one of the small town, Iowa gems I truly love. Before we headed to our final destination, we stopped off at a local antique and furniture renovation shop—Junk’e in the Trunk—and scooped up a few vintage treasures…
Last weekend a friend and I decided to take a mini road trip south to Eldon, Iowa in search of the house that inspired artist Grant Wood’s “American Gothic.” Less than two hours from Des Moines, the trip was the perfect length—peppered with stops along the way—for a sunny Sunday afternoon…
Unfortunately we were only able to spend three days in San Francisco, but we tried to make the most of our time. On our last day in California we checked out of our hotel and took an early morning trip to the Palace of Fine Arts in the Presidio…
On our first full day in San Francisco we headed across the Golden Gate Bridge toward Sausalito to explore Muir Woods. Coming from the suburban Midwest, the landscape of towering sequoias and redwoods was something I could hardly imagine. But after just a few hours I was a convert – we spent the rest of the morning hiking among these beautiful trees…
After a quick stop at Starbucks and a visit to the Nevada State Capitol, we were ready to start the last leg of our trip to California. We decided to dip down on Lincoln Highway 50 for a more scenic drive and to stop off at Lake Tahoe. The morning was gorgeous and the view of the lake with mountains looming on the horizon was absolutely breathtaking…