Kingsley Inn: A Night of Elegant Comfort

Connie Iowa September 8, 2015April 2, 2018Fort Madison accommodations, Hotels in Fort Madison Iowa, hotels near Burlington Iowa, Kingsley Inn 17 Comments

Small inns and bed & breakfasts are fast becoming my favorite type of accommodation. Often decorated with antiques and a Victorian flair, I feel like I’m being pampered in elegance in a B&B. I prefer a larger accommodation, though, rather than one with just three or four guestrooms. I don’t feel so awkward, like I’m intruding on someone’s private life. I’m also a stickler for a private bath. The Kingsley Inn in Fort Madison, Iowa, combines the best of an inn and a B&B. The Kingsley Inn is run like a B&B but has eighteen guestrooms, all beautifully decorated and all with private baths. Read more

Exploring North Central Iowa’s Pilot Knob State Park

Connie Iowa August 15, 2015April 2, 2018Iowa State Park, North Central Iowa, Pilot Knob State Park 36 Comments

State parks are always a fun way to spend recreational time, whether you stay in a lodge, a campground or simply take a day trip. Depending on the park, you can hike, canoe, fish or picnic in a beautiful natural setting. It’s also fun to check out features that set one park apart from another. Last summer, during a trip to north central Iowa, our travel group visited the 700-acre Pilot Knob State Park. One of Iowa’s oldest state parks, established in 1923, Pilot Knob State Park has a couple of unique features. Read more

Lady of the Lake: Cruising Clear Lake

Connie Iowa July 16, 2015January 4, 2017Clear Lake, clear lake iowa, Lady of the Lake 0 Comment

When a city bears the same name of the lake it’s located on, you can bet the lake is a big part of the city’s culture. Clear Lake, Iowa, is one of those cities. The Clear Lake population is 7,777 (based on the 2010 census), but in the summer months it isn’t unusual to have more than double that in the city, especially on the weekends, as visitors throng to Clear Lake to enjoy recreational activities and attractions. One of those attractions is the Lady of the Lake cruise ship, which offers narrated public cruises all season long. Read more

Snake Alley: The Crookedest Street in the World

Connie Attractions & Events, Iowa, Roadside Attraction July 13, 2015April 24, 2022Burlington Iowa, burlington is, crooked street in the world, crookedest road in the world, crookedest street in the world, crookedest street in world, Snake Alley, snake alley burlington, snake alley burlington ia, snake alley burlington iowa, snake alley in burlington iowa, snake alley iowa, the crookedest street, the crookedest street in the world, what is the crookedest street in teh world, where is the crookedest street in the world 8 Comments

If you’re thinking I’m talking about Lombard Street in San Francisco, you’re wrong. The crookedest street in the world is Snake Alley in Burlington, Iowa. Read more

Burlington Bees: An Evening at the Ballpark

Connie Attractions & Events, Iowa June 21, 2015November 22, 2015bees baseball, burlington bees baseball, burlington bees schedule, the burlington bees 7 Comments

Not having been to a baseball game this season, I was looking forward to seeing the Minor League Burlington Bees, a Class A Los Angeles Angels Affiliate, take on the West Michigan Whitecaps. As a baseball fan, I enjoy visiting baseball fields as I travel. More often than not, they are minor league fields, which are far more plentiful and much more economical than attending a major league game.

Baseball has been in Burlington since 1889, and Community Field, where the Burlington Bees play, has been around since 1947. Though the park has gone through several renovations, it has retained much of its old-time ballpark atmosphere. There’s no Jumbotron here, just a regular digital scoreboard, and except for the first four rows, the seats are general admission metal bleachers, which allow fans to move about the park as they wish.

Our tickets were for assigned seats, some of the best in the ballpark (even the best seats are only $8), and one member of our travel group was to throw out the first pitch. But on the evening we went to the game, instead of evening sun, the sky was full of clouds—and rain. Read more

Whitewater Rafting in the City

Connie Attractions & Events, Indiana, Iowa May 14, 2015May 14, 2015Charles City, Charles City Iowa, Charles City Whitewater at Riverfront Park, East Race Waterway, man-made rapids, South Bend, South Bend Indiana, whitewaterrafting 6 Comments

There’s nothing more refreshing than cool water splashing on your skin on a hot summer day. Add an adrenalin rush as you navigate challenging rough white waters in your raft or kayak, and you have a perfect summer sport. It used to be Midwesterners had to travel to mountainous areas or at least to remote areas in northern Wisconsin or southern Indiana to go whitewater rafting, but now you can experience the rapids in two Midwest cities. Charles City, Iowa, and Sound Bend, Indiana, both offer man-made rafting adventures right in their downtown areas. Read more