Field Trip Friday: Eighth Wonder of the World

BlogTrotting Together has now been officially renamed Field Trip Fridays -- so please consider joining us on Fridays for a little carnival. We'll let you know the post topic early in the week. Then, on Fridays, you publish your post and link to it here on BlogTrotting.

This week's topic is "Who knew?" where we asked you to blog about an interesting, even surprising, spot you've happened upon in your travels near and far. I'm MEP from Not to brag . . . and BlogTrotting and here's my contribution:

I had a "Who knew?" experience last November when my high school friends and I planned a girls weekend. We needed a spot within comfortable driving distance from Cincinnati (where they live) and Chicago (where I live) and chose Indiana. Where else? There is a beautiful old hotel and (new) casino in French Lick, IN. (Yes, the town and resort are really named "French Lick.") There is an even more beautiful old hotel right next door in West Baden Springs, IN.

I do not want to offend anyone who lives in this area, but my impression as I drove toward the West Baden Springs Hotel was that it was in the middle of nowhere. My father-in-law warned me several times to watch vigilantly for deer during the last twenty miles of my drive. I was driving on dark and winding roads, past trees and a few houses and became worried that I had to be going the wrong way when all of sudden I saw an archway entrance, beautiful lights, and an amazing old building. I met up with my friends under a 2oo foot domed atrium -- sometimes dubbed the "eighth wonder of the world" -- inside one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever seen (and I've seen a few, NTB).

The West Baden Springs Hotel was gorgeous and, even better, has an amazing history that involves springs with healing powers, wealth and opulence, architectural feats, wartime health care, flatulence, higher education, Jesuits, abandonment and decay, and a total triumph of persistence, vision, and generosity that resulted in the hotel's amazing restoration and renovation. I'd fill in the gaps of the hotel's history for you except that I want you to go there, to see it, and to take the historical tour. Seriously, I loved the tour. I eat that stuff up.

My friends and I were visiting during a unseasonably warm November weekend. We walked from our hotel at West Baden to its partner property, the larger hotel/casino/convention center at French Lick. Together, the properties offer eating, gambling, shopping, walking, golfing, spa-going, and more. We mostly took advantage of the eating and the chance to catch up in a beautiful place. It was a special weekend with my oldest friends in the world made more special by the thrill of being in such a beautiful place with such a rich history, an unexpected (for me, at least) gem in "the middle of nowhere" (again, just an expression, not trying to slight this part of Indiana).

I'd happily visit again with friends and/or family and children.

I'm not a fancy photographer, but here are a few shots of this little corner of the world.

A glimpse of the atrium and the amazing dome from the French Lick Resort's website.

Italian tile work in lobby featured above. The hotel also has Indiana limestone, a Rookwood Pottery fireplace, specially crafted stained glass windows, and other amazing details.

Look, my friends are as enthralled by the historical tour as I was!

(They had no idea I took this picture -- sorry for posting it, girls!)

One of the springs (now covered).

Site of former Lover's Lane where guests walked after taking their cures.

Trust me, you really need to hear about this spot on the tour.

Outside view of the dome.

The hotel had a front porch! I love a good front porch.

See, what a gem of a place, right? Who knew?! (Obviously, lots of people for many years, but I was not one of them until this past year. My loss!)

Okay, so please link up your own "Who knew?" post below. If you don't have time for a post, how about leaving a comment describing one of your own "Who knew?" travel experiences.

Invading Kent

Our tour today takes us through an area formidable for its history, the southeast of England. It has been the site of invasions and pilgrimages. Today, the famous Chunnel departs from it's coastline.

Our featured blogger, A, is a talented photographer with an impressive travel resume. She is a recent transplant to the area, so I'm sure she can offer us a unique perspective of the region. Let's head on over to see her:


A Changing Life

Please leave A a comment to thank her for the tour!

Are you thinking about your BlogTrotting Together posts? Come back tomorrow to link up and read what others have written!

