aria ellison author at My Family Travels
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Florida’s Ramen Scene Is Alive and Well, and These 12 Spots Are the Proof

Florida is not the first place that comes to mind when you think about world-class ramen, but that assumption is quickly changing. A wave of passionate chefs and dedicated ramen...

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The Italian Gem In New Mexico That Delivers A Taste Of Rome

Restaurants you stumble upon that completely change your expectations of a city. The moment you step through the door in New Mexico, something shifts.

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Every Night a Young Girl’s Ghost Rises From This Wisconsin Cemetery and Disappears in the Lake

Old stones and iron gates look perfectly ordinary by day at this Wisconsin cemetery. But the story that draws people here is anything but.

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This Hidden Florida Bakery Makes Key Lime Treats Locals Guard Like a Family Secret

Florida’s island food culture often blends local tradition with signature ingredients that define a region’s identity, and few ingredients are more iconic than Key lime.

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This Florida Beach Town Has Whitewashed Architecture and European Vibes Without the Transatlantic Flight

Florida’s Gulf Coast holds corners that feel borrowed from another continent, where brilliant white architecture reflects the sun and quiet streets invite a slower pace. Narrow...

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Gigantic and Stuffed with Carne Asada, These 9 California Mission Burrito Spots Are the Only Intro You’ll Ever Need

There is something oddly satisfying about food that feels heavy in the best possible way, the kind that makes you slow down before the first bite even happens. In California, that...

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At This Downtown California Cafe, Frida Kahlo’s Spirit Comes Alive Through Giant Conchas And Vibrant Mexican Decor

Burst of color bleeding through the windows, warm smell of freshly baked bread drifting out the door. That is what stopped me outside this San Diego, California cafe. I could not...

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This Remote Alaska Island Is a Living Museum of War and Wild Beauty

There is an island at the far western edge of Alaska where nature and history exist side by side in a way that feels almost impossible to comprehend. Windswept tundra stretches...

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This Spot Combines Cajun Heat and Alaska Seafood in a Way That Should Not Work but Absolutely Does

Places that sit at the edge of the map tend to carry a different kind of energy, the kind that feels less visited and more endured. In Alaska, that sense of distance becomes almost...

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Camp Right on the Sand at This Hawaii Beach Where the Only Sound Is Waves and the Only Light Is Stars

Olive green sand on a Hawaiian beach. One of only four on the planet. The color comes from olivine crystals eroded from an ancient...

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This Lake in Alaska Is the Best Swimming Spot You Have Never Heard Of

Sandy bottom sloping into clear water, forest pressing in close, the sound of nothing but birds and lapping waves. That is what you get at this Alaska lake.

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A Metal Dragon Guards This Colorado Castle Built by One Man’s Decades of Dedication

One man built a stone castle in the Colorado mountains with his own hands. Fifty years of work, no blueprints, no formal training. Just...

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Why New York Fries Stay Crunchy Even When the City Sleeps

The first crunch of a Belgian style frite from this New York spot stays with you. Paper cone in hand, sauce dripping down the side, that hot golden smell hitting you before you...

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This Nebraska Grave Has a Name No One Knows and a Story No One Can Tell

Cracked and weathered stones on a hill in Nebraska. A quiet residential neighborhood surrounds it, but this place carries the weight of the Old West in every marker.

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Colorado Green Chile Meets Vietnamese Pho at These 8 Latin Fusion Restaurants That Defy Category

Colorado has always had a wild, adventurous food spirit, and lately that spirit is pushing into territory that feels genuinely exciting. Somewhere between a steaming bowl of Vietnamese...

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This Iowa Landmark Looks Peaceful by Day but No One Visits After Sunset

Wooden planks and cable stretch across a deep forest ravine in Iowa. The bridge sways gently, looking like something out of a storybook.

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Finding an Elk Burger in Idaho Is Rare but This Grill Does It Better Than Most

This Idaho spot sits on the main strip of a small mountain town. It has a quiet confidence, like it knows exactly what it is and does not need to shout about it. The smell hits...

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This Montana Town Is the Gateway to Glacier National Park and the Flathead Lake Loop

Roll into this Montana town and the quiet hits you first. The mountains sit right there, close enough to feel personal. The air...

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These 10 Utah Tamale Spots Prove That the Best Things Come Wrapped in Corn Husks and Tied with String

That perfect tamale, steam hitting your face the moment you peel back the corn husk. Utah might not be the first place people think of when it comes to authentic Mexican food,...

