Exploring Kansas: Ottawa

Today I’ve got another #throwbackThursday post to share from the San Francisco road trip I took a few years back. On our first day in the car (where we decided it was a good idea to drive all the way across Nebraska—not something I’d recommend), we stopped in North Platte for dinner…

There’s nothing better than a good road trip. In fact, there are few things I love more than a loose itinerary and the possibility of the open road.

This month I’m excited to introduce you to Sage Scott of Everyday Wanderer. Sage is based in Kansas City and blogs about travel in the U.S. and Europe.

Some cities are known as foodie cities. But you might not expect to find small batch coffee roasters, craft breweries, and world-class restaurants in the middle of Kansas.

If you’re not from Iowa and not into cycling, chances are you’ve probably never heard of RAGBRAI. Each summer, thousands of (potentially crazy) cyclists embark on a week-long ride across the state of Iowa. RAGBRAI (which stands for the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) began in 1973 when Des Moines Register feature writers John Karras and Donald Kaul decided to go on a bicycle ride across Iowa.

While I won’t be riding this year, I thought it might be fun to create a road trip inspired by the 2016 route, which winds through the small towns of southern Iowa.

After what seemed like an endless trek through Nebraska and an early bedtime in Cheyenne, we started off our second day on the road at the Wyoming State Capitol…

Ever since I can remember, all of my classmates and I desperately looked forward to spring break. Not only did it mean a week off school, but spring break always seemed to signify the impending,…

One of my favorite things about exploring the Midwest is that its destinations are often underestimated. There’s always the potential to be surprised, and my experience was no different when I discovered all of the…

For a number of reasons, Kansas doesn’t seem like the most logical location to find the oldest continually operating movie theater in the world. But when we realized the city of Ottawa was just off I-35 on our way to Austin, I knew we’d be making a stop…

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…

All I could think as we wandered inside was how perfectly the word “serenity” describes this place…

When we first started planning our road trip to Austin, one of the things I was most excited to see was the city’s thriving street art scene. Growing up in Chicago, I’ve always had a certain fascination with graffiti and various types of unexpected public art. So, along with a few World’s Largest things, we made stopping at some local street art favorites a priority during our May trip south…

I’m not proud of it, but I’ve definitely been known to get “hangry.” If I don’t eat a big enough breakfast or miss a meal while we’re on the road, all of a sudden I’m…

This month I’m excited to introduce Melissa Dixon of Thirty Something Super Mom. Melissa is based near Cedar Rapids, Iowa and blogs about health, family lifestyle and travel.

Everything is bigger in Texas, right? And near Austin, that includes Round Rock Donuts…