clio harper author at My Family Travels
Article
10 Indiana Restaurants That Locals Say Are Secretly Michelin-Star Caliber

One restaurant raises its own Wagyu cattle on a farm about six miles from the dining room. The same farm also keeps Mangalitza pigs, free-range hens, goats, and sheep.

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These Alabama Farmers Markets Let You Fill a Tote With Local Produce for Under $15

The tote starts empty. That is optimistic. One tomato goes in. Then peaches.

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This Alabama Farm Sanctuary Invites Travelers to Feed Spinach to Rescued Alpacas, Goats, and Miniature Donkeys

The spinach is the fastest way to make friends. At least, that seems to be the rule here. Hold out a handful and suddenly an...

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This Secret Alabama Beach Lets You Catch Your Own Blue Crabs At Low Tide For A Free Dinner

Most people drive right past the western end of Dauphin Island without realizing what lies beyond the dunes. A shifting sandbar known as Pelican Peninsula occasionally forms a...

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This Massive Go-Kart Track in Alabama Will Take You on an Exhilarating Fun Ride

There is always one person who says, “I am just here for fun.” Watch the scoreboard. This Alabama indoor track has a way of turning casual outings into very serious racing...

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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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This Insane 60,000 Square-Feet Indiana Terror Factory Completely Outshines Standard Scares

The line is already creepy. The attraction has not even started yet. That is the first clue that this Indiana haunted attraction...

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Indiana Has A Tiny Meat Market Serving Up 50-Day Dry-Aged Steaks And Authentic Old-World Specialties

The steak has been waiting longer than some vacations. Fifty days, to be exact. This Indiana butcher shop takes dry aging seriously,...

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This Historic Alabama Courthouse Features A Spooky Phantom Face Etched Permanently In A Window

A window should not have a fan club. Yet this one has kept people looking up for generations. The attraction is a faint, human-looking...

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This Vibrant Alabama Eatery Serves Up Decadent Healthy Bowls With Incredible Gluten-Free Options

Healthy food has a reputation problem. Somehow, people still expect it to taste like a punishment. This Alabama eatery has...

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This Enormous Roadside Alabama Farm Market Secretly Hides The Best Homemade Ice Cream In The South

The ice cream is the trap. You stop because the market is huge. Then you notice the peaches. Then the barbecue.

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This Once-Quiet Alabama Small Town Has Become So Overrun By Tourists Locals Wish It Never Went Viral

There are small towns. Then there are small towns with a tourist problem. This Alabama mountain community has only a few hundred...

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9 Alabama Towns That Look Like A Living Autumn Postcard (And Locals Desperately Want To Keep Them Hidden)

Nobody plans to spend three hours in a town they almost drove past. Until the leaves turn. Then the stop becomes coffee. Coffee...

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The Midwest’s Largest Ranch Rodeo Is Hiding In Rural Indiana

The boots are clean when you arrive. They may not stay that way. That is because this ranch rodeo is not interested in keeping...

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This Tiny Coastal Alabama Airport Is Quietly Becoming a Haven for Low-Cost Flights

The annoying part of a beach vacation used to happen before the beach. You would land somewhere else. Collect your luggage. Find...

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Why Seniors Are Flocking to This Affordable Alabama Retirement Haven

The kayak is not supposed to spend retirement in the garage. Neither are the walking shoes. Yet that is what happens in plenty...

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This Rugged Indiana Forest Is Home To Endangered Rattlesnakes So Hikers Know To Watch Their Step

The trail makes a noise. You stop. Not because the noise is especially loud. Because it came from the leaves.

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This Secret Fabric World In Alabama Features Thousands Of Bolts For Creative Makers

The fabric stash has become a safety hazard. Not physically. Financially. Because once you see thousands of bolts stacked around...

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This Hidden Indiana Supermarket Features A Weekend Buffet So Authentic You’ll Think You’re In The Middle East

The first thing to understand is that the grocery store is not the main event. Not on weekends. That is when the dining room...

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This Hidden Rural Indiana Store Stocks Groceries You Won’t Find At Most Supermarkets

The refrigerator is full. That is not the same thing as having anything to eat. There is cheese, technically. A jar of something...

