After a travel story I write about the Midwest is published, I often get invites from tourism folks in the Midwest (and beyond…my favorite was an invitation to a Bora Bora hotel….) Here’s some North Dakota ideas from a PR person there. The state is actually on my list because it’s one of the few I haven’t visited and it’s not that far from Iowa, where I live… One heads up: the U.S. News report mentioned below ranked Iowa as the Number One “Best State” overall. North Dakota was #4. (For what that’s worth…).
North Dakota’s rich history lends itself well to the emerging art scene found in nearly every corner of the state. Recently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the number one state in the country for the highest quality of life, North Dakota is the perfect place to mingle with locals, stroll city streets and enjoy fascinating art and culture venues. Here are a few ideas:
- Bismarck: Experience the beauty and wonder of new art galleries and exhibits, including The Capital Gallery and the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum. Spend an afternoon exploring the center’s interactive exhibits filled with high-tech displays, such as life-sized dinosaur casts, exquisite Native American textiles and early farming tools of European homesteaders.
- Fargo: The largest city in North Dakota, Fargo boasts a vibrant downtown fit for art lovers, craft beer lovers, film fanatics and curling enthusiasts. You can see Olympic gold medalist John Shuster and his team in action during the 2018 Curling Nationals in Fargo from March 3 – 10. A few weeks later at the Fargo Film Festival, a four-day celebration kicking off on March 20, you won’t want to miss the electric atmosphere and occasional peep of a movie star. You may even see Alison Becker – NBC’s “Parks and Rec” star – this year! After a day well spent at the festival, relax at Hotel Donaldson, an artsy boutique hotel with beautiful works of art, incredible food, rooftop yoga and some of the best views of downtown.
- Grand Forks: Grand Forks is a charming college town with remarkable art galleries and fascinating food venues. Get your caffeine-fix at Urban Stampede to sip on freshly brewed java while taking in the world’s smallest art gallery. Then, head to the North Dakota Museum of Art, where you can see one of the Museum’s permanent collections which includes more than $1 million in African, Egyptian, and contemporary art.
I appear to be at the gate (C14) where the decent dining options are which may be handy for future long layovers (Ian almost done with a three hour one after arriving bleary-eyed from a 7:20 am flight from Burbank) at Las Vegas Airport. When we were last here about 10 days ago we searched in vain for a good dinner option.
Baby Benji — my cousin’s so sweet four-month-old son- was the highlight of (and reason for) my trip to Venice but I was reminded of how cool and pretty and pricey this seaside community is. I loved strolling along the narrow pedestrian-only lanes of the Places, “walk streets” each lined with usually small (but sometimes large) houses, some old bungalows and cottages (my favorite) or sleek flat-faced modern newcomers, most with gorgeous overgrown foliage and lush colorful flowers. (Nowita, Marco, Amoroso Places)
I had a delicious (but almost $20) Niçoise salad and green apple lemonade ($4 but u was relieved to learn, after-the-fact that the refill was free) at trendy Superba Bar and Grill. I drove around until I found Rose Street, which I decided was the emerging area I visited a few years ago. It appeared to still be emerging.
I also wandered a little along Abbott Kinney, window shopping and people watching and since I happened to park around the block from the superb ice cream shop Salt & Straw, I decided it was a sign from above and had a large (almost $5) scoop of “freckled woodblock chocolate,” which was delicious although I didn’t really understand the name. (I choose it in part because it was the rare chocolate flavor without salt as a touted ingredient.)
“Mister Ed” fans take note: you can see Mr. Ed’s descendants up close and personal, in the small backyards of the Rancho area of Burbank, where residents (and day trippers) on horseback are so common along the wise suburban streets leading to Griffith Park’s more rugged Cowboy-esque terrain that some of the buttons to push at the crosswalks are high enough for riders to reach.
Road trip Day #1 from Albuquerque! The theme was Pueblos. First stop the Pueblo Culural Center in Albuquerque, a pleasant southwest adobe building with interesting exhibits on the history, art and culture of the Pueblos, primarily in New Mexico. Good gift shop and nice looking restaurant too. Then we drove about an hour west through flat range country with giant buttes. mesas and other-worldly rock formations rising from the ground like strange abstract sculptures. Tumbleweeds blew, rather than tumbled, across Interstate 40. Unfortunately, Acoma Pueblo was not open to visitors when we arrived. Winter hours. But we could see a few adobe houses atop the Mesa where about 15 families still live. Off season was not a bad time to see it (from a distance, if not up close and personal) because you could get a sense of the isolation. It’s way out and up there. We drove on a two Lane highway up to an overlook atop a rock outcropping where a few native Americans were selling pottery from their car.
TakeBetsywithyou 