Some relatives (you know who you are) in my hometown of suburban Detroit weren’t convinced by the booster-ish tone of the 36 Hours in Detroit article in last week’s NYTimes Travel section but the article sold me. It made me want to revisit Detroit with a pair of fresh eyes and new enthusiasm!
Category Archives: 2) Frequent Destinations
Places to check out along the new High Trestle Trail in Iowa
The High Trestle trail just north of Des Moines officially opens today and here are some places the DMRegister recommends checking out along it:
– Woodward: Lake Robbins Ballroom, Woodward Hardware’s Antique Toy (nuts and bolts and antique toys and other antiques)
– Madrid – Baldy’s Chill and Grill opening soon in the old American Legion building
– Slater – Snus HIll Winery, with a tasting room, a mile north of the trail along a gravel road
– The Bridge, of course: A 13-story high bridge originally built in 1973 that has been redesigned with six overlooks, four art installation/towers at each end and 41 steel frames overhead that light up in the dark.
Filed under bike trails, biking, Iowa
Mount Vernon, Ia. – one of 10 cool small towns
I didn’t know until I heard a plug on Iowa Public Radio this morning that the small northeast Iowa town of Mount Vernon was named one of then “cool small towns” by Budget Travel Magazine. Turns out this was back in 2009. But I’d have to agree. It’s the home of Cornell College and the wonderful restaurant the Lincoln Cafe and is smack in the middle of some bucolic farm country and about a half hour south is the booming artsy college town of Iowa City. One place I don’t know that was mentioned in the Mount Vernon blurb: Fuel, a coffee shop/antique store.
The 2009 cool town list also includes Jacksonville, Oregon, which my husband and I visited in 2010 during a visit to my sister-in-law’s house in nearby Medford, and Tubac, Arizona which we visited many times during visits to see my dad in Tucson. (In Tubac, the mag recommends the interior design story Pancho’s, Tubac Center of the Arts, and Tubac Country Inn. Good to know since I’m sure we’ll be back there.)
Royal Wedding – from afar
Alas, I won’t be as near to this Royal Wedding as I was to the last big one thirty years ago, which I helped cover as a young reporter working in the London Bureau of a Yank newspaper. My British friends emailed today that wedding fever is finally starting to take hold of the capital – and perhaps the country. In addition to a republican (i.e. anti-monarchist) party where guests will dine on red food and NOT watch the wedding on the telly, one friend has been invited to a more traditional garden party at the home of a neighbor who has planted red, white and blue pansies for the occasion. Hope the weather permits (another friend reported its supposed to be rainy.)
I just may get up early tomorrow to tune in – although I’m not sure how early I can handle. I’ve got my new wedding kitsch just in time from my sister, who brought them back from a recent trip to England. A Wills-and-Kate tea towel and Wills-and-Kate mug. Hip Hip Hooray.
Filed under England and U.K., London
who would’ah thunk it: spotted George Hamilton at Des Moines restaurant
On a Monday night in Des Moines, hard to imagine seeing anybody out for dinner, let alone perpetually tan actor George Hamilton who was dining at a table near us at Alba in the East Village. The director of the Greater Des Moines Civic Center was his host so that was a tip off – apparently the civic center unveiled its next season today and George will be returning in October (unless he’s staying here til then, as if) in La Cage Aux Folles.)
I”m particularly excited about Billy Elliot which will be in DM in June 2012.
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Civic Center of Greater Des Moines announce its new 2011-2012 season on Monday night.The schedule includes La Cage Aux Folles, which headed to Iowa direct from Broadway — and stars George Hamilton. Wicked returns to Des Moines. Billy Elliot The Musical also is coming to the Civic Center.
2011
- Oct 11-16: La Cage Aux Folles (Staring George Hamilton)
- Nov. 9- Dec. 4: Wicked
2012
- Feb. 7-12: West Side Story
- Feb 28-March 4: Bring It On: The Musical
- April 24-29: Memphis
- May 15-16: Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles
- June 6-17: Billy Elliot The Musical
Filed under Des Moines, theater
Where to eat in Albuquerque
My dad is passing through Albuquerque and was looking for a good place to eat so I checked in with my sister-in-law, who lives there. Figured I’d share her suggestions which include: the Grove Cafe, Standard Diner, Farina (for wood oven pizza) and Artichoke Cafe (a fancier place).
Also for a funky New Mexican food place, there is Duran’s Pharmacy near Old Town – an old-fashioned pharmacy with a little restaurant that serves pretty decent stuffed sopapillas and green chile stew.
Filed under DINING, New Mexico
Things to do/see in Shenandoah, Iowa
We don’t get to southeast Iowa that much but here’s more reason to: Some places to visit in Shenandoah.
– Iowa Walk of Fame downtown (123 Iowans merit their own plaque in the sidewalk (akin to the literary walk in Iowa City?)
– Everly Brothers Childhood Home, (who knew they got their start here?)
– Wabash Trace Nature Trail – 60 mile trail through the Loess Hills; a converted railroad right-of-way. Popular starting points are the trailhead in Shenandoah. It’s made of crushed limestone, which isn’t my favorite surface, alas. http://www.wabashtrace.org
– The Sanctuary Restaurant – homemade sandwiches, entrees, desserts in a former church.
– Shenandoah Inn and Suites – family-owned hotel.
Filed under Iowa
A place to stay in Mount Vernon Iowa
The pretty eastern Iowa college town of Mount Vernon (home to Cornell College) is one of our favorites – especially with its great restaurant the low-key but ambitious Lincoln Cafe and its offspring, the Lincoln Wine Bar. Now comes word in the DM Register of a place to stay overnight when we don’t feel like making the two-hour drive back to Des Moines after dinner or from Iowa City (where I daughter will be a student at U of Iowa next fall). It’s the Blythe Cottage Inn and the rates are tres reasonable – $60 to stay in one of the guest bedrooms or $75 for an entire guest cottage. http://www.pollyanns.com/blythecottageinn.html)
Bright Eyes tix for Aug. 8 concert in Des Moines – on sale tomorrow
I had to alert my son (who’s at college in Illinois) that tix for the Bright Eyes concert at Des Moines’ Val Air Ballroom on Aug.8 go on sale tomorrow through ticketmaster – so thought I’d alert all of you too. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to seeing the unlikely duo John Doe and Jill Sobule perform here on Sunday!
Filed under Des Moines, music
Midwestern hotels to check out
Also from a recent issue of Midwest Living:
– Chicago – Elysian, Ritz-Carlton, Hotel Palomar (rat pack-esque doormen!)
– Columbus, Indiana, Inn at Irwin Gardens
– Novi, MI, Baronette Renaissance
– Shell Knob, Missouri, (wherever that is), Stonewater Cove
– Dubuque, Hotel Julien
– Kohler, Wisc., The American Club
– Custer, S.D., Custer State Park Reunion Cabin
Filed under Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, LODGING, Michigan, Missouri, South Dakota, Wisconsin