In my mind I'm goin' to Raleigh

Am I the only person who always thinks of James Taylor's "Carolina in My Mind" lyrics when she is asked to write an introduction to a blog post about North Carolina? I can "just see the sunshine" and I can "just feel the moonshine." I've always wondered which Carolina James Taylor is singing about though. Do you know?

Certainly, North Carolina has plenty to boast about in song or otherwise -- great weather, mountains and water, excellent institutions of higher education, awesome sports traditions, my little brother, and Ronnica, today's BlogTrotting tour guide.

Ronnica is a big-time reader (seriously, check out all she's read so far this year!) and a longtime blogger. You'll have fun getting to know her and her blog.

And now, let's head to her home in Raleigh!

The Ignorant Historian

Please leave Ronnica a comment to let her know you stopped by! And, since she's an avid reader, maybe offer a book recommendation or two while you're at it.

And, don't forget, on Fridays we are "BlogTrotting Together" (cooler name still pending). This Friday's theme is "Who knew?" Have you ever happened upon an especially interesting or awesome corner of the world? Maybe you went to a wedding and fell in love with the little town it was in or made a pit stop and discovered some place surprising on a road trip? Interpret as you wish, but this Friday's task is to tell us about one (or more) of your "Who knew?" destinations.

Publish your post and then come to BlogTrotting to link it up so everyone can find it! Please.

The State of Jefferson

We're off to Oregon! You'll have to head over there to understand the Jefferson reference. Oregon is another on my long list of beautiful places that I want to visit. For some reason, perhaps the fact that I was raised in the mid-west and have spent my adult years on the east coast, my visits west have been few and far between. But someday, I'm going.

Today, though, we're virtually visiting southern Oregon, Lia in Klamath Falls to be specific. Lia is a librarian who spends her summers working in nature. That sounds like the life! So head on over to see her:

Looking Up

Be sure to leave Lia a comment! Come back tomorrow for our visit to the home of Krispy-Kreme donuts!

Playing House in Atlanta

We're visiting Sara in Atlanta today. She loves cake decorating and bloody action movies. An interesting mix, yes! Plus, she just got a tattoo last week to commemorate her 30th birthday. Some people take big trips (ahem, moi) and some people get big tattoos. Both BIG adventures. Mine hurt my wallet, hers hurt her back, literally. But so worth it for the beautiful memento to her sweet children.

So let's head on over to see her:

Sara Plays House

Please leave Sara a comment and let her know how much we appreciate the tour! And come back tomorrow, we're visiting the Pacific Northwest!

BlogTrotting Together: My Favorite Vacation

Welcome to the first edition of BlogTrotting Together*! We're talking about our favorite vacations today. In the future, we'd love to feature guest bloggers to post their stories here, but today, I'm going to jump on the turtle and write about MY favorite vacation.

Where to begin? I have climbed the Eiffel Tower, twice. I have stood in the stands of the Coliseum and pondered the gladiators in days of yore. I have searched the waves of Loch Ness looking for a prehistoric monster. I have attempted to stare down the stoic guards at Buckingham Palace. I have swum with dolphins in crystal clear Bahamian waters. I have stood in a jail cell in Alcatraz and cracked wise about a guard named Vicky. I have seen a bull fight in Barcelona. I have trekked through a Costa Rican rain forest. I have looked into the enigmatic gaze of the Mona Lisa. I have enjoyed Octoberfest in a beerhaus in Munich. I have skied the Rockies AND the Alps. I have spent New Year's Eve in Times Square. I have wandered among Mayan ruins. I have slogged the six mile (no lie) tour through the Vatican. I have caught beads thrown by Harry Connick Jr in the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras. I have looked out at the majestic wonder of the Grand Canyon. I have won and lost a small fortune in Las Vegas.

My list of trips reads like a bucket list. I am so grateful for the amazing adventures I've been on. And as  unforgettable as all of those were, my favorite trip was the one where I did the least sightseeing: my wedding/honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

It's not just that it was the most luxurious trip I've ever been on, or that it was the longest vacation I've ever taken, or that it was the occasion of my nuptials and that my nearest and dearest were there. (For part of it, I'm not crazy, we had a week just us newlyweds.) It was all of those, and so much more.

