10 Oregon Coffee Shops Pouring Fresh Roasts And Serving Pastries In Cozy Spaces
Coffee by a real fireplace, at a table carved from an actual log? Oregon gets it. This coffee lodge roasts its own beans and bakes…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 7, 2026
Written by
Renata Holcombe
254 Articles
South Carolina
This South Carolina Zoo Pairs Hundreds Of Animals With A Botanical Garden Beside A Peaceful River
Koalas in South Carolina? Yep, with official permission from the Australian government. A sister-state friendship with Queensland sealed…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 7
Connecticut
9 Connecticut Pizzerias Baking Apizza With Charred Crusts And Fresh Toppings
Get this: one Connecticut pizzeria has been firing up a coal oven since 1925. That’s a hundred years…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 6
Alabama
This Alabama Restaurant Serves A Full Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner With Cornbread Dressing And Cranberry Sauce Year-Round
Thanksgiving dinner on a random Tuesday in April sounds like a calendar glitch. At this family-run spot in…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 6
Colorado
This Colorado Candy Factory Shapes Candy Canes And Ribbon Candy By Hand And Offers Tours Through The Holidays
Candy makers at this Colorado factory still stretch, twist, and cut sugar by hand. Some of their machines…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 5
New Jersey
This New Jersey Pizzeria Is Famous For A Thin Crust Tomato Pie With The Sauce On Top
At this New Jersey pizzeria, the cheese goes down first and the tomato sauce goes on top. That…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 5
California
This California Boardwalk Has A Classic Wooden Roller Coaster And Beachfront Rides And Is A Fun Pick For 2027
A wooden roller coaster built in 1924 still rattles along the sand at this California beach, and it…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 4
Minnesota
This Minnesota Sculpture Garden Is Famous For A Giant Spoon Holding A Cherry And Fills Its Lawns With Colorful Outdoor Art
A 5,800-pound spoon cradles a 1,200-pound cherry in the middle of a Minnesota pond. The cherry’s stem even…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 4
Minnesota
10 Oregon Botanical Gardens With Peaceful Paths And Seasonal Color
This Oregon garden sits on a cliff above the Pacific, and some of its plants arrived by sailing…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 3
Minnesota
10 Minnesota Donut Shops Serving Fresh Donuts in the Morning
One Minnesota bakery has been frying dough since 1924, and it still hands out treats through a pickup…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 3
Massachusetts
This Massachusetts Aquarium Has A Giant Ocean Tank Filled With Sea Turtles And Colorful Fish, Plus Penguins Nearby
One resident of this Massachusetts aquarium has outlasted bell-bottoms, disco, and dial-up internet. She’s a green sea turtle…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 2
Wyoming
This Wyoming Museum Is Packed With Dinosaur Exhibits And Hands-On Fossil Displays And Is A Smart Pick For 2027
A real Archaeopteryx fossil lives in a small Wyoming town. Only one other authentic specimen is on display…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 2
Wyoming
This Wyoming Mountain Range Rises Straight Out Of The Valley Floor And Is One Of The Great Bucket List Views For 2027
These Wyoming mountains skipped the foothills entirely. The tallest peak shoots more than 7,000 feet straight up from…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 1
Washington
10 Washington Botanical Gardens With Peaceful Paths And Colorful Blooms
The world’s biggest collection of rhododendron species grows right here in Washington. That’s a global title for a…
By Renata Holcombe · Nov 1
North Carolina
This North Carolina Lunch Counter Made Famous By A Classic TV Town Serves A Stacked Pork Chop Sandwich Locals Love
A fried pork chop gets buried under chili, slaw, mustard, onion, and tomato at this little North Carolina…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 31
Texas
This Texas Island Is One Of The Longest Undeveloped Barrier Islands In The World And Is Best Visited In Cooler Months Before 2026 Ends
Seventy miles of protected Texas beach stretch along this island, and a lot of that sand doubles as…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 31
New Jersey
9 New Jersey Saltwater Taffy Shops Serving Sweet Nostalgia Along The Shore
Saltwater taffy doesn’t contain a single drop of seawater. The name likely comes from an 1880s storm that…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 30
Virginia
This Virginia Hilltop Orchard Sells Fresh Apples And Cider Donuts With Blue Ridge Views Every Fall
Thomas Jefferson once owned part of the mountain where this Virginia orchard now grows. He took the land…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 30
Montana
10 Montana Dinosaur Museums And Fossil Sites With Real Fossils On Display
The bones of the first baby dinosaurs ever found sit in a small museum in a Montana town…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 29
West Virginia
This West Virginia Glass Factory Lets Visitors Watch Colorful Glass Take Shape By Hand
