The Explore All 50 States Project
Let's Go!
We’ve been on quite a few factory tours by now, so we were psyched to finally see how ice cream is made at the Velvet Ice Cream Factory which is located inside an old Grist Mill. Let me just tell you, unless you have time to kill, this place is a bit of a bust. We arrived at the very picturesque location near a small creak with ducks and geese. We hung out waiting for the "tour" to start. There was quite a bit … [Read more...]
The Inland Seas Maritime Museum in the adorable little town of Vermillion on the banks of Lake Erie was an unexpected gem. We had a great time here learning all about the shipping industry on the great lakes and maritime history in the area. Some of the more memorable things to do here were tying knots and creating signals with flags spelling out our names. We learned all about the equipment that's kept on board, how … [Read more...]
An Explore All 50 road trip would not be complete without a visit to the state capitol building and Alaska was no exception. Juneau is truly a small mining town and it just doesn't quite feel like a state capitol in the typical sense. But once you come to appreciate that Alaska is a sparsely populated place, it doesn't feel odd at all. When we visited, the capitol building was undergoing an extensive … [Read more...]
If you've been reading our blog, you know by now that ice cream is one of our favorite desserts and a must have on any road trip. As we were touring Juneau, we got an urgent craving for our favorite frozen treat. After asking a few locals where we should go, we were told to head over to the wharf to a Juneau original-Chilkat Cones. Chilkat cones offers a variety of ice cream flavors, smoothies, truffles and … [Read more...]
Alaska is one of the last truly wild places in the US but sometimes even Mother Nature needs a little boost. There is a huge demand for wild Alaskan salmon (in fact it is against the law farm any kind of fish in Alaska) so in order to make sure the stocks are not depleted, non-profits like the Macauley Salmon Hatchery are hatching salmon and releasing them in the wild. This is sometimes called "ocean ranching". … [Read more...]
After visiting Alabama, it's hard to not think about this state without imagining the struggles between the races. It is something that just hangs in the air, a tension that somehow still exists in the shadows and we felt in through the length and the breadth of the state as we drove from Selma to Montgomery to Birmingham and the north to Tennessee. Alabama is full of natural beauty whose peacefulness contrasts the … [Read more...]
When we arrived in Selma, it felt as if we'd come upon a ghost town. There were a few buildings and not very many people. The town seemed desolate and deserted right near the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the historic site of the start of three marches to protest segregation and the discrimination against African Americans. The banks of the river that flowed under the bridge were so peaceful and beautiful that it was … [Read more...]
If you’ve read my other itineraries, you know how fun Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World can be. Yvonne’s kids had never been inside one of these and were blown away at the size of this enormous store which sells everything for hunting, fishing, camping, and cooking under one roof. The kids could not believe the size of the fish in the huge tanks which represent all the local fish that you can catch. We all tried on … [Read more...]
The Alabama State Capitol Building is not as flashy or architecturally significant like others we've seen. What was unique about it was the enormous white columns on the front steps and the clock in the small tower. The Alabama State Capitol Building served as the first capitol of the confederacy in 1861 and has since been declared a national historic landmark. In fact, this is the site where Jefferson Davis was … [Read more...]
Right down the street from the Alabama State Capitol Building is the bus stop where Rosa Parks stepped on in 1955 and sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she was arrested for not moving to the rear of the bus because she was African American. We stood here for a moment taking in the energy of this place and trying to imagine the scene that played out here on that fateful day. There is something very special … [Read more...]
