Roadside America: Keokea, Maui

by Kyle Ellison on

Let’s get real. The island of Maui isn’t exactly a secret. The nation’s 17th largest island (how’s that for trivia points?) sees over two million visitors per year, and it’s been voted as the best island in the world by Conde Naste readers an astounding 19 times. To say the least, it seems to be a vacation destination firmly on every traveler’s radar.

While it’s tough to compete with other global perennials such as Bali, Bora Bora, Kauai, or Santorini, what makes Maui an annual favorite is the diverse selection of offerings available for those who make the lengthy flight.

Want to lounge on a sandy crescent of a beach with the palm fronds rustling above you in the trade winds? Not a problem. Want to hike through bamboo forests and wade across mountain streams to a waterfall you refreshingly have all to yourself? Yep, it’s got that too.

But what if you want to sit in the middle of ranchlands amongst green pastures where farmers still sell their vegetables on the side of two-lane country roads? A place where the cool 3,000-foot elevation warrants the use of a morning flannel, and the stillness of the morning air is matched only by the calm demeanor of the affable locals? A friendly smile here, a well-placed shaka there, and merchants who swap stories with customers they know by first name?

That can all be found here too, although you may have to drive a little farther to find it. While most visitors to the island will only venture “Upcountry” on their drive to the summit of Haleakala Crater, those who instead head out towards the ranching outpost of Ulupalakua (a one-shop town home to the island’s only winery), will find a corner of the island where life moves so slow you’ll wonder if time actually stopped.This is Keokea, a rural farming hamlet first constructed by Chinese immigrants and now home to the likes of Oprah. Yes, Keokea possesses such a striking sense of calm that of all the places in the world to buy a ranch house, the world’s most notable media mogul decided on these green pastures right here.

As you can imagine, however, the downtown hub isn’t on Oprah’s front porch. It’s back on the main highway at Grandma’s Coffee House, a mom and pop venture where the omelets and coffee are served with a side of aloha and down-home friendliness. Sunday mornings feature slack key guitar played lived on the porch, and it’s a place where morning joggers, passing cyclists, small-town locals and a few lucky tourists all mingle in an atmosphere of simplicity.

Need a few snacks for an afternoon picnic? Walk next door to Ching Store, a mom and pop general store in existence since the arrival of the pioneering Chinese. Need to top off the gas tank? Fong Store is the next door down, and it offers gas, which is usually the cheapest on the island. Why the discount? No corporations to report a bottom line to, because Fong Store is a mom and pop store as well.

On the drive back towards Kula, consider picking up some locally grown vegetables at the roadside stall, which sits on the same land where it was grown. Another reason why it’s not as expensive to live in Maui as you think, you would be amazed at the prices you can get when shipping and packaging costs are factored out.

So if you’ve traveled to Maui a number of times but have yet to stray off of the tourist map, do yourself a favor and pay a visit to Keokea. Bring a jacket, a camera, and an agenda, which includes nothing. Get a second cup of coffee, listen to some music and see what Maui looks like from 3,000 feet on the mountainside and 30 years or so set back in time.

[Grandma’s photo credit: ewen and donabel on Flickr]

Roadside America: St. Joseph, Michigan

by Meg Nesterov on

Growing up in Boston and later Tucson, I grew up going on beach vacations in New England and California. It wasn’t until I started dating my husband a decade ago that I discovered America’s “Third Coast” (the Great Lakes, for our purposes, though some call the Gulf states the Third Coast) in the Midwest. Visiting my in-laws in St. Joseph, Michigan, I was amazed to see that you don’t need to go to the edges of the country to experience sand between your toes, eat an ice cream on the boardwalk, and swim out further than your parents can see you. The Lake Michigan town of St. Joseph is a resort town from way back in the midst of a comeback, striking the rare balance between charming and twee.

Each year that I’ve visited St. Joseph, the town has evolved and improved into a destination worth visiting beyond a quick side trip from Chicago. The waterfront parks have been revitalized in recent years, and the beaches are so wide and sandy, you could forget you aren’t on an ocean. St. Joe and its sister city Benton Harbor are under two hours from Chicago, as well as an easy drive from other Midwestern cities such as Milwaukee and Detroit, in what has been called the “Riviera of the Midwest.”Just across Lake Michigan from Chicago, residents recently had hoped to revive the old Chicago-St. Joseph ferry that carried thousands to the beach in the 1920s heyday, but the venture proved too costly. Land remains the only approach, although there is a trans-Lake Michigan ferry between Milwaukee and Muskegon in the summer season, about 90 miles north of St. Joe. Amtrak makes the trip an hour and forty minutes from Chicago daily if you’d prefer not to get caught in traffic.