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10 Upcoming Fall Festivals In Alabama You’ll Want On Your Calendar

Summer finally gets the hint. The humidity backs off. The evenings become bearable. And Alabama immediately starts throwing...

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9 Alabama Restaurants Where One Dish Put Them On The Map

Every restaurant wants a signature dish. These restaurants may have accidentally created a celebrity. One has sauce. One has...

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The Best Cheeseburger In Alabama Is Served Inside This Hole-In-The-Wall Restaurant

The fries never showed up. They were never invited. That is one of the first things that makes this Alabama burger joint different....

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This Alabama River Basin Is The Only Place On Earth Where This Rare Salamander Lives

The salamander has a terrible commute. It cannot simply move somewhere else. Its entire world is one river watershed. That is...

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This Powerful 17-Acre Sculpture Park in Alabama Changes Everyone Who Visits

A sculpture can be beautiful. A name can be heartbreaking. Put both in the same place and the meaning changes. This Alabama park...

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This Indiana Farm Hosts an Adults-Only Corn Maze Party This September

The hardest part of an adults-only corn maze may be explaining why nobody brought the children. Fortunately, they are not invited.

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This Weekend-Only Buffet In Indiana Refuses To Tone Down The Spice For Anyone

There is always one person who asks, “Is it actually spicy?” Here, that question has a very simple answer. Yes. That is...

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This Tiny Alabama Shop Bakes Up Authentic Sicilian Treats That Taste Straight Out of Italy

The passenger seat has a new job. Protect the cookies. That becomes important after a stop at this Alabama bakery, where handmade...

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Inside the Secret 30-Acre Alabama Oasis Home to the World’s Most Unique Wild Hydrangea

The traffic is loud. The garden is not. That contrast is probably the first surprise. One minute there are shopping centers,...

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This Charming Alabama Bookshop Has a Patio Where You Can Sit and Read While Sipping Coffee From the Cafe Inside

The smartest person here may be the one who brought a bookmark. Because this Alabama bookshop is not especially interested in sending people home quickly.

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This Massive Alabama Country Mall Is So Enormous You Could Lose an Entire Afternoon Inside

The car needs a break. You do too. Ten minutes later, neither of those things has happened. Instead, the Alabama roadside stop...

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One of the Deepest Canyon Cuts East of the Mississippi Is an Alabama Road Trip Hiding in Plain Sight

The river has terrible manners. Instead of going downhill like a normal river, it runs along the top of the mountain. Then...

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10 Secret Indiana Diners Known For Obscenely Large Portions That Seem Unreal

Some families argue about politics. Others argue about who gets the last pancake. The second argument is usually more productive....

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This Hidden Indiana Chapel Looks Exactly Like a Postcard From the European Countryside

A postcard from Europe would probably look less convincing. There is the stone chapel. The wooded hill. The tiny rise in the...

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This Tiny Alabama Burger Joint Still Serves Legendary Depression-Era ‘Slugburgers’

Nobody sets out looking for a burger named "slug." Curiosity does the rest. Onions hit a hot grill somewhere in Alabama, and that smell alone has been pulling people off the sidewalk...

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9 Alabama Coastal Towns with the Best Seafood Shacks

There is no graceful way to eat a good seafood basket. Someone always gets sauce on a finger. Someone drops a fry. Someone...

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You Can Meet One Of The Rarest Wolf Species On Earth Hidden Inside This Alabama Zoo

Someone asks where the wolves are. The answer is surprisingly easy. Right there. The harder question is how many are left.

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9 Alabama Trails Under 2 Miles for People Who Want the Views Without the Tough Hike

Someone says, “It's only a mile.” That sentence usually requires clarification. Only a mile through what? Up a mountain?...

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This Alabama Backyard Tells Civil Rights History in a Way No School Textbook Ever Dares to

Someone hands you a history book. It tells you what happened. This backyard asks a different question: What did it feel like?...

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This Historic Indiana Market Is Basically A Little Slice Of Old-School Italy Hidden In The State

The family recipe did not come with measurements. It came with instructions like “use the good cheese” and “you will know when there is enough.” Finding the good cheese...

