We didn't know...

While researching the sites of Carnegie Libraries for a recent post, one of the towns, Abilene, Kansas, caught our attention to explore further.  Abilene is on the way for us from Dodge City to Marysville, and with the whole day to get there, we have plenty of time to tour along the way.  

What was initially going to be a quick stop to see the Carnegie Library and snap a picture of the World's Largest Belt Buckle is extending to include a visit to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, & Boyhood Home.  We didn't know it was there until we received the Visit Abilene Kansas Destination Guide in the mail this week from the local Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB).   I've not been to a Presidential Library before, but we had one already on our itinerary: the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa.

So maybe we have a light Presidential Trail:  Eisenhower, Hoover, Lincoln.

You'll probably notice a common statement in some of our posts - we didn't know!  During the planning process, I have scoured travel and area tourism sites, maps (online and paper), and asked on social media for some good ole word-of-mouth suggestions for activities, restaurants, places to stay.  But the one thing that has been the most informative and addressed the we didn't knows has been the print versions of the tourism and travel guides from CVBs and Tourism Boards from towns, cities, and states on our route.  Sure, we could download them to read online, and we will do that when our departure date nears so we'll have the most recent version, but there is something so satisfying in reading through the glossy-printed magazine or brochure that is showcasing attractions and events that make each place special.  I get as excited when each arrives in the mail as I did when the J.C. Penney catalog would come before Christmas!

Our travel tip is to use these brochures to scout out unfamiliar areas before you go.  You will likely find things included that you miss online just due to the vast amount of information available (and the annoying pop-up/pop-over ads).  You don't have to order the print versions, and the online versions are likely to be a bit more up-to-date because they are easier to keep up.  But if you are a scrapbooker, or in my case, a SmashBooker, these printed materials will be handy for creating your memory books.

So, what about you? Have you been to a Presidential Library before?  Have you been to Abilene, Kansas?  And do you know what a SmashBook is?  [There might be a future post about SmashBooks and how I was introduced to them.]  Leave us a comment and tell us about your adventures!

~ Cindy D.

The Barbecue Trail

This blog entry is inspired by a conversation I recently had with someone who moved from the southern U.S. to the northwestern part of the country.  I was asking her about the restaurant scene where she now resides and the discussion turned to barbecue - or BBQ - or bar-b-que - and how BBQ restaurants are pretty scarce where she is.  Which got me to thinking about barbecue - and how it varies across the country - and whether there are some establishments I need to put on the list for our Middle States itinerary.

Of course it's hard to judge whether a restaurant will be any good just by its online presence, but there are a few places that met our general criteria when traveling.  By general criteria I mean it can't be somewhere we can eat at home!  And if it's a local place and been around a long, long time, even better.

My earliest BBQ memory is of my Finnish grandmother making BBQ ribs at their outdoor concrete-block fire pit when I was just a wee child of four.  I can still conjure up a smell-memory of the smoky flavor of her ribs.  But for the most part, I grew up eating barbecue at the family dinner table which meant my mom's brown sugar, ketchup, and yellow mustard sauce slathered over chicken or put on ground or chipped beef.  And in college, it was Sonny's BBQ on Sunday afternoons after church or for a finals' week treat.

I've watched enough Food Network programs to know that there are regional differences in what barbecue means, and I think at some point in my life I've had some of each style:  Kansas City, Carolina, Texas, and Memphis.  But of course each of these can be further categorized based on things like what sides are served or whether it's mustard or vinegar or molasses that give the sauces those delicious flavors.  What I can say confidently is that I haven't met a BBQ meal I haven't liked!  I do prefer pork over chicken, and I won't say no to a bit of brisket.

The logical place to start our Barbecue Trail is from our favorite area restaurant, Hamaknockers.  This place was featured on Guy Fieri's Man Fire Food program and has been around since 2004.  This is our go-to place when we are traveling down towards the Forgotten Coast of Florida.  We go there often enough that the server knows our order: pulled pork plate with a side of BBQ beans!

In Tuscaloosa, there's Archibald & Woodrow's BBQ which has been in business since 1962.  I was introduced to Alabama White Sauce at Mission BBQ.  It's a mayonnaise-based sauce with horseradish.  I haven't liked it on the pulled pork, but it's really good to dip your fries in.  So if we get to Archibald & Woodrow's, I want to see if it might be different having Alabama White Sauce in Alabama (where maybe they just call it sauce?).  

We're spending a night in Olive Branch, Mississippi, which is just outside of Memphis.  Several years ago, we had an extended layover at the airport in Memphis which is where we had Corky's BBQ.  While there is a Corky's in Olive Branch, there is also one in Pigeon Forge where we will be later in our trip.  But there's only one Old Style Bar-B-Q which has been in business since 1976.

It's a good thing we plan to be in Hot Springs for several days because one of them has to include a meal at McClards.  McClards has been in business since 1928 and has been featured on several television shows and even in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (USA and Canada edition).

Van's Pig Stand has been around since 1930 and now they have several locations.  The original one was in Wewoka, Oklahoma, but we will have a chance to try it in Purcell.  They have an interesting write-up about their history at you can read at their website.

While looking for BBQ restaurants in Dodge City, Kansas, I came across the place I always said I was going to open... the I Don't Care Family Restaurant (and Sports Bar).  It's the perfect place when you ask your family or friends where they want to eat and they say, "I don't care."  As for BBQ, there's Billy Sims Barbecue with locations in Dodge City and West Bend, Wisconsin among other places.  Billy Sims is a former NFL football player who opened his first BBQ restaurant in 2004.

I don't know about you, but my mouth is watering for some good ol' barbecue about now, so we'll have to leave the rest of this trail for another post.  My plan is to revisit these posts along our way and report back on those places we experience first-hand.

