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This Quiet Mountaintop Camp In Clifftop Was Where West Virginia’s Black Families Finally Had A Place To Swim And Picnic

Some places hide their stories behind a quiet gravel road and a stand of tall trees. You pull in expecting a nice picnic spot, and you leave feeling like you just walked through...

Read More    9 min read

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This Texas Meat Market Has a Massive Selection That Makes an Ordinary Grocery Run Look Boring

A grocery store meat counter has its limits, and this Texas market blows past every one of them with a selection that makes a standard shopping trip feel dull by comparison.

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The Enchanting Small Town In Missouri You Might Not Have Heard Of

Your weekend doesn’t need another packed itinerary. A river town with quiet streets, interesting shops, and a trail beside the water can do the job beautifully.

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This New Jersey Clam House Is So Fresh People Drive An Hour Just To Stock Up

An hour in the car for seafood? That sounds perfectly reasonable once you hear what shoppers are bringing home. Forget the...

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Six West Virginia Mountain Restaurants Where Ramps Still Taste Like A Grandma’s Spring Supper

Some springs, you can smell the ramps before you ever see the sign out front. In West Virginia, that sharp, garlicky scent has meant warmer days and full supper tables for generations.

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This Haunted 1811 New Jersey Prison Opens Its Cells For Halloween Tours Starting October 16

Most people spend October decorating their homes with fake cobwebs. This place already has the atmosphere covered. Thick stone...

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This Indiana Neighborhood Spot Crafts Giant Pierogi Platters That Could Rival Warsaw

The potato pancake has entered the room. Nobody is looking at the menu anymore. At this Indiana spot, the homemade Polish food...

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Your Grocery List May Not Survive This Indiana Shop Jam-Packed With Imported Italian Favorites

Dinner was supposed to be simple. Pasta. Sauce. Done. Then an Italian grocery...

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This Small-Town Missouri Restaurant Serves Hand-Cut USDA Prime Steaks Worth Planning A Drive For

A good steak can make the GPS earn its keep. Suddenly, dinner deserves a drive, and your usual takeout plans can wait. This small-town...

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This Texas Bakery Has a Completely Gluten-Free Kitchen and Makes Its Pastries From Scratch

Finding a bakery where you can order anything on the menu without asking a single question is a rare luxury for anyone avoiding gluten, and this Texas spot delivers exactly that...

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This New Oregon Bistro Is Bringing French-Inspired Comfort Food Back To A Beloved Neighborhood Spot

Butter sizzles, a baguette cracks open, and a neighborhood corner that missed its favorite flavors is suddenly smelling like home again.

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This Missouri Country Store Keeps Old-Fashioned Pantry Shopping Alive With Country Butter And Local Preserves

A basket of country butter, local jam, and pickled vegetables is a pretty good reason to take the scenic grocery route. In Missouri, this country store stocks those pantry favorites...

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A New Jersey Developer Built A Six-Story Elephant Just To Convince People To Buy Land

Selling beachfront property is one thing. Building a gigantic elephant to get everyone's attention? Now that's marketing with...

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This New Hampshire Bakery Won A Legal Battle Over A Pastry Mural That Was Almost Forced Down

A mural of doughnuts and muffins painted above a bakery entrance sounds like a harmless piece of small-town charm. For one owner in New Hampshire, it became a three-year legal...

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This 8,000 Square Foot Maryland Antique Mall Has Vintage Treasures and a 1950s Diner Inside

Some antique malls are just rows of booths. This Maryland spot goes further. At 8,000 square feet, it is packed with vintage...

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An Oregon Restaurant Is Bringing Old-School Italian Comfort Food Back Into The Spotlight

Somewhere a pot is simmering since morning, and the whole kitchen smells like a grandmother’s Sunday. Red sauce, tender meatballs,...

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This New Hampshire Diner Chain Lets Kids Eat Free On Mondays When Adults Order Dinner

Family dinners out can get expensive fast, and one restaurant group in New Hampshire has found a simple way to ease that burden. On Monday nights, kids eat free when an adult orders...

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This Laid-Back New Hampshire Tavern Is Known For Soup Flights That Let You Try More Than One Bowl

Ordering soup usually means committing to one bowl and hoping it was the right choice. One tavern in New Hampshire has solved that problem entirely.

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Way Out In The West Virginia Hills, This Little Country Store Serves Brisket Worth The Drive

You almost drive right past it, and that would have been a real shame. Out on a quiet road in the West Virginia hills sits a small country store that looks like a spot for a soda...

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One Of New Jersey’s Most Scenic Waterfront Restaurants Has Been Here Since 1924

Dinner tastes a little different when the waterfront is practically part of the dining room. There's the changing light, the...

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A North Carolina Lighthouse Was Moved Nearly 3,000 Feet to Keep It From Falling Into the Atlantic

Lighthouses are supposed to stay put. This one did not. In 1999, a towering brick beacon on the North Carolina coast was lifted...

