Totally Fabulous Favorites . . . by Tina

People are always asking us, “What is your favorite…?”  This is like asking a parent, which is your favorite kid?  For us, it is that we simply have too many favorites!  Our travels around the country have exceeded our expectations and we look forward to more! 

While I will take most of the credit for this section, I will admit I did collaborate as necessary with Mojo to provide a mostly balanced view of some of the standout places we saw or things we did.  I have arranged it by category and while this represents our favorites… it is not all inclusive!!  We have been having TOO MUCH FUN!  

This entire adventure began as a retirement plan – see America!  We spent so much time outside of the continental United States during our military career that we want to see what we have been missing right here “at home.”  We have come up with a bunch of “Bucket List” places in America to visit, things to do, places to eat, etc. Our initial trip was started out as an opportunity to go see a few HGTV spots such as Magnolia in Waco, Texas (Chip and Joanna Gains); Our Town, Laurel, Mississippi (Ben and Erin), etc. 

Very early into this adventure, we met Christine and Cory from Michigan.  They liked to visit local breweries and collect the brewery stickers.  Having already visited a few breweries ourselves, we decided this was a pretty cool idea and a fun way to remember places we have been.  As it turns out for us, this approach serves many more purposes.  First, we do get to sample some great beer, often meeting the owners or brew masters and hearing their story, but the real bonus is that it provides a chance for us to meet local people and pick their brains.  We ask them what they think we should see while we are in their town.  Many times, this turns out to be better than going to the local visitor’s center (if there is one), although I do love the visitor centers and rarely pass them up!  I have the flyers, magazines, and pamphlets to prove it. 😊

And that is how we find out about many things to see and do and where to dine, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.  So, without further delay, let’s get on with the lists!