We Ranked 6 Missouri Apple Cider Donut Spots From Good To Absolutely Worth The Drive
A good apple cider donut can derail an entire Saturday. You leave the house with errands to run, and suddenly you’re discussing how far is too far to drive for something covered...
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30 of 31 Employees Returned After a 1981 Fire Destroyed This South Carolina Restaurant
Thirty out of thirty-one workers came back to the same restaurant after a fire burned it down in 1981. I can't imagine a stronger vote of confidence from the people who know a...
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Minnesota’s Most Unexpected Places To Stop When You’re Not Looking For A Typical Tourist Attraction
A ball of twine in one small Minnesota town weighs 17,400 pounds. That is heavier than a lot of pickup trucks, and it sits in a town of fewer than 400 people.
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Oklahoma’s Quilt Shop Trail Runs Through These 6 Small Towns Packed With Fabric Bolts
You pull off a two-lane highway in Oklahoma expecting a quick look, and suddenly you are lost among towering shelves of cotton prints. That is the magic of a good small-town quilt...
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Four Generations Kept This Georgia Apple Farm Alive for More Than 80 Years, and the Youngest Is Taking It Into the Future
They'll peel your apple, slice it up, and drown it in homemade caramel. That alone would earn a stop in my book. But this little...
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Indiana’s Oldest Continuous Sweet Shop Has a History That Will Leave You Speechless Before the First Taste
Caramels here still cook in copper pots over open flames. Then people slice and wrap them by hand, one at a time. That alone...
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This 70-Year-Old West Virginia Drive-In Keeps Double Features Under The Stars Alive
The speakers still hook right onto your car window, just like they did when your grandparents were dating. Yes, the old-school metal kind, at a drive-in that has reportedly been...
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This Indiana Market is a Dream Come True for Italian Food Lovers
More than 70 kinds of premium olive oil sit on the shelves of one small family grocery. Add more than 50 artisanal balsamic vinegars, and things get serious fast.
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This Indiana Town Is Where Rent Is Just $695 a Month and Budget Living Still Works
A bright orange cartoon cat named Garfield stands in a public garden here, striking a fitness pose. That statue sits among more than 7,000 annual plants, and strolling past it...
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This Missouri Hike Follows An Unusual Ridge That Looks Nothing Like The Farmland Around It
A forested ridge rises up to 250 feet above flat fields of cotton, rice, and soybeans. Geologists actually call it an oddity. I...
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One Beekeeper’s Friendship Inspired a Pennsylvania Coffee Shop That Now Bears His Name
A beekeeper named John once shared his craft with a Pennsylvania woman, and now a whole coffee shop carries his name. That's the kind of thank-you note most of us would never think...
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A Small Texas Rock Shop Is Run by a Husband-and-Wife Team Keeping an Old-Fashioned Hobby Business Alive
A customer loved this little rock shop so much that he eventually bought it. He first visited in 2009, became friends with the owner, and took over when the proprietor retired.
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This Oklahoma Family Pecan Farm Store Only Opens In November And December For Fresh Local Pecans
I almost drove right past it, a little farm store sitting quietly off a country-feeling road in Oklahoma, with nothing flashy out front to slow me down. Ten minutes later I was...
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A Syrian Immigrant Started Selling Produce in Pennsylvania in 1900, and His Family Now Runs Three Supermarkets
A small produce stand started a family grocery business that has lasted more than 125 years. What began with one immigrant selling fruits and vegetables eventually grew into three...
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This Peaceful West Virginia Pilgrimage Site Hides A Marble Palace, Roaming Peacocks And A Swan Pond
More than 50 kinds of marble and onyx, shipped in from 17 countries, shine inside a palace on a quiet West Virginia ridge. Even better, the people who built it had never laid a...
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This Oregon Vintage Store Is a Treasure Trove of Antique Furniture, Rare Decor, and Collectibles
Three full floors. Roughly 15,000 square feet. About 60 vendors stuffing every corner with antiques, oddities, and things your grandma swore she'd never give away.
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Most Tulsa Drivers Never Guess A Mansion Full Of Art Sits Behind These Italian Gardens
I only meant to kill an hour on a slow afternoon in Oklahoma, maybe grab a coffee and stretch my legs. Then a quiet side street led me past tall trees and a pale stucco wall, and...
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These 7 West Virginia Fabric And Quilt Shops Quietly Filled The Gap Joann Left Behind
One quilt shop in West Virginia has been voted the best in the state three years running. It also landed on a list of the Top 100 quilt shops worldwide.
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A Texas Baker Invented a Pineapple Treat Made From Squash, Then Took the Secret Recipe to His Grave
A Texas baker once made squash taste like pineapple, then kept the recipe so secret that even his own family couldn't have it. The filling became a local favorite in cakes and...