(The lobby of our hotel.)

It was the mojitos from the little cantina right outside our casita we partook so much of, I'm pretty sure I sweat lime juice. It was the massages, manicures and pedicures that left me soft, polished and relaxed. It was the rose petals housecleaning sprinkled around our suite every evening and cleaned up every morning. It was the 10 million threadcount sheets on the California king bed. It was the acres of marble tile in our suite. It was spotting whales in the ocean from our patio. It was laying in bed looking into the eyes of my new husband. It was spending entire days doing NOTHING.

(My new husband and I taking a stroll on the beach. Totally casual. Not staged or planned at all. Not. But still a special moment.)

We ate, drank, slept, lounged, swam, ate, drank, slept, ate, drank. In a nutshell: the perfect vacation.

What was yours? Link up here!



*This name will probably change. Any suggestions?

A Day in Monterey

For our 30th birthdays, my best friend and I decided that we wanted to take BIG trips. The kind that you might not make otherwise. For mine, we went to Paris. And that was one heck of a trip. For hers, we went to San Francisco. And believe you me, that too was one heck of a trip. It was the first and only time I have been to California, but I immediately fell in love. The weather, the people, the landscape: all amazing. In fact, I decided that I wanted to move there. But then I got a hold of some real estate listings (HOLY HATS, ITS EXPENSIVE OUT THERE!) and I met the man of my dreams, a lifelong Marylander, and all ideas of moving across the country were thrown aside.

So I won't be living there any time soon, but I do plan to visit there again someday. In the meantime, I will live vicariously through our featured blogger, Tonya. She's come a long way from her childhood raising goats in Australia (TRUE STORY!) to her life now with her military man in Monterey. Funny the turns life takes. So let's head on over to see her:

This and That

Please leave Tonya a comment and tell her what corner of the world you call home!


Are you thinking about your favorite vacation? Be sure to come back Friday to link up your posts!

Destination Destin

For several years, my family spent spring break in Destin, Florida. A large group of families from my hometown would rent condos there for the week, and these trips are some of the best and most memorable I have ever taken.

If you have not been to Destin, you are missing out. The beaches are gorgeous, the sunsets divine, and the vibe nice and chill. It's not party, party, party all the time. It's also not a retirement mecca in the same way that other Florida spots are (not that there's anything wrong with early bird specials). In my mind, it's just perfect.

That's why I cannot wait for today's BlogTrotting tour of Destin, brought to us by the talented Tara R. of If Mom Says OK. Be sure to check out the awesome quotation on Tara R.'s blog header and try not be as envious of her fantastic blog title as I am!

Destination Destin -- Let's Go!

If Mom Says OK

Please leave a comment for Tara R. Tell her where you're from and share any of your own Florida memories!

Come back tomorrow for more BlogTrotting and get your favorite vacation post ready to link up on Friday!

BlogTrotting Together

We'd like to try something new. We know that so many of you have great stories and we want you to share them with us. So we're going to do BlogTrotting Together. We'll post a topic related to travel and you write a post and publish it on your blog on Friday. We'll have a McLinky so everyone can link up their posts. Be sure to include the BlogTrotting widget in your post!

This week's topic: Your favorite vacation. Where, when, how, why, faux pas, serendipitous events. Whatever made it special to you, we want to hear about it.

So start thinking about your posts and come back Friday morning to link up! Can't wait to see your stories!


*I think I have an exclamation point addiction!

Picking Onions in Ontario . . . Or Not

Oh Canada! So glad to see you again here in BlogTrotting! Today we travel to Ontario to a town north of Toronto. You can pick carrots and onions there . . . if you want.

Today's blogger is the very funny Momma of Live. Laugh. Pull Your Hair Out. Great blog title, right? I can relate, except that my children actually pull my hair out for me.

You will love Momma's photographs and this window into Ontario. Let's go!

Live. Laugh. Pull Your Hair Out.

Please leave Momma a comment to let her know you stopped by!

See you back here tomorrow for a visit to the home of Coca-Cola.

