Chester, Illinois: The Birthplace of Popeye

Chester, Illinois: The Birthplace of Popeye

Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bridges, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Giant Things, Illinois, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Lewis and Clark Sites, Murals, Offbeat Places, Place Names, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Welcome Signs
[caption id="attachment_36205" align="alignnone" width="481"] Hanging with Popeye in Chester, Illinois.[/caption] With every trip I take, I am always looking for something interesting.  Not just a one off quirky statue somewhere, but hopefully something bigger.  Back in October when I visited Route 66 in Illinois, I looked for something interesting to see on the way home.  Thanks to my good friends at RoadsideAmerica.com, I was guided to the river town of Chester, Illinois.  It sits on a hill overlooking the Mississippi River just across from Missouri. [caption id="attachment_36202" align="alignnone" width="640"] Welcome to Chester, Illinois[/caption] The view of the Chester Bridge over the river from Segar Memorial Park is really a splendid view and the town itself is a pleasant little town.  That in and of itself was worth the visit.  But,…
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Towns of America A to Z: The Q Towns #atozchallenge

Towns of America A to Z: The Q Towns #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Airlines, Antique Shops, Arizona, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Bison, Books, Bridges, Buffalo, Buildings, Barns and Houses, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Junk Art, Junk-art Sculptures, Kentucky, Less Beaten Paths Books, Murals, Museums, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Place Names, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Signs and Billboards, Texas, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Unique Shops, US Highway 1, Welcome Signs
Tis will be one of the Quicker reads for y'all since there are not many places that begin with the letter Q and I have been to even less of them.  However, I will queue up a few for your viewing enjoyment. Honestly, since I watch a lot of TV, and have a liking for Family Guy, I ALMOST included Quahog, Rhode Island in this post.  This is the town where the Griffin family resides. Quahog (pronunced KO-hog) has about 800 people and even has a Zip Code of 00093.  Ironically, there is town in Rhode Island called Quonochontaug (pronounced kwan-a-kan-tawg) located a couple of miles south of US 1 on the Atlantic Coast, but I have not been there (though I have been to Rhode Island). It is actually…
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Towns of America A to Z: The L Towns #atozchallenge

Towns of America A to Z: The L Towns #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Alberta, Animals, Antique Shops, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bucket List Trips, Buildings, Barns and Houses, Canada, Church Signs, Dream Highways, Eagles, Eateries, Family Travel, Giant Things, Giant Twine Balls, Iowa, Landscapes, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Montana, Mountains, Murals, Museums, Nature and Scenery, North Carolina, Ocean Scenes, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, Stop Signs, Television Shows, Texas, Tourist Traps, Town Names, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Unique Shops, US Highway 101, US Highway 2, Virginia, Wall Art, Washington, Water Towers, Welcome Signs, Wisconsin, Wyoming
I hope you are Loving these A to Z posts and I hope that they are not too Laughable. I am trying not to be Lazy or Lavish, but want to present some places  worth Learning about. These posts are Lengthy, but not quite Legendary.   I hope that you find them Likeable. For me, there is nothing like getting Lost in my wanderings. ENJOY THE READ!  ENJOY THE RIDE! LOVING, TEXAS [caption id="attachment_27847" align="alignleft" width="300"] Loving, Texas Post Office[/caption] I might as well start out with something upbeat and fun.  On Valentine's Day 2020, we arrived in Loving, Texas and sent out Valentine's Days cards to family from there.  Yes indeed, it was planned!! Loving is located in the northern part of Texas, north of Dallas.  It was founded in…
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8154: Experiencing America’s Amazing Landscapes

