Factory tours are always fun. I love seeing how things are manufactured. Art glass is my favorite art medium. Combine the two, add a little history, and you’ve got a real winner. The Kokomo Opalescent Glass factory tour takes you through the entire process of making art glass, from raw materials to the finished product. Read more
North Dakota Road Trip Day 3: Devil’s Lake to Bottineau

On the third day of our road trip across North Dakota, we drove northwest on Hwy 2 from Devil’s Lake to the Geographic Center of North America and then north to the International Peace Gardens on the United States-Canada border. Along the way we stopped at several roadside attractions, including not one, but two. giant turtles. Read more
Webster City: Exploring Rural Life – Day 2

I mentioned in my post covering Day 1 of our visit to Webster City, Iowa, that one of my favorite things about my job as a travel writer is learning about a myriad of subjects. Another thing I love is meeting people from different walks of life and hearing their stories. On Day 2 of our visit to this rural community, I met shop owners, artists, farmers, and a student working on his doctoral degree. Every one of them had an interesting story to tell. Read more
Why You Should Stay at the Murphy Guest House

When I visited northern Indiana’s Amish country, I stayed at the Murphy Guest House Bed and Breakfast in Bristol. Here is why you should stay there, too. Read more
Touring Grant Wood Studio: ‘American Gothic’ Artist

The tiny hayloft above the carriage house was never meant to be living space, only the artist’s studio. However, for eleven years, from 1924 to 1935, Grant Wood lived there–with his mother and sometimes his sister, too. I visited the Grant Wood Studio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as part of a press tour honoring the 125th birth year of the American Regionalist artist and saw how Wood transformed the space into both home and studio. Read more
Weekend Fun in Fort Wayne, Indiana

In three days exploring Fort Wayne, Indiana, my husband and I visited a top-rated children’s zoo, a science museum, a conservatory, an art museum, one of the largest genealogy centers in the country, a candy factory and a festival. The amazing thing is that we never traveled more than 20 minutes from one Fort Wayne attraction to another. Several in the downtown area are even within walking distance of one another. Read more