Home Sweet Hamburg

My heritage is mostly German (with some Irish). I have enjoyed many, many helpings of my Grandma's awesome German potato salad, eaten at Chicago's Berghoff, and made merry at Oktoberfest . . . in Cincinnati.

Sad for me, I've never visited Germany, but I know I will someday. Until then, I will enjoy glimpses of life there from BlogTrotters like Jennifer, a proud resident of Hamburg, and author of Ook, she wrote.

Grab your passport and let's head to Hamburg!

Ook, she wrote

Please leave Jennifer a comment on her post! Do you have any German heritage? Have you visited Germany? Let her know.

And, of course, come back Monday! Until then, in the words of Heidi Klum (and the millions of others around the world who speak German), "Auf Wiedersehen."

First State...of Ice Cream

I don't know about you guys, but when I think of Vermont, I think of one thing: ICE CREAM. And when I think ice cream, I think Cherry Garcia. I know I'm not alone in this, right, right?

Okay, there's a lot more to Vermont than ice cream. Skiing, maple syrup, and TJ!

TJ is a yard sale loving, from scratch cooking, Montessori educating, mama of a sweet little two year old boy. She created a recipe for corn sticks that I will be trying as soon as I can get myself to the store for some Helluva Good French Onion Dip. Yeah, pretty much anything with Helluva Good dip has my stamp of approval. And so does she. So head on over to see her!

Any Given Moment

Please leave TJ a comment and let her know how much we appreciate her tour of her home!

How Merry is Maryland? (Update)

Delayed due to a sick kid, Jill was unable to get her post up until late this morning, but it's up now. So head on over!!

Greetings, BlogTrotters! Today's tour guide lives between DC and Baltimore (close to CaraBee, I imagine) but originally hails from England. I don't know about you, but I'm so impressed by the BlogTrotters whose lives have included major geographic shifts.

I really related to today's blogger's description of herself: "I’m a writer who stays at home or a SAHM who writes…it depends on the day!" I know that feeling. Also, how cool is it that Jill from Musings from Me has a kid, a preteen, and a teen? As a mom of three under four, I really enjoy glimpses of what's ahead . . . it gets easier, right? Tee hee.

And, of course, I enjoy glimpses of life in various corners of the world. Join us for today's tour of Woodbine, MD. Let's go!

Musings from Me on Kids, Preteens, and Teens

Please leave Jill a comment to let her know that you visited! See you back here tomorrow!

Small Town, USA

I have done both the slow small town and the frantic big city. There are certainly appeals to big city life. I can order any kind of food for delivery. I can be at pretty much any kind of store you can possibly imagine within 20 minutes. I can take non-stop international flights from my airport.

But the older I get, and the older my child gets, the more I recognize the appeal of the small town. The comforts and safeties. Reading MommaRuth's eloquent post, it makes me yearn for that style of living. I wouldn't be surprised if you feel the same way. So head on over to see her:

MommaRuth Says

Please, please please leave MommaRuth a comment and let her know what part of the world you call home.

The Love You Get Is The Love You Give

As those of you who have been featured know well, a lot of effort goes into the creation of each of your tour posts. Research is done. Photographs are taken. And as bloggers, we all know how much we love comments. They are our lifeblood. Every single time I get an email that says "New Comment", I get a little thrill. Someone cares! They think what I've written is important enough to let me know. To share their own experience or opinion. 

But I know that everyone is busy. There are school field trips to chaperon and playdates to attend. Family celebrations to prepare for, presents to be bought. There is work and husbands and friends. There are a million and one obligations and distractions in every day. So I think everyone understands when people don't have time to visit all of the featured blogs. However, the number of comments our featured bloggers have been receiving lately has made me very sad.

So I would like to take today to revisit the featured blogs from this past week. Talented writers all, they deserve a second shout out. And a little more love. You don't have to visit all of them (although if you want to, that would be SPECTACULAR!), but please pick one or two to visit and say "Hi! Thanks for the tour!"