8154: Experiencing America’s Amazing Landscapes

Adventure, Arizona, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Bridges, California, Cross Country Road Trips, Deer, Eagles, Family Travel, Farmland, Geese, Geologic Formations, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Landscapes, Less Beaten Paths Books, Lighthouses, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Mountains, Mountains, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ocean Scenes, Oregon, Pronghorn Antelope, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, Route 66, Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, South Dakota, Swamps, Tennessee, Texas, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, US Highway 1, US Highway 101, US Highway 14, US Highway 16, US Highway 16A, US Highway 18, US Highway 180, US Highway 2, Washington, Wyoming
In early 2020 I traveled across the country over the course of three weeks with my daughter and three grandchildren.    During this trip we traveled 8154 miles across 20 states and visited over 100 destinations, saw all sorts of animals, all sorts of geography, 10 National Parks and Monuments, various state parks, oceans, deserts, mountains, beaches, grasslands, canyons and more. This is the fourth of a few posts about some of the fun from this EPIC Road Trip.  In this post I'll share some scenes of some of America's diverse landscapes that we experienced on this epic road trip. Enjoy the Read! Enjoy the Ride! (all photography by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz and, when noted, Marissa Noe) OH BEAUTIFUL FOR SPACIOUS SKIES [caption id="attachment_24234" align="alignnone" width="640"] SD Hwy 244 north…
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AtoZ Challenge 2020 – 8154: An Epic Road Trip – The Y Stories #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Arizona, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, California, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Family Travel, Farmland, Kentucky, Landscapes, Less Beaten Paths Books, Louisiana, Mountains, National Parks, New Mexico, Ocean Scenes, Oregon, Place Names, Roadsigns, Route 66, Tennessee, Texas, Town Names, Travel with grandchildren, Unique Places, US Highway 101, US Highway 2, Washington
In early 2020 I traveled across the country with  the course of three weeks.  My A to Z posts this year will have the "8154" theme, which will also be the title of my forthcoming new book that will document the epic road trip.  Each entry will highlight a few stories with photos based on the alphabet and not the order of the trip.  I hope you will enjoy this bouncy ride across the back roads of America.  Please enjoy the Y Stories. (all photography by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz) EnjoY the rYde  as we drYve Across America - Part Two Throughout the course of our 8154 Road Trip, there was not anything with an X or a Y in it.  So, I thought I would take readers on a Virtual…
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#TBT Montana Road Trip: Day 1 – June 15, 2005

#TBT Montana Road Trip: Day 1 – June 15, 2005

#TBT, Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, City Skylines, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Giant Twine Balls, Illinois, Indiana, Large Statues, Minnesota, Roadside Attractions, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Wisconsin
Montana Road Trip Journal June 15, 2005: Today we departed on our trip to Great Falls, Montana for Amaree's wedding, the second in a string of 3 weddings in 8 weeks. Accompanying me on the trip is Seth, Solomon and Marissa, who will be married on the 25th of June in Louisville, which is in 10 days. Our Road Trip will comprise about 4500 miles as we drive north thru Indiana and Illinois and then across Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and into Montana. Our return will be a similar trip, except thru a corner of Wyoming and then across South Dakota and then Minnesota and Wisconsin. A general map of the trip can be seen below: My goal was to leave at 5:30 AM since we have such a long…
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Montana Road Trip: US Route 2 across Minnesota – Offbeat Paradise

Animals, Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Large Statues, Minnesota, Muffler Man, Mythical Creatures, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, States and Provinces, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Yard Art
[caption id="attachment_8728" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Northern Pike Statue in Deer River, MN[/caption] Traveling US Route 2 across Wisconsin was beautiful and had its share of offbeat and quirky places, but Minnesota's section of US Route 2 is one to be reckoned with when it comes to quirky and fun destinations on the same road. Entering from Superior, Wisconsin, Route 2 starts south of Duluth and proceeds through Proctor, MN.  From there the road heads northwest into the beautiful lake and birch country that gives Minnesota its name "Land of 10,000 Lakes." Before I go any further, I do need to give a SHOUT OUT to fellow travel blogger Seth Hardmeyer, who does the Highway Highlights blog (also see @HHighlights on Twitter and highway_highlights on Instagram).  He provided me loads of information…
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Road Trip: Dallas to Lexington, KY via Branson, MO

Arkansas, Backroads Discoveries, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Illinois, Kentucky, Large Statues, Missouri, Oklahoma, Roadside Attractions, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places
[caption id="attachment_4929" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Scrap Metal Horses by Doug Owen in Durant, Oklahoma[/caption] After being gone for nearly a month in Idaho and then a few days in Dallas for work in mid June (2013), I took the final leg of this adventure and a two day trip to return home to Lexington via Branson, Missouri, where my wife was visiting with her sister.  This would turn out to be another fun adventure as I traveled through Oklahoma and the Ozarks.  Following is the route I took for the trip.  I left in the afternoon and arrived about midnight in Branson. View Larger Map - Dallas, TX to Branson, MO I headed straight up US 75 to Denison and while there at least got a glimpse of the HUGE Eisenhower…
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