Your Diet Comfortably Dies The Exact Second You Walk Into This Indiana Amish Buffet
There is a dangerous sentence at a buffet. “I will start with the salad.” This Indiana restaurant has a particularly good way of making that plan fall apart. The salad bar...
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Folks Come Back Morning After Morning For Coffee And Breakfast Sandwiches At This Cozy West Virginia Bakery
Some of the best mornings start with a screen door creaking open and the smell of fresh bread drifting out to the sidewalk. You walk in expecting a quick cup of coffee, and you...
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This Charming, Cozy Hideaway Is Quickly Becoming One Of Indiana’s Most Popular Brunch Spots
The secret is getting harder to keep. You can tell by the weekend crowd. This Indiana brunch cafe has quietly moved from local...
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This Pristine 26-Acre Indiana Landmark Has A Secret Connection To New York’s Central Park
The yard is doing suspiciously sophisticated things for a yard. Paths bend exactly where they should. Trees frame the views....
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11 Virginia Restaurants You Absolutely Must Try in Your Lifetime
Dining out is about more than just eating. It is about the experience, the memory, the feeling of sitting in a room that has been serving people for decades, or tasting a dish...
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Bumper Cars Become A Competitive Team Sport At This Missouri Indoor Attraction
Trying to score while your friends keep smashing into your car is harder than it sounds. This Missouri attraction turns bumper cars into a full team game, with players passing...
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California Built Restaurants Shaped Like Giant Chili Bowls, and One Survived by Becoming a Sushi Restaurant
Giant chili bowls were once a common sight on California streets, built to look like the food they sold. Most are gone now, but one round white building survived by changing its...
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This Texas Bakery Makes Chinese Pastries And Breads You Won’t Find At Your Typical Neighborhood Bakery
Walking into a bakery and seeing egg tarts, pineapple buns, and red bean pastries instead of the usual muffins and cookies is the kind of surprise that makes a place worth remembering,...
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Collectors Cross State Lines To Dig Through Thousands Of Comic Books In This Ordinary Tulsa Strip Mall
You almost drive right past it, just another storefront in a row of plain shops along a busy Oklahoma road. Then you step inside and realize the walls, the floor, and even the...
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North Carolina Built a 2,200-Foot Wall Into the Ocean, and Most of It Now Sits Underwater
Dark rocks running out from the shore into the water look like a natural reef at first glance. People built that wall, stone by stone, more than a century ago to tame a wild stretch...
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Watch Glass Being Blown By Hand A Few Feet From The Furnace At Appalachian Glass In West Virginia
I pulled off a West Virginia highway expecting a quick gift shop stop and a stretch of the legs. Instead, I found myself standing close enough to a glowing furnace to feel its...
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Behind A Missouri Marshal’s Home Stands An 1859 Jail You Can Still Tour
The front of the house gives almost nothing away. Behind it sits a limestone jail from 1859, complete with heavy iron doors and original cells that once held Jackson County prisoners.
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Oregon Has A Historic Theater Where You Can Still See The Architecture Of A 1930s Movie Palace
Step inside, and 1930s Hollywood glamour is apparently alive, well, and still charging admission. Ornate details cover nearly every surface in this theater, gold trim and elaborate...
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The salt on your winter roads comes from tunnels dug deep under this lake in Cleveland
I always assumed the salt on my winter roads just showed up in a truck from nowhere in particular. Then I learned that some of the salt keeping Ohio drivers safe comes from tunnels...
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Families Pile Their Plates With Endless Fried Catfish While Watching The Water At This Oklahoma Spot
The gravel road kept going, and I kept wondering if my stomach had made a bad call. Then the trees opened up, a quiet building appeared, and the smell of hot cornmeal and frying...
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Is This Really One Of America’s Best Small Towns? West Virginia Locals Say It Earned It
Some places in West Virginia look like a quick stop on the map until you park the car and realize you never want to leave. You come for a cup of coffee and a stretch of the legs,...
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This Texas Restaurant Serves Philly Cheesesteaks That Taste Straight Out Of Pennsylvania
Finding a real Philly cheesesteak outside of Philadelphia is harder than it should be, but this Texas restaurant has managed to nail the formula with thinly sliced steak, properly...
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This Southeast Ohio Lake Is So Clear You Can Count the Pebbles, and Families Keep Coming Back
I went looking for a quick lunch stop and a stretch of the legs, and I ended up staring down into lake water so clear it felt like peeking through a window. This corner of southeast...
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Fresh Cheese Curds Squeak When You Bite Them At This Family Creamery In Oklahoma
I only stopped because I needed milk, and I figured a small farm store would be a quick in-and-out errand. Twenty minutes later I was standing in the parking lot with a bag of...