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The Biscuits and Gravy at This Western Iowa Diner Are So Good You Will Forget You Have Somewhere to Be

Biscuits and gravy this good should be illegal. The first time I tasted them at this Iowa diner, I stopped mid bite and genuinely reconsidered my entire morning schedule. The...

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Ohio’s Best Kept Secret Is Not a Restaurant or a Museum It a Free Beach With a View

A mile long beach on a Great Lake. In Ohio. The first time I saw it, I had to remind myself I was still in the Midwest. The...

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Take a Ferry to This Wisconsin Island and Discover One of Only Five Beaches Like It in the World

Beaches, and then there are places that stop you completely in your tracks. The moment I stepped onto this Wisconsin island and made my way to the shoreline, I knew I had found...

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The Ohio River That Congress Protected in 1974 and Nature Has Been Thanking Ever Since

That river in Northeast Ohio most people outside the region have never heard of quietly holds one of the most meaningful conservation stories in the state. It winds through rugged...

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This Rustic North Dakota Eatery Serves Comfort Food with a Side of Trapper Memorabilia

You reach for the door handle and realize it is an actual bear trap. That is when you know this North Dakota eatery is something else entirely.

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Nebraska Recreated Stonehenge with Old Cars Painted Gray and Buried Nose Down

Out in the wide open plains of western Nebraska, there is a place that stops road trippers dead in their tracks. A full scale replica of Stonehenge built entirely from vintage...

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The Workers at This North Dakota Farm Went Home But Some Never Left the Bunkhouse

The prairie stretches out wide and flat in every direction, and the old buildings stand quiet against that enormous North Dakota sky like they have been waiting for someone to...

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The Iowa Coffee Shop That Hires the People Society Forgot and Serves Hope in Every Cup

There are coffee shops you visit for the caffeine, and then there are the ones you visit because they make you feel something. This Iowa shop falls into the second category.

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This Nebraska Cheese Frenchee Is What Happens When You Fear No Oil

You take a bite and the crunch echoes in your head. The bread is golden, almost aggressively fried, with a layer of cheese that stretches for what feels like feet.

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6 Maine Restaurants Serving Latin American Flavors That Will Transport You

Maine is famous for lobster rolls and clam chowder, but there is a whole other food story unfolding along its coast and countryside. Latin American flavors have quietly found a...

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This Small Rhode Island Kitchen Proves That Mother in Law Knows Best

You walk through the door and the smell hits you first. Garlic, olive oil, something simmering on the stove that has been there since breakfast.

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I Spent 24 Hours Alone in a small Vermont town and Left Feeling Like the Main Character

No one knew my name when I arrived. That was the point. This small Vermont town has one diner, one general store, and zero reasons...

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8 Wonderfully Weird Kentucky Restaurants That Make Absolutely No Sense and We Love Them For It

You walk through the door and nothing prepares you for what you see. A pizza place inside an old jail where people once awaited their fate.

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7 Arkansas Spots Where Trout Jumps From River to Plate

The White River in Arkansas runs cold and clear, perfect for rainbow and brown trout that grow fat in the tailwaters below the dams. Some restaurants here have figured out that...

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Florida’s Creepiest Ghost Town Has a Bridge You Shouldn’t Cross at Night

The town has been empty for decades, abandoned when the railroad rerouted and the sawmill closed. Most of the buildings are gone now, just foundations and memories.

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Kentucky’s Abandoned Frontier Still Creaks at Night

The settlers built their homes here in the late 1700s, clearing land and raising families in a place that felt like the edge of the world. Now the cabins sit empty, their roofs...

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Three Sisters From Puerto Rico Brought Their Island to Rural Georgia and Nobody Leaves Hungry or Alone

They came from Puerto Rico years ago, three sisters who missed the food of their childhood. The rice and beans. The pernil. The...

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Forget the Bourbon Trail, Follow the Sugar Trail to This Kentucky Bakery

Bourbon gets all the attention in Kentucky. The distilleries. The tasting rooms. The souvenir glasses.

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You Thought She Was an Actress Inside This Tennessee Mansion Until She Faded Through the Wall

The tour was going exactly like you would expect. Old furniture. History lessons. A guide in period clothing explaining who slept...

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The Chapel That Burned Three Times in South Carolina but the Minister Still Walks With His Lantern

Some buildings just cannot catch a break. This chapel in South Carolina burned not once, not twice, but three separate times. Each...

