The beaches of the Alabama Gulf Coast. White sand and the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico, beautiful. This shot was taken just cross the state-line from Florida and Predido Key. You can be in two different states at the same time on the beach, how can you beat that?!
Posted in Alabama, beach, Florida, travel
Tagged Alabama, alabama gulf coast, beach, Florida, Gulf Coast, Gulf of Mexico, Perdido Key, turquoise waters, white sand
During the Windy City Tweetup we went on the 75-Minute Chicago River Architecture Tour by Wendella Boat Tours. We got a great deal through a Groupon which included a free beverage. Thanks Francesca of The Working Mom’s Travels for the great idea.
It was a cloudy day with off-and-on rain as we hung out along Michigan Avenue waiting to hit up the Chicago River.
As soon as you got on the boat, the great views were right in front of you. Some of my first shots of the skyline and historic buildings. The building prominent in the first photo is the Crain Communications Building, also known as the London Guarantee or Stone Container Building. I love the curvature of the 1920′s built structure.
The Windy City Tweetup gang chilling on the lower deck. Some are looking at photographs taken. Others are mingling. Great times.
We took advantage of Chicago’s own Goose Island Honkers Ale being available on-board. Out on the open water!
As the boat proceeded down the river, the tour guide described the buildings we passed with some historical and architectural background information. This is the Civic Opera Building. It has an art deco interior and was built-in 1929. It’s the second-largest opera auditorium in North America. It’s amazing how Chicago has been built up since the Great Chicago Fire in the later 1800′s.
We passed under bridge after bridge. The Clark Street Bridge in one form or another has gone over the river since 1853.
I’ve taken a liking to capturing the American flag. One resided on the back of the riverboat.
Some more skyline photos out on the open water. The vantage points to get Chicago skyline shots seems to be endless. 
Passed by and saw lots of other tour riverboats.
Great times on the Chicago River. The rain was actually a nice touch during the tour and the rest of the day in the city. Checkout Wendella Boat Tours for more information on the architecture and other tours they provide.
Have you ever been on a riverboat tour in Chicago? What riverboat tours in other cities would you recommend?
Posted in Chicago, Events, travel
Tagged architecture, Chicago, Chicago River, history, Illinois, riverboat, skyline, tour, Windy City
More Chicago fun this past weekend at the Windy City Tweetup, so that meant another opportunity at some deep-dish pizza. Off the beaten path and not as well-known as others, but the deep-dish pizza at Exchequer Restaurant & Pub was outstanding.
If your ever visiting “The Bean” and Millennium Park, checking out the eastern terminus of Route 66, are at the Chicago Institute of Art, all of which are nearby or are just looking for another great pizza, make the quick stroll over to Exchequer Restaurant & Pub. They were very excited to hear that travel bloggers were coming to their place. Checkout that cheese!
It was an early Saturday morning in Chicago during the #WindyCityTweetup and me and Leah of Leah Travels headed to The Doughnut Vault. We came to know of the place because of Raul of Ilivetotravel. He thought it’d be a great place to grab stuff for the group for breakfast.
We got there about 9:30 and saw the long line right away. It went from the front door on N. Franklin St. and turned the corner going down the sidewalk on W. Kinzie St.
There was a light rain falling on-and-off and it had been about half-an-hour and we barely moved. We were making jokes with the people behind us and talking amongst ourselves on the fact that we could take the people who were walking by with the donuts haha. By this time, we were like, Raul!!! All in good fun of course.
Right in front of us was The Gilt Bar. It actually is owned by the same person as The Doughnut Vault. He decided to open this petite donut shop right next store a little over a year ago. They open at a set time everyday, but only stay open until their donuts for the day are sold. We worried that we’d get near the front and they would yell out, “We’re sorry, but we’ve sold out for the day.” That would be terrible.
After about an hour, we made the turn onto Franklin…
…and before you know we were at the front door. Not knowing anything about The Doughnut Vault at the time, I hoped there wasn’t along line inside too.
Once getting inside, it was quite the opposite. It was a small room about the size of a walk-in closet with one girl behind the counter, taking one customers order at a time.
The menu was displayed outside the front door to the left and also on a bigger plaque inside. The everyday donuts are buttermilk old-fashioned, gingerbread stack and chestnut, vanilla and chocolate glazed. They also have a donut of the
day, of which today is double chocolate yellow cake. It was sold out. Also, a tip for future visitors, its cash only.
We made it to the counter and ordered a small assortment. I choose a chestnut glazed and a chocolate glazed donut. The hour-and-a-half journey was complete!
As we walked back to the vehicle, which oddly enough we found a space right in front on the street, I saw a seating area, not that anyone would be sitting there in the rain.