Life... With Five Monkeys - Mays Landing, New Jersey

O'Leary Crew - Seattle, Washington

New England Through Yummy Mommy's Eyes - Concord, New Hampshire

LoveFeast Table - Italy

Perfect Welcome - Paris, France

Thank you to each and every one for being a part of BlogTrotting. It gives me great pleasure to see the wonderful posts that you all create and to be able to spend a few moments in your world.

French Kiss

The first time I watched Ratatouille with my son, I told him about how mommy went to Paris once and saw the same Eiffel Tower that Remy did. Now, each time we watch the film and get to the scene where Remy is on a rooftop and catches a great view of the city, my Bub says, "Look, Mommy, there's your Paris."

It's hardly my Paris, but I would so love to visit again! Today's BlogTrotting tour guide, Miss Welcome of Perfect Welcome, is raising three beautiful children in beautiful Paris (with the help of her French husband Mr. Welcome).

I love her blog and know you will too. Make yourself welcome . . .

Perfect Welcome

Please leave Miss Welcome a comment. Tell her where you make your home and share any of your own Paris memories.

As always, rest up this weekend and come back on Monday!

Garden Statements

As I've mentioned before, I grew up in Kansas. Of course, there are stereotypes associated with my home state: we're all living on farms with dogs named Toto, too busy outrunning tornadoes to concentrate on much in the way of edumacation. But we had our own ideas about other states. And one that stands out strongly for me is that of New Jersey. Riddled with murderous mobsters, everyone lives in small, narrow homes in the shadow of smoke-belching factories.

Imagine my surprise then when I moved to Maryland in my early twenties and visited New Jersey for the first time, only to find that it's nickname "The Garden State" is far more appropriate than my previous imaginings. It is a beautiful, verdant state populated with nice, regular folks. Of whom I am certain that our featured blogger, Brandi is one. So let's head on over to see her:

Life... With Five Monkeys

Please leave Brandi a comment and let her know what corner of the world you call home! Be sure to come back tomorrow, we're off on an international adventure!

Let's Tattle On Seattle

So I don't know why I titled this post "Let's Tattle on Seattle" because as far as I know Seattle hasn't done anything wrong to deserve being tattled on. I think I'm just a sucker for rhymes. I'm going to make it work though by assuring you that today's BlogTrotting tour guide can give us some inside scoop on life in Seattle. That's kind of like tattling, right?

Before you check out the O'Leary Crew's BlogTrotting glimpse of Seattle, make sure you check out this post: a wordless account of a trip to the Space Needle. Pretty cool!

Okay, now that you've checked out The Space Needle, let's see the rest!

O'Leary Crew

Please leave the O'Leary Crew a comment. Let them know the BlogTrotters stopped by!

And, of course, come on back tomorrow for more BlogTrotting!

Live Free or Die in New Hampshire

We're off to Concord, New Hampshire today to visit a blogger who is a wife and a mom and a crafter and a foodie and a lover of art. As her bio says, "she finds joy in the small things but its the smallest things that drive her crazy." How well do I appreciate that sentiment!

I'm sure someone as creative as she is will show us a fantastic and unique view of her home. So let's head over to see her:

New England Through Yummy Mommy's Eyes

Please leave Michelle a comment and let her know the BlogTrotters have been through town!

**Please keep our friends in Nashville in your thoughts and prayers as they recover from the flooding there. Our tour guide from last week, Christy is among those affected. If you have a chance, check in with her.

Dryer Lint and Dreams

We're off for a very special tour today. We're visiting not one, but two bloggers. Kristin and Chris Ann co-pilot the uber-awesome blog LoveFeast Table. Kristin is in Baltimore and Chris Ann in Minneapolis. Friends for more than 14 years, these two are now separated by a thousand miles, but their connection is as strong as ever. They've laughed, cooked and traveled together, sometimes all at once. They began their blog as a way to document their adventures and they do a pretty fantastic job of sharing their passions for food, art, family, friendship and all of the other great things in life.

Kristin and Chris Ann are going to take us along on a fabulous trip the pair and their families made recently to Italy. So let's get going!

LoveFeast Table

Please leave Chris Ann and Kirstin a comment, let's give them a love bomb, BlogTrotting-style!