This area of Michigan is also famed for its produce, owing to the “lake effect” on the climate, helping to produce what is arguably the world’s best fruit. From June to November, you can taste many varieties at the Benton Harbor Fruit Market, one of the oldest and largest seller-to-buyer produce markets in America. Excellent fruit means excellent wine as well, and you can visit over a dozen wineries within a dozen miles of St. Joseph. You can also sample Michigan flavors at the annual Harvest Festival and regular farmers markets in the summer season.

In addition to the cute shops and a good selection of restaurants, St. Joseph has a budding arts scene anchored by the Krasl Art Center, which holds a major art fair each summer. The new pride of St. Joe is the Silver Beach area just below downtown. The historic Silver Beach Carousel was first opened in 1910 and re-opened 100 years later after the park had deteriorated and closed in the early ’70s. You can ride the carousel year-round, but go in the summer for the optimum effect, when you can finish out a day at the beach with one of Michigan’s famed sunsets and think about how soon you can return.

[flickr image via Molechaser]

Roadside America: Cave Vineyard, Missouri

by Kyle Ellison on

If you are a U.S. wine industry buff, all around trivia guru, or Dustin Hoffman in “Rain Man,” you already know there are wineries in all 50 American states.

Yep. That’s right. Pick a state and there is a winery there.

Alaska? Yep, there are 8.

Hawaii? Two.

Missouri? There are now over 100.

Wait. What? There are over 100 wineries in Missouri? Ranked as one of the top-ten wine producing states in the nation, Missouri not only has a number of distinct wine regions, but also has a legitimate wine trail and an established industry of wine tourism.

Of all the 100 or so wineries in the state, however, only one of them is famously located inside of a natural cave.

Located 1 hour and 20 minutes from the nearby metropolis of St. Louis, the Cave Vineyard is set down a country road in the heart of the St. Genevieve wine country where the rolling hills are more akin to Provence than those of the Ozarks. Though 14 acres of grapes surround the welcoming tasting room, the main draw of the property is the gaping Saltpeter Cave, which forms a hollow amphitheater perfect for wine storage, peaceful moments, and one-of-a-kind private events.

Visitors to the winery can taste their way through regional varietals such as Traminette or Chardonel, purchase a bottle, and subsequently gain free entry to the romantic cave where private tables for two are set next to a lightly flowing brook. The warm lighting stands in contrast to the cool cave temperatures, and this is as unique a spot as any for packing a picnic basket, taking a weekend getaway, and just exploring the beauty found on back country roads.

Getting There: Exit #150 off of I-55 if coming from St. Louis. West on Hwy 32, immediate left onto Hwy P. Go for two miles and turn right onto Cave Rd. Two more miles will bring you to the vineyard. Or, just follow the signs.

Hours of Operation: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. daily (summer), 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. daily (winter)

Roadside America: Drinkin’ Moonshine In The Cornfields Of Culpeper, Virginia

by Libby Zay on

Chuck Miller not only speaks in the same Southern twang as Jed Clampett from “The Beverly Hillbillies,” but he kind of looks like him, too. Dressed in a straw cowboy hat and a button-up shirt tucked into his jeans, the silver mustachioed farmer’s destiny, however, didn’t lie in black gold – instead it was in corn whiskey.

Along with his wife Jeanette, Miller owns Belmont Farm Distillery, where he produces a true American spirit: moonshine. The homemade corn whiskey is made in the Appalachian tradition using a recipe passed down from his grandfather, a real bootlegger who supplied thirsty flappers with the drink during Prohibition.

Unlike his grandfather, however, Miller’s moonshine is legal. It’s even sold in Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) stores throughout Virginia. Even better, this concoction is as straight-from-the-source as you can get; every single ingredient in the hooch is grown right on the Miller’s 189-acre farm. Even the leftovers are used to feed the livestock at the farm, which is why Miller explained they have very “happy cows.”