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Hand-Cut Fried Catfish And Hushpuppies Draw Weekend Crowds To This Riverside Shack Near Tulsa
I almost drove right past it, a plain building with a plain sign and a parking lot that looked like any other in Oklahoma. Then I caught the smell of cornmeal and hot fryer oil...
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The Quiet Oklahoma City Where Retirees Say Their Social Security Stretches Further Than Expected
Some places do not shout for attention, and that is exactly why they surprise you. Picture pulling off the highway in Oklahoma for a slice of pie and a refill of coffee, then realizing...
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This Oklahoma Bookshop In Guthrie Has Cozy Seats And Shop Dogs Where You Read For Hours
I only meant to duck in for one paperback, maybe ten minutes tops. Two hours later I was sinking into a soft couch with a stack of books beside me and a sleepy basset hound snoring...
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Is The Exhibition Coal Mine In Beckley Really Taking Visitors 1,500 Feet Underground In Old Mine Cars?
A retired coal miner may be the person leading your history lesson, and the classroom sits deep inside a mountain. The ride there happens in a narrow car once built to haul working...
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West Virginia’s Historic Lewis Theatre Still Screens Films And Hosts Performances In Its 1939 Building
A small-town movie house built from hollow glazed terra cotta blocks has kept its projector running since 1939. That alone makes me grin.
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This Texas Ranch Lets You Sit With Mini Highland Cows, Brush Their Fluffy Coats, and Feed Them by Hand
Somewhere in Texas, you can sit down in a pasture while a mini Highland cow leans in for a snack. You get a brush, too, so that shaggy coat can get the spa treatment it clearly...
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Rusty Steel From An Old Oil Boom Stands Again At This Restored Oklahoma Refinery Town
I pulled off the highway expecting a quick stretch and a glance at some old photos. Instead, I found a weathered depot surrounded by oil rigs, train cars, and stories that would...
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This Cozy West Virginia Diner Serves Fried Bologna Sandwiches And Bakes Its Own Bread From Scratch
The bun on your cheeseburger might come out of an oven just a few feet from your seat. At one small diner in West Virginia, the owner is also the chef, and he bakes the bread himself.
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A Texas Doctor Bought a 115-Year-Old Bank With No Restaurant Experience and Turned Its Vault Into a Pizza Dining Room
A century-old bank vault now has a dining table inside, and you can eat pizza where valuables once sat behind a heavy door. That's a Texas dinner reservation with a pretty unusual...
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This Missouri German Restaurant Serves Schnitzel Inside Historic Stables With Tables In The Horse Stalls
Your booth at this restaurant once belonged to a horse. The tables sit inside the real, original stalls of a stone stable built in 1847.
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11 New Jersey Ghost Tours That Turn Local History Into A Seriously Spooky Night Out
Old buildings are perfectly charming during the day. Add a little darkness and a good ghost story, though, and suddenly every creaky floorboard deserves an explanation.
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Long Before Snowshoe, Skiers Rode A Rope Tow Up This Old West Virginia Slope
A day of skiing once reportedly cost a single dollar here, and that was the club member rate. Non-members paid a whopping dollar fifty.
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This Cash-Only New Jersey Sub Shop Has More Than 100 Sandwiches On The Menu
More than 100 sandwiches. One counter. Zero credit cards accepted. That combination would stop me in my tracks before I even...
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This Rural Indiana Pizza Joint Makes Pies Your Italian Grandmother Would Swear You Stole the Recipe For
A pizza that bakes in one minute and fifteen seconds sounds like a magic trick. This lakeside spot pulls it off with a wood-fired oven from Italy and a dough recipe that's hundreds...
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Omelets, Hash Browns, Or Fluffy Pancakes: This No-Frills Indiana Cafe Makes One Worth A Road Trip
Pancakes described as being as big as your head. That phrase alone should get your stomach's attention. The same little breakfast...
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The Giant Missouri Antique Mall With 30,000 Square Feet You’ll Want To Explore Again And Again
Free coffee and cookies greet you at the door of a four-story warehouse packed with more than 160 dealers. That alone feels like a friendly dare.
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This Texas Vintage Shop Packs More Than 6,000 Square Feet With Records, Furniture, Books, and Unexpected Finds
There's a mystery box at this Texas vintage shop, and even the buyer doesn't know exactly which treasures are inside. The store packs each one with jewelry and unusual finds from...
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10 Oregon Meat Markets Where Filling the Freezer Costs Less Than at Big Grocery Chains
One Oregon butcher shop keeps a frozen meat freezer that's always marked down 20 percent. I had to read that twice. A whole freezer, on permanent discount, just sitting there.
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This Old-School Missouri Sausage Shop Feels Like A Little Polish Market Hidden In The City
A future pope reportedly tasted Polish sausage from a small Missouri shop in 1969 and called it better than anything he ate in Poland. That's a bold review from a man who surely...
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This New Jersey Museum Has A 10-Foot Mechanical Orchestra That Still Performs
A single machine over 100 years old can play piano, drums, and organ pipes all at once. It stands 10 feet tall, and nobody has to touch a single key.