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This Sprawling Alabama Meat Market Is Where Folks Stock Their Freezers Cheaper Than Any Chain Store

The receipt is long. The freezer is happier. That is the basic trade-off at this Alabama meat market, where shoppers come for...

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This Oregon Cemetery Holds A Piece Of The Wild West Most Visitors Never Look For

Dusty trails, saloon doors, and tales of frontier legends usually live in movies. Sometimes they rest quietly under old trees instead. Winding paths here lead past weathered stones...

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This New Hampshire Restaurant Turns Dinner After 7 Into An Adults-Only Lakeside Escape

Dinner changes after seven o'clock, and one spot in New Hampshire has built its entire evening around that idea. The dining room sits right on the water, with windows that frame...

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A New Jersey Millionaire Built Himself A Medieval Castle Because Ordinary Mansions Were Not Enough

Apparently, a regular mansion wasn't quite dramatic enough. When a wealthy silk manufacturer decided to build his dream home,...

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This Maryland Bookstore Has Over 60,000 Titles and an Entire Museum of Hollywood Movie Costumes

Some bookstores are content to sell books. This Maryland spot decided that was not enough. With over 60,000 titles, it already...

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A 60-Foot Fire Tower Gives This New Jersey Hill One Of The Wildest Views In The Pine Barrens

Who says you need towering mountains to find a spectacular view? Sometimes all it takes is a sandy hill, an enormous stretch...

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This Tiny Missouri Railroad Town Was Brought Back To Life By Locals Who Refused To Give Up

A railroad put this Missouri town on the map. Local volunteers refused to let its story end there. The community faced hard times...

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A Pennsylvania Family Machine Shop Still Has Equipment Dating Back to the 1870s, and Visitors Can Watch It Run

Machine grease, thick and oddly comforting, drifts out of a weathered wooden building beside a Pennsylvania river. Belts slap against pulleys overhead while lathes and drills spin...

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12 Minnesota Places To Eat When You Want Something Beyond Burgers And Fries

Burgers and fries are great, but sometimes the stomach wants a plot twist. Dumplings, curries, handmade pasta, and flavors from...

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Folks Fill Whole Boxes At These 6 West Virginia Bakeries Before They Remember Saying Just One

You walk in planning to buy one doughnut, maybe a cookie for the drive home. Then the smell of warm bread hits, the glass case starts calling your name, and somehow you are asking...

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This New Jersey Village Will Soon Look Like Someone Dropped Christmas Into Another Century

Christmas shopping is one thing. Wandering through an old-fashioned village dressed for the holidays? That's an entirely different...

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This Locally Owned West Virginia Deli Slices Meats And Cheeses To Order While Chain Sandwich Shops Took Over

I almost drove right past it, a little brick corner spot that looked like it might sell stamps or fix shoes. Then the smell of fresh bread and peppery salami hit me when the door...

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Six Abandoned Ohio Factory Buildings That Once Supplied Two World Wars Have Been Turned Into a New Community

Brick walls rise through the trees along a river in Ohio, their tall windows and faded masonry looking like a page torn from a history book. This place once made millions of bullets...

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This Massive Monthly Alabama Open Market Is A Goldmine For Rare Vintage Toys And Retro Apparel

Pack comfortable shoes and leave some space in the car. Vintage shopping has a way of creating both problems. This Alabama...

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This Oregon Restaurant Serves Seafood With A View Of The Marina

Masts sway, gulls squawk, and a plate of fresh seafood lands on the table with the whole marina as its backdrop. Boats bob...

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This Virginia Pretzel Baker Uses A Generations-Old Alpine Recipe And Still Twists Every Pretzel By Hand

Pretzels are everywhere, but most of them are made by machines. This Virginia pretzel baker does it differently. The recipe is...

Read More    7 min read

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This Virginia Restaurant Has A Wednesday Rule That Lets Kids Eat Free When Parents Order Dinner

Family dinners can get expensive, especially when kids are involved. This Virginia restaurant has found a way to make it easier, with a Wednesday rule that lets kids eat free when...

Read More    7 min read

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Take A Break From Busy Attractions At This Beautiful New Jersey Nature Spot

Vacation plans can get exhausting surprisingly fast. You've seen the sights, walked the busy streets, and somehow managed to...

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A Maryland Italian Market Brings Fresh Pasta, Specialty Cheeses, and Classic Deli Favorites Under One Roof

Some grocery trips are just errands. Others feel like a small outing worth looking forward to. This Maryland Italian market falls...

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Thousands of Nickels and Pennies Decorate a Pennsylvania Restaurant Inside a Former 1891 Bank

Shiny nickels and bright copper pennies cover the bar counter and the vault floor inside an old bank building in Pennsylvania. The structure dates to 1891, and the original vault...

Read More    6 min read

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This Ohio Butcher Shop Is So Fresh Locals Are Rethinking Supermarket Meat Altogether

I went in for a pound of ground beef and walked out with a cooler full of brats, honey, and a smoked bone for a dog I had not even planned to spoil. Ohio has plenty of meat counters,...

