My Family Travels | Latest Articles
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12 New Jersey Memorials That Tell Stories Every American Should Know

One memorial wall in New Jersey is exactly as wide as a World Trade Center tower. It stretches 210 feet, and it points straight at the spot where those towers once stood.

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8 Small-Town West Virginia Theaters That Have Shown Movies For Over 80 Years

One little movie house in West Virginia started selling tickets in 1911. That was years before movies even had sound. And the...

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A Humble New Jersey Pizza Shop Earned National Recognition For Its Sicilian-Style Pies

A pizza shop that started as a secret ring run from a home kitchen just landed No. 3 on a national list of the best new restaurants. That happened in March 2026, barely a year...

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The World’s Largest Children’s Museum Isn’t in New York or Paris, It’s Tucked Away in Indiana

Real paleontologists clean actual fossils behind a window while kids press their noses to the glass. That alone would make most museums proud.

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Welcome to Indiana’s Little Poland, Where This Old-School Market Keeps Polish Flavors Alive

Chocolate peanut butter pierogi. Yes, that's a real Tuesday special at one Polish deli, and it sits right next to classic potato and cheese.

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We Ranked 10 Of Missouri’s Best Thrift Stores And Here Are The Results

One Missouri thrift store skips price tags and puts your haul on a scale instead. You pay by the pound, and the bins get rotated throughout the day.

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A Texas Restaurant Hides Its Taco Counter Behind a Store Famous for Seriously Spicy Hot Sauces

To reach the tacos, you have to walk through a hot sauce store first. The shelves are packed with fiery bottles, salsas, and spicy pickles, and the actual taco counter waits in...

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10 Beginner-Friendly Oregon Autumn Trails That Look Like A Scene Straight Out Of A Movie

One Oregon loop lets you stroll behind four waterfalls without getting soaked. I still can't believe that's a real thing you can do on a casual afternoon.

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Giant Rice-Paper Wraps Turn Lunch Into A Two-Handed Affair At This Missouri Restaurant

A rice paper wrap so big it can count as two meals? Yeah, I'm definitely looking twice at that. This Missouri spot calls itself...

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This New Jersey Toy Store Has A Mini Museum Of Childhood Favorites Among Its Vintage Treasures

A toy shop with its own little museum in the back? Yep, and it shows off some of the rarest, most unusual toys ever made. The...

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This New Hampshire Moose Tour Turns A Mountain Drive Into A Wildlife Search You Won’t Forget

A company in the White Mountains claims a 97 percent success rate for finding wild moose. That number made me sit up fast. These...

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Before This Maryland Diner Started Serving Breakfast in 1952, Its Kitchen Was Actually a Tire Repair Shop

Before eggs and pancakes filled this Maryland kitchen, workers repaired tires in the same space. The building has also been a hotel, a gas station, and an ice cream shop.

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You Can Sleep in a Fire Lookout Tower 2,000 Feet Above an Oregon River

A wooden fire tower sits on a ridge with a river flowing more than 2,000 feet below it. You can rent it, unlock the gate, and spend the night up there.

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This 19th-Century New Hampshire Mansion Becomes A Glowing Holiday Wonderland After Dark

A Victorian mansion with frescoed ceilings and marble fireplaces fills its first floor with four themed holiday rooms every December. Then the sun goes down, and hundreds of mini...

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A New 34,900-Square-Foot Supermarket Just Opened In New Hampshire With Products From 180 Regional Suppliers

Kale grown by I?f Farms in Loudon now shares shelf space with nitro cold brew roasted up in Hanover. That's two of the 180 New England suppliers stocking one brand-new grocery...

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Long Before Movie Theaters Went Digital, Seven West Virginia Main Street Cinemas Opened Their Doors

One small-town theater in West Virginia has been showing movies since roughly 1907. That's older than sound in movies. Older...

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This New Jersey Dessert Shop Turns Frozen Bananas Into Chocolate-Dipped Treats With Wild Toppings

A frozen banana dipped in Hot Honey Iced Oatmeal Cookie chocolate. Yep, that's a real flavor, and it's sitting on a menu in New Jersey right now.

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Halloween Never Ends in This Pennsylvania Neighborhood Filled With Gothic Shops, Taxidermy, and Strange Treasures

A shop in Pittsburgh sells funeral flower tea. That's the actual name, and it sits on a shelf near real taxidermy, bone jewelry, and incense with names that sound like a lost sideshow.

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This Oregon Farm Lets You Cut Your Own Christmas Tree

The hot cocoa is free, the saw is handed to you, and someone will shake and tie your tree when you're done. That's a pretty generous deal for a holiday chore.

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This New Hampshire Museum Honors America’s 14th President Inside His Home

A group of volunteers once rescued a future president's house from demolition, then moved it to a new spot. That rescue happened in 1971, and the house still welcomes curious visitors...

