I had never been to Arizona — now the 35th state I have checked off my race to all 50 — so you can imagine my excitement as I first laid eyes on the sign that read: “The Grand Canyon State Welcomes You”. My main objective was to visit that gargantuan hole in the earth that has entranced visitors for centuries. So, after finally making a stop at the damn dam and a nearby overlook of Lake Mead, I instructed the Google Maps machine to take me to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Read MoreAs far as the day itself was concerned, we hadn’t looked up a ton of things to do or really put any kind of concrete plan in place, but one thing that was absolutely, without-a-doubt, no-ifs-ands-or-buts-about-it on the list was a visit to Blarney Castle. There, we’d have the opportunity to climb up to the parapet or rampart or battlement or whatever you want to call it and kiss the fabled Blarney Stone, which is said to bring good luck and eloquence (“the gift of gab”, so they say) to anyone who lays a wet one on it.
Read MoreMichigan is full of majesty, mystery, and might, each of which comes in many forms. This three-part series highlights just some of what the Mitten State has to offer, county by county. Welcome to Part One, which covers the first 29 counties alphabetically, from Alcona to Gratiot.
Read MoreSometimes, when picturing upstate New York, I imagine a mystical land far, far away — a place that almost isn’t even real. Perpetually second fiddle to the Big Apple, the City That Never Sleeps, the city so great they named it twice, etcetera, etcetera, you tend to just kind of forget that the state of New York has 50,000 square miles of land which are not encompassed by the five boroughs.
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