You may have seen the sculptures in Iowa or western Illinois gift shops, perhaps an angel or an animal, usually a solid color with white highlights, sometimes adorned with stones or jewels, but always with the Isabel Bloom signature on the bottom. You can see how the sculptures are created, too, when you tour the Isabel Bloom studio in Davenport, Iowa. Read more
I expected the Black Swan Brewpub in Plainfield, Indiana, to have good food and good brew. What I didn’t expect was the extraordinary, pub cuisine taken to a new level, but that’s what I got. You can taste the passion that goes into the food and beer, and feel the enthusiasm the staff and patrons alike have for Black Swan Brewpub. Read more
We found a great campground in Savanna, Illinois, in the northwest part of the state near the Mississippi River. In fact, a footpath leads from the Seven Eagles RV Resort and Campground right to the Great River Bike and Hike Trail that runs 62 miles from Savanna to the Quad Cities. You don’t even need an RV to stay at Seven Eagles because they have cabins and a really neat motel, too. Read more
I’m all for trying new adventures. Horseback riding isn’t new for me, but I’m still a greenhorn, having only been riding once before in my lifetime. So when the opportunity came up for me to ride the trails at the Natural Valley Ranch near Brownsburg, Indiana, of course I accepted. Read more
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. may be better known, but it isn’t the first. Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the First Lincoln Memorial in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace, on Lincoln’s birthday in 1909. William Howard Taft dedicated the completed memorial in November 1911, a few years before construction of the Washington D.C. memorial began. Read more
Last weekend I discovered Piggott’s Farm Market in the country near Benton Harbor, Michigan. They advertise fresh local in-season produce, so I had to check it out. My hopes weren’t high. May in the Midwest is too early for most produce, and markets usually sell only annuals this time of year. Yes, Piggott’s was selling annuals, and I picked up some petunias and alyssum lavender. But they also were featuring asparagus and rhubarb, both at reasonable prices, and if you spent ten dollars or more, you got a free sage plant. Read more