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Forget Scrolling, This New Jersey Comic Shop Makes Geek Culture A Social Experience Again

A comic shop that takes canned goods instead of ticket money for some of its comedy nights? Yep, that's real. Those cans go to...

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A Failed Maryland Resort Became a Girls’ School With a Japanese Pagoda, Dutch Windmill, and Swiss Chalet

A Dutch windmill, a Japanese pagoda, and a Swiss chalet once served as sorority houses at the same girls' school. They weren't movie sets or carnival props.

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The Oversized Italian Subs At This New Jersey Meat Market Are Worth A Lunch Stop

Some of the heros at this butcher shop run so long that anything two feet or bigger needs a full day's notice. That rule alone tells you a lot.

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This Missouri Farmers Market Bans Resellers So You Buy Straight From The People Who Grow And Make Everything

Every single vendor at this Saturday market has to grow, raise, or make what they sell. Resale is flat-out banned, and vendors get vetted to prove it.

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An Abandoned Pennsylvania Clothing Store Became a 10-Room Halloween Wonderland Without a Single Jump Scare

Ten rooms of Halloween magic now fill a space that used to sell clothes. Racks and fitting rooms gave way to spooky scenes, glowing decor, and themed spaces built for wandering.

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Minnesota Has A Classic Burger Stop That Helped Make The Juicy Lucy Famous

The most famous burger at this corner bar hides its cheese inside the meat, and the menu spells its name without an i. The house motto is "Fear the Cheese!" I find it easy to appreciate...

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This Old-School West Virginia Hot Dog Stand Still Serves Chili Dogs The Way Your Dad Remembers

Three hot dogs and two sodas for about the price of a fast-food coffee. That math still works at one tiny spot in West Virginia, and I can't stop thinking about it.

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Church Built In 1896 Is Now Home To A New Jersey Shop Filled With Crystals, Candles, And Mystery

A Victorian Gothic church from 1896 now sells intention candles packed with crystals, herbs, and essential oils. Yes, the old church on the corner got a magical second act.

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Charles Town Races Has Been Running Thoroughbreds In West Virginia Since 1933

Thoroughbreds started racing here in the depths of the Great Depression. The track opened on a cold December day, and it is still running horses today.

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Three Floors of Halloween Frights Fill an Ohio Schoolhouse Built More Than a Century Ago

An old schoolhouse in Ohio packs three full floors with scares, then sends you out the back door for more. The whole walk can stretch to 30 or 40 minutes.

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This Oregon Restaurant Is Really a Whole Historic Farmstead

An eight-sided barn, an 1850s farmhouse, and a grove of towering trees all share one address with a pub. That's a lot of history for a lunch stop.

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10 Beginner-Friendly Virginia Autumn Trails That Look Like A Scene Straight Out Of A Movie

One Virginia walking path carries you across a bridge 125 feet above a river, and the surface under your shoes is flat crushed stone. That means you can float over a sea of orange...

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This Virginia Supermarket Covers 80,000 Square Feet Inside A Tower At One Of America’s Biggest Banking Headquarters

A full-size supermarket sits inside the headquarters campus of one of America's biggest banks. You ride an escalator up from an underground garage, and suddenly there's sushi.

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This New Jersey Bakery Makes Giant Cinnamon Rolls That Barely Fit On A Plate

Close to half a million cinnamon buns have come out of one family's kitchen since 2020. That number started with a pandemic hobby and a couple who just loved baking.

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8 Maryland Pumpkin Farms Where You Can Spend an Entire Day Without Getting Bored

A pumpkin patch with a zipline, pedal karts, giant slides, and a seven-acre corn maze sounds more like an amusement park. Yet that's exactly what one Maryland farm offers, along...

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One Ohio Diner Has Been Serving Homemade Pies Since 1938, With a Retro Sign That Still Points Hungry Travelers Inside

Peanut butter pie, coconut cream pie, and black raspberry cream pie all share the same humble counter here. That alone might be enough to plan a road trip around.

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A Throwback Fish and Chips Chain Fans Drive From Florida For Still Survives in Ohio

I drove past a plain little fish shop in Ohio three times before my stomach finally made me turn around. Inside, the smell of hot batter and malt vinegar hit me like a memory I...

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The Name Changed, But The Old-Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls Still Steal The Show At This Missouri Bakery

A bakery sign changed, but the cinnamon rolls behind the counter stayed exactly the same. Same spot, same recipe, same soft swirls of dough.

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Mofongo, Pernil And Heaping Plates Make This Oklahoma Puerto Rican Kitchen Worth The Drive

I pulled in expecting a quick lunch from a small window and left planning my next trip back before I even reached my car. The smell of slow-cooked pork drifted across the lot,...

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A Sick Chef Sent an Ohio Woman Into the Kitchen, and Her Sauce Became a Family Legend That Lasted Generations

When a restaurant cook fell ill in the 1920s, the owner's wife stepped into the kitchen and made a sauce that would become a family legend. Decades later, her recipe found its...