Back at home base for the out-of-town travel bloggers, Sofitel Chicago, everyone consumed their donuts. They were big donuts and quite tasty. Definitely would be full for a while or until the next foodie opportunity presented itself. More on that later.
It turns out they didn’t sell out until 1:23 p.m. that day. I realized after the fact, that their Twitter feed keeps everyone appraised as to how many dozen donuts of each type were left, when one sold out, how many people were in line, what the special of the day was, etc.
The waiting in line for the donuts kept being mentioned all day long, as away of teasing Raul. In all honesty, I was thankful that he found such a popular and well-known place that everyone gravitated towards. Being a foodie, it was great checking out the best donut shop in town. In fact it was named one of America’s Best Doughnuts by Food & Wine Magazine. Also, it was great chatting and getting to know Leah better during the long wait.
If you love donuts and are in Chicago, I’d definitely recommend hitting up The Doughnut Vault for the experience. What places have you waited for in a long line foodie wise? What food would you almost wait any amount of time for?
More fun times in Chicago this weekend, this time for the #WindyCityTweetup. The #WindyCityTweetup was a weekend long event of travel bloggers, some local some not, getting together to meet in-person, get to know one another, share lot’s of fun and laughs and explore Chicago. We’ve all talked and established a friendship via social media channels like Twitter and then through e-mail planning the weekend fun.
I drove in just for the day Saturday. Being travel bloggers and social media addicts, we took to the streets, exploring, tweeting, talking about the things we saw and captured lot’s of photos.
The rest of the Windy City travel group:
Raúl from Ilivetotravel
Leah from Leah Travels
Lauren from where in the world is lola?
Ted from Traveling Ted TV
Francesca from The Working Mom’s Travels
Pola from Jetting Around
Some highlights (some of which will become posts of their own this week, stay tuned!):
The aforementioned rain continued off-and-on throughout the day, but if anything that made the day that much more memorable.
I wish the fun day didn’t have to end, but I had a long, late night drive home. Thanks Chicago! I said good-bye to everyone after we grabbed a cab back to home base, Sofitel Chicago. It was great trip meeting some great fellow travel bloggers in-person, people now whom I can call even more so now, friends.
Michigan and Ohio are border states. Loving state welcome-to signs, I got the crazy idea of driving west to east along the border one evening and turning on one north/south road after another to capture the signs and scenery.
I reached the border from the north on a major two-lane road, U.S. Highway 127 in the beautiful countryside.
Slightly to the east, I wandered onto numerous secondary roads. On all of them I checked out, there weren’t welcome-to signs, just a sign signifying what county was being entered.
I also noticed the difference in pavement as you crossed into a different state. Sometimes you’ll notice it when you cross into a different county within the same state. I’m barely in Michigan in this shot.
In this border crossing case, it went from a dirt road in Michigan, to pavement in Ohio. Who’s that guy taking the photos haha?!
The west to east road in the area, was named State Line Road. What are the odds?
The welcome-to signage will not always be the same between major roads, as is the case with this green sign when entering Ohio.
Going further east, on what becomes M-52 north, your still in the beautiful countryside and the welcome-to signage is decorated with blooming flowers. Love capturing the blue sky, a barn, a silo or other objects in signage shots.
The Michigan/Ohio land border ends at Lake Erie to the east in the urban Toledo area. A lot more people will see these Michigan and Ohio welcome-to signs around Toledo then the others because they’re on the interstate. In this case U.S. 23.
For good measure, I captured some shots of welcome-to signs in a more urban setting. I liked the countryside backdrops better.
It was a great evening zigzagging the Michigan/Ohio state line capturing all the welcome-to signs and backdrops behind. I look forward to doing it again, with different states as the participants. What experiences in your travels do you have in regards to welcome-to signs? Any ideas of interaction I should have with them like jumping?
Posted in Michigan, Ohio, Road Trip, travel
Tagged border crossing, countryside, DiscoverOhio, Michigan, Ohio, PureMichigan, road signs, road trip
Another pic to share this week is from along the Allegheny River and 16th Street Bridge on the North Shore trail on a chilly Autumn day in Pittsburgh.
Captured during a run, on one of the Three Rivers Heritage Trails that follow along the rivers in Pittsburgh. Lots of photo taking capturing the Fall colors and everything along the riverfront.
The 16th Street Bridge, an arch bridge, is one of the more popular in the city connecting North Shore with the well-known Strip District. Love the reflection of the bridge off the water.
Posted in Photo Walk, Pittsburgh, Road Trip, travel
Tagged Allegheny River, Autumn, Photo Walk, Pittsburgh