Watching red-hot glass get shaped by hand here costs exactly nothing. The free observation deck overlooks furnaces that…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 29
Nebraska
This Nebraska Zoo Hosts A Giant Indoor Desert Under An Acrylic Dome And A Massive Indoor Rainforest
A desert lives under a massive dome made of acrylic panels in Nebraska. The dome stands 137 feet…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 29
Maine
This Maine Sandy Landscape Looks Like A Desert In The Middle Of A Forest And Is Perfect For 2027 Plans
Sheep helped make a desert. Seriously, overgrazing and heavy farming in the 1800s stripped away topsoil and exposed…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 28
New Hampshire
This New Hampshire Railway Climbs The Highest Peak In The Northeast Above Peak Fall Colors
Lawmakers once joked that a man might as well build a railway to the moon. He built it…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 27
New York
This New York Island Castle Was Built As A Love Letter And Is A Top Pick For 2027 Travel
A millionaire once reshaped an entire New York island into a heart for his wife. Valentine’s Day chocolates…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 27
Wisconsin
This Wisconsin Museum Keeps Historic Circus Wagons From The Golden Age Of The Big Top
More than 260 real circus wagons live in one place, and that’s the biggest collection on the planet.…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 26
Mississippi
This Mississippi Restaurant Serves Lunch On Lazy Susan Tables Piled High With Southern Classics
Fried chicken, fried eggplant, and banana pudding all ride past you on a giant spinning lazy Susan. Staff…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 26
Idaho
This Idaho Lava Field Looks Like The Moon And Is A Strong Choice For A 2027 Road Trip
In 1969, NASA astronauts trained on this Idaho lava field before heading to the actual moon. Standing where…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 25
Rhode Island
This Rhode Island Farm Restaurant Serves Family-Style Chicken Dinners With Platters Passed Around The Table
At one Rhode Island restaurant, the chicken arrives on platters, and an empty platter gets refilled for free.…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 25
Nebraska
8 Nebraska State Parks Worth A Weekend Trip
One state park here lets you sleep in a heated yurt with a viewing dome on top. I’m…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 24
Hawaii
This Hawaii National Park Lets You Walk Across A Cooled Lava Lake Before 2026 Ends
Lava once shot up to 1,900 feet into the air above this volcanic crater on Hawaii’s Big Island.…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 24
Texas
This Texas Cafe In A Tiny Town Sells Pies By The Slice And Whole For Thanksgiving Tables
A pie called Texas Trash crams caramel, chocolate chips, pretzels, and pecans into a single crust. It sounds…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 23
Connecticut
This Connecticut Covered Bridge Crosses The Housatonic River And Fall Color Makes It Postcard Perfect
A wooden bridge built around 1864 still carries cars across a rushing river more than 160 years later.…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 23
Florida
This Florida Tower Fills A Hilltop Garden With Music And Is Worth Visiting In 2027
A 205-foot tower in Florida holds 60 bells, and the biggest one weighs more than 11 tons. That’s…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 22
Tennessee
This Tennessee Breakfast Spot Draws Huge Weekend Crowds For Its Legendary Southern Breakfasts
The doors open as early as 5 AM, and breakfast specials like the Classic come with two homemade…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 22
Georgia
This Georgia Garden Turns Into A Walk-Through Light Show Every Holiday Season
A giant plant sculpture of a goddess trades her summer greenery for a coat of twinkling lights each…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 21
Virginia
10 Virginia Candy Shops Where the Chocolates Are Still Made by Hand
One little chocolate shop in Virginia keeps more than 2,000 molds on hand. Two thousand! I can’t stop…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 21
Missouri
This Missouri Theme Park Covers Its Hillside In Millions Of Holiday Lights Every Year
More than 6.5 million lights cover one Ozarks hillside every holiday season. The Travel Channel once called the…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 20
New York
9 Stunning Fall Hikes In New York With Breathtaking Hudson River Views
Dutch colonists once named a Hudson Highlands peak after a lump of butter. I love that one of…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 20
Kentucky
This Kentucky Factory Is Marked By A Giant Baseball Bat Leaning Against The Building
A steel baseball bat weighing about 68,000 pounds leans against a brick building like someone just set it…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 19
Michigan
This Michigan Store Claims To Be The World’s Largest Christmas Store
About 8,000 styles of ornaments sit under one roof, and roughly half of them are exclusive designs you…
By Renata Holcombe · Oct 19