Elko ping.
Last night I happened to look up the 50 largest cities for the purpose of would I want to visit there.
Upon reviewing the list, I confirmed by supposition that I had no desire to visit any of the largest 50 cities in the USA
***French Lick, IN... Where the jet set went before jets, this oft forgotten gem of a town offers world class lodging the way it was meant to be, over the top in the most dignified way possible!***
Ok, so if you’re wanting to go to French Lick, do yourself a favor and drive one mile down the road to West Baden Springs. It is even more beautiful than the French Lick resort, and costs about the same (kinda pricey by my standards, but not much more than a downtown hotel in any big city).
One year on a return trip from the Florida Panhandle, we decided to take the scenic route home. We had 2 routes to choose from, so I asked my husband if he had heard of any of these places. French Lick was one, and he said that he knew Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) hailed from there, and let’s go check that out. So we had lunch in FL and in one of the shops the owner suggested we go to West Baden Springs and take in the hotel there before heading home.
Omg! It was like discovering that the Taj Mahal was in podunk Indiana!! Why had my friends not told me about this magnificent spot?? We had relocated to central Indiana 4 or 5 years earlier, and not one of our friends ever mentioned this beautiful place!! How could this possibly be??
Take a gander at some of the photos at the TripAdvisor website. They don’t do it justice, but you can get a feel for it.
For a beach vacation, I have always enjoyed Ft. Walton Beach in the Florida panhandle.
Writer mentioned the Hamptons. Yeah, the people that own most of the coastal mansions are blue as Hell, but Suffolk County has turned bright red, to my astonishment... just not Easthamption. Also, NJ between Wall township and Little Egg Township, and Wildwood... East Tennessee (Great Smokies)... Hilton Head or Myrtle Beach... Believe it or not, the Florida Keys OUTSIDE the tip of Key West... Florida beaches North of Miami Beach (INLAND Ft Lauderdale and Palm Beach are blue as hell), Canyon area of Arizona, Utah, etc.... Badlands... Kalispell/Great Falls, MT... NE Wyoming OUTSIDE of Jackson Hole... Central Wisconsin Dells is about 51% Biden, but the rest of the area was for Trump... Central Pennsylvania/West Virginia... Adirondacks of NY... Mountain region of Maine (coast has some very blue areas).
Frankfort, KY
The Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky is Daniel Boone’s final resting place. The views of the surrounding area from his memorial are amazing.
Frankfort is also home to four bourbon distilleries:
- Buffalo Trace Distillery
- Castle & Key Distillery
- Glenn’s Creek Distilling
- Three Boys Farm Distillery
The Buffalo Trace Distillery tour is free. Check their website to find out which adult beverage is being offered that day (limited to one per flavor per person, due to popularity and price). Visting on Blanton’s day is HIGHLY recommended, and take a teetotaler friend (or group) with you.
Nashville is a tourist trap. There is hockey if you like that.
Come south to Franklin, TN where woke dies.
“Forget about Orlando, Disney, San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu and Denver too”.
Those destinations have never been on my list. I look for the small out-of-the-way spots in rural southern America. Small town jazz or blue-grass festivals, with camping instead of hotels, are a lot more fun that a touristy spot where you are jammed together with people you wouldn’t like if you spent more than two minutes together.
There is far more to South Dakota than the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. A visit to Mt Rushmore at sunset is spectacular and a drive through Spearfish Canyon is breathtaking. On the way to the Black Hills Babkands National Park and the Minuteman Missle National Historic site are worth seeing. Yes, Wall Drug is a tourist trap, but it is iconic Americana. In the eastern part of South Dakota you will be surprised with Sioux Falls...gourmet restaurants, a vibrant art scene, great parks and miles of bicycle trails. A hidden gem is the National Music Museum on the campus of the University of South Dakota. This museum has a world class collection of historic musical instruments.
Gulf Coast beaches from Gulf Shores, Alabama to Destin.......prettiest beaches in the US.