Destinations

Exploring Native American Heritage in South Dakota

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Exploring Native American Heritage in South Dakota

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, over 82,000 people, 12.5% of South Dakota’s population, are of Native American descent, either fully or in combination with other nationalities or ethnicity. The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota, at 2.8 million acres, is larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. Not surprising, several of the places I visited during my September South Dakota trip emphasized Native American heritage, including Lakota Ways in Wall and several stops on the reservation. Read more

Studebaker Museum, South Bend: From Carriages to Automobiles

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Studebaker Museum, South Bend: From Carriages to Automobiles

Few transportation companies successfully transitioned from manufacturing wagons and carriages to automobiles. Studebaker was one of the exceptions. In the early 1900s, the company moved from carriages to battery-powered cars. A few years later they transitioned to gasoline engines.  The Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana, traces the history of the company from wagon to the last cars Studebaker manufactured, in the mid-1960s.

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Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, Branson: Weird but Fascinating

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Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, Branson: Weird but Fascinating

I always thought Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museums were  big tourist traps. After all, they’re located in all the touristy areas. However, something compelled me on my last trip to Branson to visit the Ripley’s museum there. Curiosity, I guess. Or maybe it was the rainy weather that weekend that made me want to do indoor things. It turns out that I really enjoyed it. Some of the exhibits are wacky, some educational, but I found all of them to be fascinating. Read more

Tippecanoe Place: Dine in a Stately Old Mansion

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Tippecanoe Place: Dine in a Stately Old Mansion

Tippecanoe Place ExteriorI love old mansions and am especially partial to old stone mansions. I also, of course, like a good meal. Put the two together, and it’s a sure winner. I had the pleasure of enjoying Sunday Brunch at the Tippecanoe Place restaurant in South Bend, Indiana, earlier this year. The opulent ambiance is a wonderful setting for a sumptuous meal.

Dating back to 1889, the 26,000 square foot stately mansion was originally the home of Clement Studebaker, co-founder of South Bend’s Studebaker automobile manufacturing company. During World War II, the mansion served as headquarters for the Red Cross. Today Tippecanoe Place welcomes guests for lunch and dinner, as well as Sunday brunch

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I could feel the richness of the building just opening the heavy wood doors inset with leaded glass.

Entrance to Tippecanoe PlaceI saw only a few of the mansion’s 40 rooms on my visit. Our seating was in the mansion’s light and airy drawing room, which includes one of the building’s 20 gorgeous fireplaces.

Drawing Room, Tippecanoe PlaceFireplace in Tippecanoe PlaceThis alcove off to the side is perfect for a family get-together.

Dining Alcove in Tippecanoe PlaceIn contrast to the drawing room, the adjacent library exudes its richness through heavy, dark, carved molding. The library is where the brunch buffet was set up.

Sunday Brunch at Tippecanoe PlaceThe brunch menu includes several hot breakfast and lunch items, including made-to-order omelets and hand-carved ham and beef.

Omelet Station at Tippecanoe PlaceThere were several salads and sides to choose from, including lots of fresh fruits.

Strawberries on Tippecanoe Place Sunday brunch buffetThe dessert buffet, in a room separate from the rest of the food, had even more fruit, plus pastries, cookies, and cakes.

Dessert Fruit at Tippecanoe PlaceDessert Pastries at Tippecanoe PlaceDessert Cookies and Cakes at Tippecanoe PlaceThe dinner menu includes appetizers like Lobstercakes Tippecanoe and Baked Brie en Croute. Entrees are pasta, three cuts of prime rib, steaks, rack of lamb, seafood items like Pacific swordfish served with basil risotto, and poultry, including roasted Indiana duckling served with a choice of two sauces.

Lunch is mostly lighter fare, including salads like the fresh berry chicken salad, sandwiches like a smoked turkey Reuben or a portabella mushroom sandwich. Pasta, prime rib and a couple of grilled seafood dishes are available for lunch, as well.

Tippecanoe Place, located at 620 W Washington Street in South Bend, Indiana, is a great place to celebrate a special occasion or to treat yourself to a nice meal during your South Bend getaway. Check the web site for hours and menus. Closed Mondays.

Disclosure: My visit to Tippecanoe Places was hosted by Visit South Bend and Tippecanoe Place, but any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. Don’t miss a post. Enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe to be notified whenever I publish another post. Subscription is FREE. After subscribing, be sure to click the link when you get the e-mail asking you to confirm.   – Connie


 

Other posts you may be interested in:

Touring the University of Notre Dame Campus, South Bend, Indiana

Café Navarre, South Bend IN: Top-Notch Farm-to-Table Dining

Tour the South Bend Chocolate Company Factory

Shop the South Bend Farmers Market Year Round

Tour and Taste at 18 Vodka, Mishawaka, Indiana

Branson, Missouri, Remains the Live Music Show Capital of the World

Connie Attractions & Events, Missouri , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Branson, Missouri, Remains the Live Music Show Capital of the World

Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to see quite a few stars in Branson. Most were past their prime but singers I would have given arm and a leg to see when I was a teenager. I saw the late Paul Revere, Bill Medley from the Righteous Brothers, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Vee, Brian Hyland and the Beach Boys, to name just a few.

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While Branson still attracts big names, they aren’t as abundant as they used to be, and most don’t perform as regularly as they once did. However, Branson is still the live music show capital of the world, offering more than 100 different shows. Many of today’s regular performers are lesser known or tribute artists. However, the quality of Branson shows remains high, and all are family friendly. On a recent trip to Branson, my husband and I saw three shows, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Clay Cooper’s Country Express at the Clay Cooper Theatre, combines singing, dancing and comedy for a great evening of entertainment. Clay Cooper was born into a musical family and began his professional singing career when he was 14 years old.