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Louisiana’s Most Elegant Haunting Wears a Blue Dress and Smells Like Old Perfume

You are walking through the old building when the scent hits you. Something floral, something heavy, something that does not belong in a place that has been empty for years.

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You’ll Need a Napkin, a Nap, and a Prayer After This North Carolina BBQ Bowl

There are some meals that just stop you in your tracks, and the spread at The Redneck BBQ Lab in Benson, North Carolina, is exactly that kind of meal. Pulled up off NC-210 next...

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One Chicken, Two Islands, and a Whole North Carolina State Obsessed With Huli Chicken

Some meals just stick with you, and the first time I had Huli chicken at Huli Sue's BBQ and Grill in Asheville, I knew this was one of those meals. Tucked inside the historic Grove...

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The Wyoming Landmark That Has Been Sacred For Thousands of Years

You need a little patience to reach this spot in Wyoming. A drive up a mountain, then a walk of about a mile and a half. Nothing...

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This Louisiana Plantation Factory Still Hums With Ghostly Energy

The machinery stopped decades ago. The workers have all gone home. But something about this old Louisiana plantation factory...

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8 Maine Swimming Holes So Cold They’ll Wake Your Soul

Maine has plenty of beaches, but the real refreshment happens inland. Tucked between granite boulders and hidden in forest hollows, these swimming holes are not for the faint of...

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This Under-The-Radar Michigan Trail Is The Closest You’ll Get To Narnia In Real Life

Michigan has no shortage of beautiful trails. But this one feels different. The path winds through a forest where the trees lean...

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10 Ohio Carryout Windows That Put Lake Perch Front and Center

Ohio has a secret. You will not find it in a fancy restaurant with white tablecloths. You find it at a carryout window, usually...

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Forget the Barbecue, This North Carolina Hot Dog Is the State’s Real Star

North Carolina is known for barbecue. Eastern style. Lexington style. The debates can get heated.

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You Can Pick Sunflowers, Pet A Retired Racing Pig, And Launch Vegetables At This Florida Farm

Florida farms usually stick to one thing. Oranges. Strawberries. Maybe a corn maze in the fall.

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Pull Up A Chair At These 11 Family-Owned South Carolina Diners And Taste What Comfort Actually Means

Comfort food gets thrown around a lot. Mac and cheese. Meatloaf. Mashed potatoes.

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Skip Dinner, Just Eat Cake at This Colorado Restaurant Like the Locals Do

Colorado has plenty of restaurants where you can get a full meal. Burgers. Salads. Steaks.

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This Irish Pub In Washington Was Built Over Thousands Of Bodies And A Working Embalming Room

You walk into this Washington pub expecting the usual. Dark wood. Whiskey. Maybe some live music.

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Michigan Is Low-Key The Best State For Summer Food Festivals And Here Are 7 To Prove It

Michigan does not brag enough. Other states shout about their food scenes. Texas. Louisiana.

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Grab a Bucket and Head to Schwartz Orchard in Illinois for the Sweetest Strawberries Around

Illinois has plenty of orchards. Apples. Peaches. The usual suspects. But...

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There’s a Farm in Ohio Where You Can Pet an Alpaca and Feed a Capybara

Ohio has plenty of farms where you can see animals. Cows. Goats. The usual suspects.

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You Can Almost Smell the Strawberries as the West Tennessee Festival Kicks Off

You do not need a calendar to know when strawberry season hits West Tennessee. You can smell it. The whole town fills with...

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8 Wisconsin Buffets That Still Serve Portions Like It’s 1985

Wisconsin buffets are not for the faint of heart. They are for people who remember what portions used to look like before everything got small and expensive.

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Arizona’s Most Unexpectedly Amazing Shrimp Tacos Are At This Little Hideaway

Arizona is not the first place you think of for shrimp tacos. That would be Baja. Or San Diego. Or anywhere with a coast.

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The Best Weekend Ritual In Tennessee Happens At These 10 Farmers Markets

Tennessee knows how to do a weekend right. Sleep in a little. Grab some coffee. Then head to a farmers market where the parking...

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An Ohio Farm Serves Up Cuddly Animals By Day And A Haunted Circus That Will Mess With Your Head After Dark

Ohio has some weird spots, but this one takes the cake. During the day, it is all sunshine and soft fur. You can bottle feed...

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