Read More    8 min read

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This Missouri Restaurant Offers A Pork Tenderloin Dinner With Two Sides For $18.99

A pork tenderloin, two sides, and a warm roll make a pretty persuasive dinner lineup. At this Missouri restaurant, the meal costs $18.99 and lets you choose breaded or charbroiled...

Read More    7 min read

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How A Tiny Woodward, Oklahoma Museum Packs Plains Pioneer Life Into Five Full Galleries

You pull off the highway in northwest Oklahoma expecting a quick stretch and maybe a cold soda. Then a modest brick building swallows you for an afternoon you never planned on.

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A South Carolina Restaurant Began as a Gas Station in 1951 and Became Known for Southern Cooking

Quiet stretches of highway in South Carolina hide modest old buildings that have been feeding travelers for generations. One such spot opened in 1951, when it pumped gas and fried...

Read More    6 min read

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Minnesota Has A Bar Where The Food And The Women’s Sports Theme Share The Spotlight

Jerseys on the walls, game highlights on the screens, and a menu that holds its own against every big play. Women’s sports...

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Smoked Meats And Late-Night Crowds Make This New Jersey BBQ Spot Hard To Ignore

Oh, that smell. You know the one. Smoky, savory, and powerful enough to make you reconsider whatever you were planning for dinner....

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An Ohio Inventor Was So Proud of His Pringles Can That Part of His Ashes Was Buried Inside One

Potato chip cans and cemeteries do not usually share the same thought. Yet in Ohio, one quiet graveyard holds the ashes of the man who designed the famous stackable chip tube.

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A California Restaurant Sits 808 Feet Above the Pacific on Land Once Owned by Two Hollywood Stars

The fog lifted off the ocean like a curtain rising, and the whole coastline seemed to stretch out just for me. I found a seat on a terrace, and from that height the waves looked...

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This Unassuming Virginia Consignment Shop Hides Chanel, Gucci And Louis Vuitton Among Its Secondhand Finds

Walking into this Virginia consignment shop, you might not expect to find designer labels. The exterior is plain, the racks are packed, and the whole place has the kind of casual,...

Read More    8 min read

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This Virginia Bookstore Has 25,000 Books And A Rare Map Dating Back To 1584

Twenty-five thousand books is a lot to fit into one store. But this Virginia bookstore manages it, and the shelves hold more than just novels and paperbacks.

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A Pennsylvania Restaurant Turned an Old Bank Vault Into Its Kitchen, and the Original Vault Door Still Stands

Steel vault doors usually guard money, not pasta. In Pennsylvania, one old bank building has traded cash for carbonara, and the vault now watches over a kitchen instead of a fortune.

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9 Missouri Towns Where Old Storefronts And Quiet Streets Make The Whole Trip

Old brick storefronts can turn a simple walk into the best part of a day trip. In Missouri, small towns make room for the kind of unhurried wandering that gets lost on a packed...

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A North Carolina Restaurant Owner Spent 10 Years Saving an Old Schoolhouse and Moved It Behind His Barbecue Joint

Smoke drifts across a North Carolina roadside, and hush puppies land on almost every tray. Beach travelers swear by this barbecue stop, but the real surprise sits behind the restaurant.

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Minnesota’s First Arts-Based Public Benefit Corporation Blends a Vintage Arcade With an Over-the-Top Mini-Golf Course

Pinball bells ring, mini-golf balls roll through a tiny wonderland, and somewhere in the middle, a grown adult is losing to a ten-year-old at an arcade game.

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This Bizarre Alabama Trail Is Overflowing With Huge Abstract Sculptures Made Purely Out Of Hay

Art supplies do not always come from an art store. Sometimes they come from a farm, a bucket pile, or the corner where old tires have been waiting for someone to do something with...

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The Kiowa Tribe Shares Its Own Artistry At The Gáuihòñàun Museum In Carnegie, Oklahoma

I pulled off a quiet two-lane road in southwest Oklahoma expecting a quick stretch break and maybe a cold drink. Instead, I found painted walls that told a story stretching back...

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An Ohio Family Sold Their House and Nearly Everything They Owned to Open a Roadside Cheese Shop

Ten yellow letters spelling out cheesebarn on a curved barn roof catch the eye from the interstate, and hands steer toward the exit before the brain catches up. Some roadside stops...

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Rich Chicago Homeowners Sued to Kick Locals Off This Indiana Beach, and the Backlash Is Massive

Someone came to the beach for a swim. Someone else came with a lawsuit. That is a rather dramatic way to complicate a summer...

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The Tiny West Virginia Town Where A Whole Weekend Disappears Inside Antique Shops

I only meant to stop for a quick stretch and a cup of coffee, maybe twenty minutes, tops. Somewhere in West Virginia, on a quiet little main street, one dusty shop window turned...

Read More    7 min read