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This Historic Indiana Rail Trail Is Completely Perfect For A Crisp September Bike Ride

There is a certain sound a bike makes on an old railroad grade. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

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This Eerie Alabama Road Bridge Holds Local Legend As A Historic Haunted Crossing

The headlights go off. That is when the bridge becomes interesting. Not because the steel suddenly changes, but because the...

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Most People Have Never Heard Of This Enchanting Waterfront Sanctuary Tucked Deep In Alabama

“Where is everybody?” That is probably the first question. There are no crowds spilling down the shoreline. No constant...

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This Tiny Alabama Crossroads Hides A Restored 1900s Country Store Frozen In Time

The porch is doing exactly what a porch is supposed to do. Nothing. It sits out front, wide and inviting, attached to an old...

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This Tiny Alabama Pie Shop Hand-Rolls Pastries Exactly Like Grandma Used To Make

A fried pie is a terrible thing to eat while driving. There is no graceful way to manage the crumbs, the flaky corners, or the filling that inevitably tries to escape.

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10 Packed Alabama Fabric Shops With Trims, Notions, and Bolts You Cannot Find Online

I have never trusted myself around a wall of buttons. There is always one more worth picking up. Then there is the ribbon....

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This Indiana Pizza Joint Became a Small-Town Legend Without Ever Needing a Big City

A teenager ate here in 1975. Decades later, that same person brought a grandchild through the door. Somewhere along the way,...

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10 Cozy Indiana Restaurants That Secretly Source Their Entire Menu From Neighboring Farms

The tomato tastes suspiciously like a tomato again. The cream has actual flavor. The pork comes with a farmer's name attached...

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This Historic Alabama Variety Store Is a Nostalgic Wonderland Hiding the Ultimate Toy Selection

The fastest way to lose a child in this store is to mention the toys. The fastest way to lose an adult is to let them notice the rest of the shelves.

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10 Quiet Alabama Nature Trails Where You Can Escape From The Crowds

Try standing still for thirty seconds. No talking. No music. No checking the phone.

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9 Alabama Markets Where $20 Can Turn Into an Entire Afternoon of Browsing

The twenty-dollar bill is still in your pocket. That is the important part. Everything else gets complicated once you see the...

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This Massive Outlet Mall In Alabama Is Worth Every Mile

The plan was simple: stop, find one thing, and get back on the road. Then the first sale sign appeared. Then another. Then...

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9 Wild Alabama Trails Perfect For Spotting Alligators, Rare Birds, And Sea Turtles

You think you know what the coast looks like, and then an alligator floats past looking exactly like a log that has learned to swim. A few minutes later, a bird drops into the...

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This Giant Indiana Amusement Warehouse Features Tactical Mission-Based Laser Tag and Foam Dart Arenas

You walk in expecting a rainy-day activity and suddenly find yourself standing beside a school bus inside a laser tag arena. A real school bus.

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This Sleepy Indiana Village Grill Has Been Voted Its County’s Best-Kept Secret For Decades

I stopped for a quick meal and somehow ended up spending much longer than planned. There is something about an old town that can make a simple lunch feel like part of the trip,...

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This Massive Alabama Educational Landmark Was Built From Scratch By Former Enslaved People

I stopped at one of the old brick walls and found myself wondering how many hands had touched the clay before it became part of a building. Then came the part that made the whole...

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9 Breathtaking Alabama Hiking Trails With a View

Think Alabama hiking is all flat paths and easy strolls? One trail can change that idea pretty quickly. Across the state, you’ll...

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This 130-Year-Old Alabama Hosiery Mill Houses A Secret Antique Marketplace And A Hidden Gourmet Tavern

You walk in expecting maybe a quick bite, and three hours later you are still there. That is the kind of pull this old mill has, sitting somewhere in Alabama.

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9 Great Thrift Stores And Warehouse Outlets In Alabama For Budget Shoppers

My favorite Alabama road trips have nothing to do with beaches or football stadiums, and everything to do with what sits behind a plain warehouse door. I love the sound of hangers...

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This Iconic Indiana Comic Shop Features Nearly Half A Million Rare Back Issues

Nearly half a million back issues is enough to make any comic collector forget what time it is. Tucked into Indiana's comic scene is a massive collection spanning decades of superheroes,...

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