The 1940s-era L-shaped brick building in Clear Lake, Iowa, looks rather plain from the outside. The only indication of the building’s fame is a memorial marker noting the deaths of three 1950s rock-and-roll stars. The Surf Ballroom is the last place that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson played before they lost their lives in a plane crash just a few miles from the ballroom. Read more
It’s not uncommon to see groups of young women, very often bachelorette parties, hopping from winery to winery via limousine along Midwest wine trails. Wine tasting is a popular date among couples, too, standing at the tasting bar, sipping a half dozen or so wines and then moving on to the next winery along the trail. In the past couple of decades the number of wineries in the Midwest has exploded. It seems the more wineries on a trail, the more popular the trail. Traverse City, Michigan, and nearby Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas are home to over 50 wineries. The area is a magnet for wine lovers. We visited some of the Traverse City wineries during our recent visit. Read more
Sitting on the back patio overlooking Round Lake in the Grand Pines resort sipping a margarita or a locally brewed beer, watching speedboats whiz by, you’d never guess you were at a Famous Dave’s restaurant if you didn’t know it—until you taste the food, of course. Unlike the cookie-cutter suburban franchises, the Hayward, Wisconsin, location has a personality of its own.
Editor’s Note: The original Famous Dave’s is CLOSED due to fire.
Sweet Potato Pecan Waffles with Praline Sauce…Eggs Mornay…Orange French Toast with Blueberry Sauce. These are some of the breakfast entrees that may await you at the Decker House Bed and Breakfast in Mason City, Iowa. In the evening relax in the first floor parlor, if you’d like. And snack on cookies from the endless cookie jar, always available to guests. Read more
If you live outside of the Omaha, Nebraska, metro area but plan to visit in the next year and you like beer, you’re in luck. Eight Omaha breweries want you to taste their beer—so they will each give you one on the house. Not a little taste, but a full-size beer. Read more
“Watch the person in front of you.” “Put your paddle all the way in the water, straight down.” “Lean forward and use your entire body.” These were some of the instructions our Lighthouse Lizards dragon boat team received just before racing–and as panic started to set in. Read more