If you have a favorite BBQ place, leave us a recommendation in the comments!

~ Cindy D.

The Carnegie Library Trail

We're planning to spend a few days in Marceline, Missouri - the boyhood home of Walt Disney.  While researching what there is to see and do in Marceline, I started following the Marceline Public Library on Facebook.  I know our own local library often has events that they post on social media, so my thought is that public libraries are good sources for trip planning!  

The Marceline library is a Carnegie Library - a public library that the building was funded in part or in whole by Andrew Carnegie in the early 1900s in response to requests made from local residents or governments.  I wasn't familiar with the Carnegie distinction, but as I learned more about it, I thought of the stories those buildings could tell and the lives they had touched - some over the course of 120 years or more.  And it made me wonder just how many Carnegie Libraries were still standing, and more importantly, were still serving the community as intended.

So interestingly enough, I could not find a comprehensive map of Carnegie Library locations, but Wikipedia had lists of locations by state and an indication of whether the building was still there and in what capacity it was being used.  I had to search for each state individually, and the data had not been updated since 2013, but it was a good place to start to see if there were more Carnegie Libraries along our route.  You see, we have visited and toured some pretty interesting old libraries on previous trips, so surely there will be some if we just know where to look.  So between Google Maps and the Wikipedia list, I created our own Carnegie Library Trail for our trip.

I've listed the libraries by state and town and included links to the library sites when available, and if I was able to find a picture of the building, particularly one from around the time it was new, I've included those as well.  [The pictures are posted from URLs so photo credits are available if you follow the link.]  Most of the towns were already on our route, a few will require a little detour, and some are places we plan to spend the night.  A few on the list are no longer serving as libraries, but I've kept them on the itinerary because of their location or their new use is of interest as well.  I found that some of the libraries in other parts of the states are now occupied by arts and culture centers, historical societies, or the local visitor / tourism office.  For some of the locations, the libraries will be closed on the day(s) we are there, but I am as interested in the building as I am in the library itself.

So, if you're ready, get your library card and check out our Carnegie Library Trail!

Oklahoma

Elk City 

Kansas

Abilene

Clay Center

The Dodge City building serves as the Carnegie Art Center.

Hiawatha

Nebraska

The Beatrice building now serves as a visitor center.

Missouri

Marceline

Monroe City

St. Joseph

Iowa

Dubuque

Hamburg

The Le Mars site now serves as the Le Mars Art Center

Maquoketa

Sibley

The Sioux City Carnegie Library has been converted into affordable housing apartments.

Wisconsin

Columbus

New London

Sparta

Tomah

The Waupaca site is now home to the Holly History and Genealogy Center.

Michigan

Boyne City

Escanaba

Ludington

Manistee

The Petoskey library is notable for having been a place where Hemingway spent a lot of his time.

Illinois

The Litchfield site now serves at the Litchfield Tourism Office.

Mount Vernon

Indiana

Instead of a photo of the Poseyville library, check out this video with its history. 

Tennessee

Harriman

Georgia

Newnan

I know what you're thinking - that's a lot of libraries to visit.  And you're right.  I'm sure we won't make it by all of them, but that's okay.  This trip is about seeing the Middle States, really seeing them, not just the main tourist attractions, although some of these Carnegie Libraries are on their towns' historical tour itinerary.  Libraries hold so much of a locality's history and heritage and showcase the talent of its patrons and community.  We've used our local library's resources and materials for several aspects of planning this trip; I expect the libraries on our trail will also contribute to our activities.

I'll leave you with these parting words from Andrew Carnegie himself.  In a letter to Dr. S.J. Nichols of St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Carnegie wrote:

 "The buildings should be dignified, but not ornate.  The building is only the frame; the treasures of a LIbrary are within."  

~ Cindy D.

Oh say can you see (a meteor shower, that is)?

Happy Independence Day to our U.S. readers!  With all the fireworks celebrations in and around our neighborhood the last few days, our thoughts have turned skyward to ooh and aah over the colorful explosions.

It also made us wonder what astronomical events we might experience while we're in the middle of the U.S. on our trip next year. We enjoy the Geminid meteor shower each December, especially when we are able to view it from somewhere like the Star-gazing Observation Platform at the state park at St. George Island, Florida. Here's how their website describes conditions:

Enjoy the wonderful stargazing opportunities with the darkest skies for miles around. An observation platform provides the perfect perch for night visitors to see stars, planets and other celestial bodies. The Gulf of Mexico provides 180 degrees of no light pollution and the closest metropolitan areas are over 70 miles away. These conditions allow stargazers to see the Milky Way and some of the fainter constellations.

Of course the optimal viewing time for the Geminids is past my bedtime, so I was excited to learn that there is an annual meteor shower that is best viewed during the pre-dawn hours while we will be somewhere in Kansas.

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower, caused by Halley's Comet, is visible from late April through mid May. EarthSky.org has a good illustration of where to look in the constellation Aquarius to start watching for the meteors.  Aquarius is one of the constellations that is a little more difficult to find, but this video from Learn the Sky is informative and provides good tips for getting your sky-bearings.

When I was a young girl, I wanted a telescope so much. I remember spending so much time just looking at the ones in the display case at K-Mart and calculating just how many weeks I would need to save my 50-cents a week allowance to have enough to buy it. I never did save up enough to buy my own. But I'm happy enough using an astronomy app when I want to star gaze or wonder what that is twinkling in the sky. I used Night Sky for many years on my 2010 iPad, but there are several others that have good reviews in the Google Play store / Apple store for more up-to-date devices.

Do you have a favorite sky-gazing app? If so, let us know in the comments. I want to find a good one before we travel.

~ Cindy D.