Clay CooperThe family tradition is continuing, as the show includes performances by Clay’s wife, Tina, and their sons, Colt and Caden.

Clay and Tina CoopoerOther performers include several singers and dancers, comedian Matt Gumm, and trick roper Johnny Lonestar, who now has an apprentice.

Dancers at Clay Cooper TheatreJohnny LonestarJohnny Lonestars sonEleven-year-old Ezrah Noelle puts on quite a performance, singing some of Shirley Temple’s hits.

Ezrah NoelleDick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater, where we saw so many great artists in the past, is now home to Legends in Concert. Each show includes five tribute artists. There is always a Blues Brothers duo and an Elvis, but the remaining three rotate seasonally.

Blues BrothersYoung ElvisOld ElvisOn the night we saw the show, Michael Buble, Marilyn Monroe and George Strait tribute artists were scheduled. However, George Strait was replaced by a Kenny Chesney tribute artist, who had been part of the summer schedule.

While all of the artists were entertaining, Marilyn Monroe was my personal favorite, as she included some comedy in her act, involving a few reluctant audience members.

Marilyn MonroeOn our last evening in Branson we saw Dublin’s Irish Tenors and The Celtic Ladies at the King’s Castle Theatre. The gentlemen performed part of the show, the ladies another, and they sang some songs together. The selections ranged from traditional Irish songs like Danny Boy, to pop music and even opera. All of the performers had beautiful voices and put on a terrific show.

Unfortunately, they don’t allow photographs at this show, but you can get snippets of their performance on their web site.

You’ll find the schedule of all Branson shows listed on Explore Branson, the Branson/Lakes Area Convention and Visitors Bureau web site. For the best seats order your tickets a few weeks before your trip. To save a few dollars, wait until you get to Branson and pick up a discount coupon booklet found in many hotel lobbies. Most shows offer a discount of a few dollars with a coupon.

Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to the three shows described above.

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Tour the South Bend Chocolate Company Factory

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Tour the South Bend Chocolate Company Factory

Dark chocolate is my downfall. One whiff of the decadent confection, and I sniff and follow the aroma waves like in a cartoon until I find the source. Dark chocolate covered nuts, dark chocolate covered dried cherries, bittersweet chocolate mousse, chocolate fudge cake with fudge frosting—you name it, when I smell it or see it, I cave. Forget the diet right now; I’ll eat salads for the rest of the week. So when I had an opportunity to tour Indiana’s South Bend Chocolate Company factory, of course I didn’t turn it down.

Before taking us into the production area, our tour guide, Chris, nicknamed Captain Crunch, gave us a lesson on where chocolate comes from. It starts with cocoa pods, which are harvested twice a year.

Tour guide Chris with cocoa podYou have to crack the pod to get to the bean inside. There is only one bean per pod. Inside the bean are 20 to 60 cacao nibs, and that’s what’s used to make chocolate.

Chicago’s Blommer Chocolate Company, North America’s largest cocoa processor and ingredient supplier, turns the cacao nibs into giant, thick chocolate bars, which is what South Bend Chocolate Company starts with in making their candy.

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In the factory I was expecting to see the candy speeding past on conveyor belts like on the old I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel get jobs in a candy factory.

Lucy photo opIt turns out that production slows down on Saturdays, but the tradeoff to not seeing production in action is more samples. So although we saw the conveyor belts, they were at a standstill with no candy on them. Captain Crunch assured us that the belts don’t move quite as quickly as it did for Lucy and Ethel anyway.

Conveyor beltWe did see the chocolate enrober that looks like a waterfall, where the candies are coated, as well as the chocolate melter that holds 500 pounds of chocolate.

Chocolate enroberWe also saw two varieties of candy waiting for the next process step: fudge and pecan patties (like Turtles).

FudgePecan PattiesAfter touring the production area, we were allowed to choose two chocolate samples.

That was the end of the free basic tour. However, we were on the Inside Scoop Tour (fee is $4), so we got an added bonus. We dipped a spoon into chocolate that could be used then to stir a hot beverage.

Dipping the spoonWhile we were waiting for our spoons to cool and harden, we watched an educational but humorous film about chocolate making.

FilmFollowing the tour, we wandered through the small chocolate museum that includes information about the history of candy, as well nostalgic displays of candy packaging, including Mounds, one of my favorites.

MoundsI was surprised to see a display of Frango Mints boxes, the candy that at one time was made in Chicago’s flagship Marshall Field’s store. (The store is now Macy’s, and Macy’s carries Frango Mints under the Marshall Field name.)

Frago MintsOne last stop before leaving: the outlet store, where I stocked up my own stash of chocolate, all dark.

Tour are offered at the South Bend Chocolate Company factory, located at 3300 West Sample Street in South Bend, Indiana, Monday through Saturday. The free basic tour runs 20 minutes; the Inside Scoop Tour is 45 minutes. Check the web site for tour and outlet store hours.

Disclosure: My tour of the South Bend Chocolate Company factory was hosted by Visit South Bend and the South Bend Chocolate Company, but any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. Don’t miss a post. Enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe to be notified whenever I publish another post. Subscription is FREE. After subscribing, be sure to click the link when you get the e-mail asking you to confirm.   – Connie