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10 Underrated Minnesota Restaurants That Aren’t in Minneapolis or St. Paul

A Cajun spot serving oysters Rockefeller and smoked duck sits in a small college town in central Minnesota. I did not see that coming, and I love it.

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13 New Jersey Towns That Are Worth Visiting Just For The Fall Colors

New Jersey's highest point sits 1,803 feet above sea level, and on a clear fall day the view stretches across three states. That is a lot of orange for one glance.

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Lightning Struck This Historic Ohio Food Hall in the Middle of the Night, and the Boom Shook the Neighborhood

A bolt of lightning picked an old trolley barn as its target in the dark, and the crack rattled the whole block. Neighbors heard it.

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An Ohio Oddities Shop Displays Dragon Skeletons, a Two-Headed Calf and a Mermaid

A dragon skeleton sits inside a small Ohio shop, and nobody seems to think that's strange. Neighbors on the shelves include a two-headed calf and a mermaid, which makes the dragon...

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This 200-Year-Old Virginia Landmark Transforms Into A Spectacular Light Show After Dark Every Halloween

Dancing skeletons, a haunted house, and purple skulls get projected across a building designed by a Founding Father. Yes, really. Every...

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This Virginia Christmas Theme Park Opened Just 15 Years After Disneyland And Still Brings Holiday Magic To Families

More than ten million lights cover one theme park in Virginia every holiday season. That number sounds made up, but it's real, and it puts this place among the largest light displays...

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Friday’s $15 Finds Become $1 Thursday Bargains at This Ohio Store Where Shoppers Dig Through Retail Returns

Every item in the bins costs the same on Friday. By Thursday, whatever is left drops to the lowest price of the week, and then the whole thing starts over.

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The Prices At This Missouri Bin Store Make You Wonder If Someone Forgot A Decimal Point

Prices here drop every single day of the week, and on certain days, they can fall all the way to zero. Yes, zero. I had to read...

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Sneaker Hunters Keep Coming Back to This Pennsylvania Nike Outlet for Discounted Shoes and Apparel

Neat stacks of open-box Nike sneakers, sorted by size, sit waiting for anyone patient enough to dig through them. That alone makes me want to clear my afternoon.

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The Minnesota Bakery Treat That Could Become The Best Part Of Your Morning

The croissants at this bakery are made with sourdough, and some are described as twice the size of an average croissant. That's a lot of buttery layers before most people finish...

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Over 12 Animals Wait For Hand-Fed Snacks At These 12 Oklahoma Spots

I only stopped to stretch my legs, but a goat with a cracker habit had other plans for my afternoon. That is the funny thing about Oklahoma: some of the best memories hide behind...

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She Started Making Ice Cream With Fruit From Her Backyard, and Her Ohio Business Grew Into a National Chain

Back in 1945, a woman named Alice Handel picked fruit from her own backyard and turned it into ice cream. She sold it from a little stand beside her husband's gas station.

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This Secluded Indiana Wetland Trail Hides Quirky Artistic Sculptures Right Along the Water

A pack of friendly dogs made entirely of junk guards a quiet marsh trail. Nearby, robots and rockets share the woods with bicycle-part art.

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This Beloved West Virginia Drive-In Has Lit Up Summers For Decades And Now Shows Movies In Theater-Quality Picture

A small valley drive-in once faced closing, and a local community board reportedly stepped in to save it. Then it got a digital projector sharp enough to rival an indoor theater.

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Indiana Is Home to One of the Midwest’s Largest Megachurches, and It’s Spreading Fast

A church sits on land that used to be a junkyard. Now it holds what's called the largest indoor playscape east of the Mississippi River.

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How Overtourism Is Threatening Indiana’s Most Beautiful Sandstone Canyon

Native Americans may have sheltered under one curved sandstone overhang here about 10,000 years ago. Today, that same rock still stands at the head of a box canyon in southern...

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This Missouri Sandwich Shop Stuffs Pulled Pork, Gouda, And Mac And Cheese Into One Grilled Cheese

Mac and cheese, sweet BBQ pulled pork, and Gouda all share one grilled cheese sandwich here. Yes, all three. On sourdough, no...

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Monkey Paws, an Alligator Man and a House Full of Oddities Await Inside This Pennsylvania Shop

A monkey paw sits on display in a small Pennsylvania shop, and nobody seems eager to make a wish on it. Then you learn there's an alligator man in the collection too, which changes...

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This Spooky Texas Restaurant Plays Old VHS Movies And Serves Vietnamese Pho That Takes 15 Hours To Make

Fifteen hours go into the pho at this Texas restaurant, while old horror movies flicker on a television fed by VHS tapes. That's a strange pairing, especially in a room filled...

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This Oklahoma Military Museum Lets Kids Take The Controls Of A Flight Simulator Instead Of Just Looking

I almost drove right past it, a plain little building on an ordinary Oklahoma street that did not look like it held anything special. Then I stepped inside and found a retired...

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