Boré Trips

Iowa—wow, we really loved it; so much that we spent a week there. A beautiful example of the heartland of America. Rolling, vibrant hills of corn and lots of full, meandering creeks and rivers. Stately farms everywhere.  We thought we’d leave Iowa immediately for Minnesota but so many things caught our eye :  Iowa City, the former state capital, t he Amana Colonies was founded in 1855 by German settlers,  the Bridges of Madison County and Winterset, the birthplace of John Wayne. Last but not least,  Mason City where the "music died"... Quite an amazing stop as we meander some less-traveled roads. The IOWA flag: The only Blue, White and Red state's flag in America: A reference to the first French settlers of the 18th century.   Iowa City, the former state capital, is a cool, creative and energetic university town in the middle of corn country. Many of the students struck us as healthy and wholesome farm kids . The Amana Colonies was founded in 1855 by settlers f...

Springfield, Illinois—2260 miles (3630km). On the advice of two travelers we met in Marquette, Michigan we chose to skip Milwaukee and Chicago (two places we will surely visit another time) and see Springfield, Illinois. The capital city is obsessed with Abraham Lincoln! This is where Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln raised their family (including losing a son there) and where Lincoln had a prosperous law firm. He is also buried here in a tomb that befits this magnificent man. Another big draw for us was the Frank Lloyd Wright Dana-Thomas house. We toured the breathtaking 12,600 square foot mansion, the largest Prairie Style home built by the architect (no photographs allowed indoors or we would have loved to share them). We also saw lots of homeless and unemployed folks around the streets of Springfield. The economy has known better days, but it wasn’t as stark as some other cities we saw. America’s Midwest reveals communities torn apart by globalization—primarily the movement of manufacturi...

Looking for America Post 5 Wisconsin—crossing America’s Dairyland. A continuation of gorgeous, endless miles of rolling, green farmland speckled with cows and cattle—and sheep and llamas. They all look like family farms, but not sure about that…  Madison, Wisconsin—2000-mile marker for us. Madison is beautiful, flanked on either side by the lakes Monona and Mendota. We had breakfast with our good friend Joe’s dad, Mike Hart and after, circled the stunning capital building that in many ways replicates the U.S. Capitol. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a sprawling campus that serves nearly 50,000 students. Though large, it is dotted with numerous beautiful buildings. Midwest architecture reveals a time when Americans cared a lot about creating buildings that last—not just the structures themselves, but the timelessness of the design, the embellishments, and other details.  Stephenson Island Park, Marinette, Wisconsin And yes...dairy farms are everywhere in America's Dairy ...

There are so many lovely and unusual things to do in the Straits of Mackinac and Michigan's UP--Upper Peninsula. 1. Sit on the bank of Lake Huron in Saginaw bay in a Simon and Garfunkel state of mind while listening to "America;"   2. Board a ferry and cross the Straits of Mackinac that connect Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, bike Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw!), tour the magnificent Grand Hotel for a lovely formal lunch, pass the location of the first land engagement of the War of 1812, and visit historic Fort Mackinac, established by the British in 1780, then taken over by the Americans in 1796; 3. Cross Mackinac Bridge,   the longest one of the western hemisphere in suspended length, 5 miles long (8km) ; 4. Catch the summer sunset on the northern shore (UP) of Lake Michigan, 5. Visit Charlevoix and Petoskey, jewels of Lake Michigan's Gold Coast on the western shore of Michigan.  When they say Gold Coast, they mean breathtaking shores, soft as silk sand, delici...