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Most I-35 Drivers Miss The 77-Foot Waterfall And Stone Castle Ruins Hiding In Oklahoma
I only planned to stop for gas and a snack somewhere in southern Oklahoma, nothing fancy. Then a curve in the road showed me rugged hills, a roaring sheet of water, and an old...
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Over 50 Dealers Pack One Building At This Antique Mall Along Route 66 In Oklahoma
I only meant to stretch my legs for ten minutes on a quiet Oklahoma stretch of Route 66. Then I opened an ordinary-looking storefront door and lost most of an afternoon.
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Five West Virginia Church Suppers Where A Plate Of Soup Beans Still Costs Less Than Lunch Out
I almost drove right past the hand-lettered sign taped to a fellowship hall door, and I am glad I hit the brakes. Inside, a West Virginia church basement smelled like slow-simmered...
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Homemade Flavors Like Dragon Fruit And Mocha Praline Fill The Scoops At This West Virginia Ice Cream Shop
Some of the best ice cream in West Virginia is tucked behind a plain little storefront you could easily drive right past. I almost did, until a cone in someone's hand made me hit...
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A Scenic Texas Dam Walk With Surprisingly Beautiful Views
Walking across a dam is not usually the first thing that comes to mind when planning a scenic outing, but this Texas spot has a way of surprising people who give it a chance, offering...
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A Former Country Market Dating To 1937 Now Houses A Missouri Dining Destination
What used to be a country market surrounded by cornfields now draws diners for polished meals in the same Missouri setting. The...
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Oklahoma’s World’s Tallest Hill Near Poteau Has A Summit Drive Families Make Every Fall
Some of the best family memories start with a sign by the road and a quick change of plans. In eastern Oklahoma, there is a free, winding drive that climbs to a view most people...
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Hikers Are Surprised That A Whole Town Sank Under This West Virginia Lake When The Dam Went In
You can stand on a quiet cliff in West Virginia, look down at water so clear it seems fake, and never guess what sits below. Folks who grew up here know the story, but plenty of...
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More Than 60 Tropical Butterfly Species Flutter Through An 8,000-Square-Foot Missouri Conservatory
Butterflies do not exactly respect personal space here. One might zip past your shoulder while another lands nearby and stays put long enough for a photo.
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The Texas Restaurant Where the Tostada Burger Comes Topped With Refried Beans and Tortilla Chips
Some burgers stay traditional, and some take a sharp turn into territory that sounds strange until you actually try it. This...
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A Restored 1940s Missouri Motel Is Welcoming Travelers Back To Route 66
For decades, this old roadside motel was something travelers could only pass and wonder about. Now the lights are back on. This...
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10 New Jersey Meat Markets Where Filling The Freezer Costs Less Than At The Big Chains
A full freezer can feel like a small victory when grocery bills keep finding new ways to hurt. Skip the endless supermarket...
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How Did A Tiny Town Become Home To West Virginia’s Oldest Continuously Running Fair
Some places sneak up on you, and the smell of warm cinnamon rolls drifting past a cattle barn is usually the first clue. Tucked into a quiet valley in West Virginia, one small...
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This Storybook New Jersey Tea Room Feels Like A Sweet Escape From Real Life
Tea tastes better when the room looks like it belongs in a storybook. Delicate china, lace, flowers, tiered trays, and freshly baked sweets turn an ordinary afternoon into something...
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This Phenomenal Indiana All You Can Eat Buffet Is A Total Paradise For Selective Eaters
Choosing a restaurant for picky eaters is usually a group project nobody wants. “What do you want?” “I don't know.” “What about seafood?” “No.” “Pasta?” “No.”...
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Chicago Tourists Are Suffocating This Packed Indiana Beach Town And Driving Real Locals Out
There is a funny rule about popular beach towns. The people who live there still have errands. That can get complicated in...
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The Old-School Pizza Hut Lunch Buffet Still Lives On At A Missouri Location
A lot of people thought this kind of Pizza Hut lunch was gone for good. Not here. This Missouri location still rolls out the...
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A Texas Basilica Known For Its Historic Charm And Peaceful Atmosphere Draws Visitors Year-Round
Some buildings carry a sense of calm the moment you step inside, and this Texas basilica has been offering that feeling to visitors for generations, drawing people year round regardless...
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This Oregon Restaurant Makes More Than 26 Kinds Of Jams, Jellies And Syrups
Twenty-six flavors of jam is the kind of number that makes a grocery store aisle look embarrassingly limited by comparison. Jars...