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This Restaurant Chain Once Had More Than 800 Locations, But Only Two Remain In New Hampshire
A fire wrecked this family restaurant in October 2009, and it came back swinging just seven months later. The rebuild added more seats, a patio, and a carryout area.
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The Homemade Pies at This Tiny Maryland Bakery Are the Kind You’ll Keep Thinking About
Leaking filling and lopsided crusts are practically part of the charm at this Maryland bakery. The people making the pies aren't chasing picture-perfect edges.
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This Oregon Lane Will Soon Look Like Someone Dropped Christmas Into Another Century
One short block of storybook Tudor houses has been glowing for the holidays since the 1920s. That's nearly a century of neighbors agreeing to go all in, every single December.
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This Tiny New Hampshire Town Has A 50,000-Square-Foot Store With Hardware, Lumber, Home Goods And Just About Everything Else
More than 5,000 firearms, a full lumber yard, Amish furniture, and root beer floats all share one address. Yes, really. One family...
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This New Hampshire Submarine Museum Lets You Climb Inside A Cold War-Era Engineering Marvel
A submarine once zipped underwater at nearly 40 miles per hour. Today it sits on dry land, and you're allowed to climb right inside it.
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This West Virginia Restaurant Serves Hearty Soups And Southern Cooking With A Bakery Full Of Pies Waiting
Strawberry-rhubarb, butterscotch, lemon meringue, and peanut butter pies all get made from scratch here. Daily. That pie case...
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New Jersey Just Opened An 85,000-Square-Foot Supermarket Inside A 60-Story Tower
A full-size supermarket now sits on the second floor of a 60-story apartment tower, and shoppers ride an escalator up to the produce.
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Fire Destroyed This California Restaurant in 1980, but Its Owner Reopened Without a Roof
A fire ripped through a beloved Italian dining room in 1980, and the owner gave the most stubborn answer possible. He reopened without a roof.
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You Might Be Surprised One of America’s Happiest Places Is This Affluent Tiny Alabama Town
The trees are almost showing off. They arch over the roads, block the harsh summer sun, and make perfectly ordinary streets look suspiciously expensive.
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This Oregon Restaurant Makes A Set-Menu Dinner Feel Like A Special Occasion
Six courses show up on the tasting menu, but a few surprise bites quietly sneak in too. An amuse, warm focaccia, and a palate cleanser can turn dinner into a nine-plate evening.
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This New Jersey Village Still Has 14 Historic Buildings From An Old Cranberry Company Town
A whole company town once ran on cranberries and cedar lumber, and fourteen of its original buildings are still standing. You...
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This Maryland Used Bookstore Is a Treasure Trove for Readers Who Love Finding Unexpected Titles
The owners sealed the deal to buy this bookstore on a napkin at a deli a few doors down. I love that. It tells you a lot about...
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Pancakes All Day And A Life-Sized Granny Make This New Jersey Restaurant Hard To Forget
A handmade, life-sized granny doll sits on a stool in the corner of this breakfast spot. A friend of the owner made her by hand, and she stands for friendship and family.
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This Texas Port Has More To Offer Visitors Than A Legendary Pop Star
Three decades after her tragic death, Tejano superstar Selena still looms large in Corpus Christi. But this Gulf Coast city offers more to attract fans than its hometown hero....
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This Missouri Apple Orchard Was Named One Of America’s 10 Best By USA Today Readers
Seventeen thousand apple trees grow on one hillside farm, and there's a candy cannon that fires at 1 PM on fall weekends. I can't decide which detail I love more.
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This Ohio Diner Opened in 1955 With One of America’s Earliest Drive-Thru Windows, Then Returned After a Year of Renovations
A little diner in a suburban shopping center was handing food through a drive-thru window back in 1955. That was years before most American families had ever heard the word drive-thru.
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9 Minnesota Places Where You Can Go Underground
Deep in one Minnesota cave, you can stand near 450-million-year-old fossils and listen to an underground waterfall. That fact alone made me want to grab a flashlight.
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West Virginia’s Seneca Rocks Holds The Only East Coast Summit You Need Climbing Gear To Reach
One peak on this rock wall can't be reached without technical climbing gear. It's the only summit on the East Coast with that claim, and it sits right here in West Virginia.
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This Old-Time West Virginia Bakery Fills Its Hot Dog-Shaped Pastries With Cream And Sells Out Early
A West Virginia bakery sells something called a hot dog, and there's not a speck of meat in it. It's a soft pastry the size of a hot dog bun, split and filled with sweet cream.
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Six Weeks Before Disneyland Opened, This California Christmas Theme Park Was Already Welcoming Visitors
Santa had a home in the mountains before Mickey had a castle. This Christmas village opened its gates in 1955, about six weeks before Disneyland welcomed its first guests.
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