“We make it all the way from scratch, and we use the old time methods,” explained Miller, the master moonshine distiller.

Even though you can purchase Miller’s corn whiskey in stores throughout the country (and in some cases abroad), one can only get a true taste for the spirit by visiting the distillery, which lies off a dusty road about 15 minutes from downtown Culpeper, Virginia.

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The couple’s distillery sits in the middle of a cornfield and was built using the remains of a church that burned down in the 1960s. The only leftover evidence of the building’s former incarnation is a pair of peaked doors that lead to the gift shop and the start of a distillery tour, which is open to anyone who passes by.

If your lucky, Miller himself will lead you on the tour. As you wind your way through the tiny distillery, he’ll spout off facts about the Prohibition-era copper pot he uses and allow you to take a big whiff of the drink as it’s being made (if you can handle it, that is). You’ll also understand why this drink became known as “white lighting,” a nickname given because it’s bottled straight from the still without any aging. This method was developed so that bootleggers – including Miller’s grandfather – would be able to produce the spirit quickly.

But just because Miller’s moonshine is made quickly doesn’t mean it’s made with any less expertise or enthusiasm, a fact that becomes immediately clear within moments of stepping into the distillery. Miller himself has encyclopedic knowledge of the drink.

“The first time corn whiskey was ever made was in 1612 at the Jamestown Colony,” explained Miller as he bounced around from machine to machine. “The settlers had the technology, and the Indians had the corn.”

As you’ll see on the tour, the resulting spirit is clear like a vodka and although it smells a bit like rubbing alcohol, it goes down smoother than many other whiskies. And even though the drink is technically a whiskey, this is one place that you won’t find on the American Whiskey Trail.

“We asked to be on the Whiskey Trail, but they didn’t think moonshine was suitable,” said Miller with a smile. “So if you see any of those Whiskey Trail people you tell them they’re missing a big thing!”

Tours of Belmont Farm Distillery are offered Tuesday through Saturday from April 1 through December 24. Groups of 12 or less depart every 15 minutes.

[Photo by Libby Zay]

Roadside America: Marietta, Ohio

by Elizabeth Seward on

Marietta, Ohio, is your quintessential small town. With a population that wavers around 15,000 and a little liberal arts college, Marietta College, nested within the downtown perimeters, Marietta is a quiet escape, especially for those spending time in the relatively larger nearby cities of Columbus, Pittsburgh or Cleveland.

As the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory, history often guides the sightseeing in Marietta. Established in 1788, reflections on Marietta made by famous historical figures are readily recited by schoolteachers. President George Washington remarked on the beauty he had seen in this area in 1788 when he said, “No colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at the Muskingum … If I was a young man, just preparing to begin the world, or if advanced in life and had a family to make provision for, I know of no country where I should rather fix my habitation …” Benjamin Franklin acknowledged Marietta’s beauty a year earlier though and said, “I have never seen a grander river in all my life.” But Marietta’s historical intrigues extend beyond the settling of the area for the Northwest Territory.The Native Americans, primarily Shawnee, were settled in the region of Marietta prior to 1788. The large, still-standing burial mound, which is the oldest west of the Appalachians, is erected in the middle of Mound Cemetery. Many Revolutionary Soldiers, including Rufus Putnam, are buried within the cemetery. Mound Cemetery is now a must-see attraction when visiting Marietta, but the town’s attractions aren’t limited to the history books.

Marietta was built at the confluence of two rivers, the Ohio and the Muskingum. The town is nestled into the Appalachians and so if Ohio makes you think of flat cornfields as far as the eye can see, you’re not thinking of Marietta. Just across the river is West Virginia and like West Virginia, Marietta is marked by the dramatic slopes of the hills. Because of the rivers and the low mountains, Marietta is a great destination for outdoors enthusiasts. Whether you’re hiking, biking, or water-skiing, it’s nice to be outside in Marietta. But the town is also recommended for those who are drawn to antiques and haunted tours. There are a few good restaurants and bars in town and a strong arts community that keeps the town interesting with concerts and art walks, among other activities.

If you manage to make it to Marietta, here are some recommendations from a person who grew up there (me).

The Lafayette Hotel
The Brewery
The Adelphia Music Hall
Rinks Flea Market
Downtown Shopping
Sternwheel Festival

[flickr image via gb_packards]