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This Missouri Pumpkin Patch Just Opened For Fall With A Cliffside Cave Decorated Like A Giant Pumpkin
Most pumpkin patches stop at hayrides and corn mazes. This Missouri spot adds a cliffside cave to the mix, and that changes the whole fall outing.
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An 1832 New Jersey Cave Disappeared Beneath Debris For Decades Until The City Dug It Out Again
A cave does not usually vanish from a city. This one practically did. Built...
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This New Hampshire Museum Has Nearly 1,000 Telephones From More Than A Century Of Technology
Most museums focus on art or history or science. This New Hampshire museum focuses on something narrower, and that focus is exactly what makes it fascinating.
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This Maryland Bagel Shop Makes Its Bagels From Scratch and Boils Them Before Baking
A real bagel is not just bread with a hole. It is boiled before it is baked, a step that gives it that signature chew and shine. This...
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12 Oregon Day Trips For People Who Have Already Seen The Famous Stuff
Famous landmarks already checked off? Good. Time to see what everyone else skipped on the way there. A handful of day trips scattered...
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This New Hampshire Farm Market Sells Pasture-Raised Bison And All-Natural Meat
Most people do not expect to find bison on a farm in New England, but this New Hampshire farm market has been raising them since 1998. The animals are pasture-raised, fed a natural...
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Inside This West Virginia City’s Basilica Is Stained Glass Some Visitors Call The Most Beautiful They’ve Ever Seen
Some of the best surprises in West Virginia hide behind plain city sidewalks and ordinary brick. You might be passing by on the way to lunch, thinking about nothing much, when...
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11 New Jersey Bakeries Where Portuguese Pastries Steal The Show
One custard tart can change your whole bakery order. Portuguese bakeries know how to make temptation look small, golden, flaky,...
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Workers Renovating a North Carolina Hotel Found a Room With No Doors or Windows and Two Trunks Still Inside
Sealed rooms inside old mountain hotels send people planning road trips. Coffee got set down when I heard about this one. The...
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This Alabama Farm Bakery Has More Than 20 Kinds Of Pies
The strangest thing here is not the pie flavor. It is the hour. This Alabama bakery has enough homemade pies to keep a person...
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Oregon Has A Historic Hotel Where The Entire Town Seems To Have Been Built Around A Hot Spring
A natural hot spring showed up first. Everything else just built itself around it afterward out of sheer convenience. Steam rises constantly from pools scattered across the property...
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This New Hampshire Covered Bridge Is The Longest Two-Span Covered Bridge In The World
Length is not usually the first thing people notice about a covered bridge, but in this case, it is impossible to ignore. This New Hampshire covered bridge stretches four hundred...
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A Popular New Jersey Deli Just Expanded Into Another North Jersey Town
A good deli sandwich has a funny way of creating loyal fans. First, people swear by one order. Then they start bringing friends.
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This European Style Christmas Market Has Been Bringing Holiday Magic to Maryland for Years
Holiday markets do not have to be in Europe to feel like they are. This Maryland event brings the European style Christmas market experience right here, and it has been doing it...
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This New Jersey Farm Market Has Been A Local Tradition For More Than 120 Years
Plenty of businesses disappear after a few years. This one has watched entire generations grow up. For more than 120 years, families...
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This Missouri Conservation Area Has 1,425 Acres Of Wetlands Where Migrating Birds Gather
During migration season, the quiet can disappear under the sound of wings. This Missouri conservation area has more than fourteen hundred acres of managed wetlands, giving ducks,...
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A Georgia Professor Quit His Job, Moved Into the Woods and Built a Three-Story Castle With Bricks He Made Himself
Turning fifty can push a person in strange directions. For one college professor from Chicago, it meant walking away from his job and disappearing into the deep woods of Georgia.
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Minnesota Has A New Restaurant Serving Hong Kong-Style Breakfast And Milk-Tea French Toast
Milk-tea French toast sounds like a fever dream until it actually lands on the table and makes complete sense. Hong Kong-style breakfast dishes fill the menu here, flavors bold...
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Prices Feel Like 1990 At This Main Street, Where West Virginia Retirees Stretch Every Check
I only stopped because I wanted a sandwich and a place to stretch my legs. What I found was a little West Virginia downtown where the storefronts looked like my grandmother's photo...
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Twenty-Four Layers Of Chocolate Cake Are Just The Beginning At This New Jersey Diner
Dessert restraint never really had a chance here. A 24-layer chocolate cake would already be enough to make most diners stop...
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Seven West Virginia Roadside Produce Stands Where Fresh Produce Still Costs Less Than The Grocery
Some of the best food deals in West Virginia hide behind a hand-painted sign and a folding table piled high with tomatoes. You pull over on a whim, maybe just for a peach, and...
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