Little House on the Prairie travel in Missouri and Kansas

by Jamie Rhein on

A few years ago, a friend of mine embarked on a trip to Kansas City on the now defunct Skybus for an anticipated mini-road trip vacation that included stops at two of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s houses.

These weren’t the only places on my friend’s family’s itinerary but they are the only highlights I can remember. Both of the houses are near small towns where life moves at a slower pace and charm is part of the draw as well as their unique spots in American history.

Starting in Kansas and Missouri isn’t a chronological approach to Laura Ingalls Wilder travel, but it is a way to pick up two significant Little House locations. Although Laura was born in Pepin, Wisconsin, these other landmarks were significant to her life–one provided the framework for the 1970s-1980s TV series. The other is where Wilder lived during her adult years until she died.

The Little House on the Prairie Historical Site is about 13 miles from Independence, Kansas and is a small reconstructed cabin that reminds me of Lincoln’s boyhood home in Indiana, although a bit more rough around the edges. Even though the rustic log cabin is not the actual home of Wilder, it is close to where the original cabin once stood about 13 miles from Independence. Built according to descriptions from Wilder’s book, the cabin, along with the 1872 school house, general store and post office offers a glimpse into what it was like to be a family creating a life in the early Midwest.

The cabin’s surroundings are similar to how the area looked when Wilder lived here with Ma and Pa and her sisters. I imagine if you look over the tall waving grass and the clouds drifting across the sky in the summer you can almost hear the TV show’s theme song.

For a bigger taste of life on the prairie living head to the Prairie Days Festival on June 13 where food, wagon rides, costume character contests, a petting zoo and craft vendors tap into the nostalgia of that time period. If June is too soon, I noticed Bluegrass on the Prairie on October 10 and Christmas on the Prairie, November 28.

For more Laura Ingalls Wilder travel head to Mansfield, Missouri. Rocky Ridge Farm, about 30 miles from Springfield is where Laura moved with her husband Almanzo and penned all nine of the “Little House” books. At this house are Wilder family artifacts and details about early American pioneer life. Here’s a tour of the house that provides an excellent overview of what you’ll see here, as well, as details of the changes the farm has gone through over the years from the first time Wilder settled here.

Mansfield, like Independence, throws a Laura Ingalls Wilder-themed festival each year. Wilder Days is on September 19. From the description, it seems like the crowds participate in 19th-century style fun. Don’t come expecting to just sit around.

There’s also Laura’s Memories, an annual outdoor theatre production in August and September that chronicles Laura’s life and her grave, along with her husband’s at the Mansfield Cemetery.

One place that sounds like a worthwhile eatery is the Owl’s Nest Cafe. The food is a mix of Native American and recipes from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Cookbook and the cookbook Good Ol’ Downhome Cookin.’

As a three-day weekend trip, making a loop that takes in Independence and Mansfield might be a simple, relaxing and interesting getaway. My friend’s trip exceeded her family’s expectations. If you do go, I’d bring a copy of Little House on the Prairie to add to the experience. The book is also on audio CD that includes fiddle music. Listening to the book while driving through land that can seem as flat as a pancake would nicely pass the time.

While you’re tootling around, for more Laura Ingalls Wilder travel, you might as well head to Marshfield, Missouri to see her star on the “Walk of Fame” outside the Webster County History Museum and to the State Capitol Building in Jefferson City to see the bronze bust of Wilder as part of the Hall of Famous Missourians collection.

Because Independence and Mansfield are only a little over three hours from each other, you could put them together into an inexpensive travel option. Joplin, Missouri is almost exactly in the middle of the two and would be another worthwhile stop.

For an account of Little House travel starting in Minnesota and taking in South Dakota read Marla Elena Baca’s article about her experience recently published in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

One week in Chicago: Food

by Mike Barish on

Last week I introduced you to my mini-guide to Chicago. When I finalized my plans to spend a week there, I followed the advice of Frugal Travel Matt Gross and let all my Twitter followers and Facebook friends know that I was accepting any and all recommendations on things to do and places to go. Of course, I was inundated with an incredible amount of useful advice, almost all of which included ideas for where I should eat. That’s why today I’m going to focus solely on food. I hope you’re hungry, because things are about to get gluttonous.

Chicago doesn’t have just one iconic food; It has several. The Chicago dog, deep dish pizza and Italian beef sandwiches are all quintessentially Chicago. As the recommendations came pouring in from my friends, I knew I’d have to be ambitious in my eating when I arrived in Chicago. None of the aforementioned dishes are light. None are healthy. But they’re all pretty amazingly delicious (except for deep dish pizza, but we’ll get to that later).

How much can one man eat over seven days in Chicago? How memorable can it really be? Let’s just say I experienced the best burger of my life and the joy that is a sandwich with ham and peanut butter.

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Hot Doug’s – Hot Doug’s was recommended to me by countless people. It was visited by Anthony Bourdain for an episode of No Reservations. It’s not a secret, but it is fantastic. This is not your average hot dog joint. Sure, you can get a Chicago dog here. But you can also get a foie gras dog or have your french fries cooked up in duck fat. It’s decadent, for sure, but it’s also insanely delicious. I opted for the venison sausage with cheddar and bacon sausage with caramelized onions and brie.

Wiener’s Circle – A Chicago institution, Wiener’s Circle is known for its customer service. Well, more like customer berating. As day turns to night and more and more customers start arriving in a state of inebriation, the employees behind the counter begin to yell, curse and bark at customers. And the customers hurl the insults right back. Showtime and NPR’s This American Life even documented the phenomenon. I went for a sober lunch, so I was politely given an outstanding Chicago dog.

Al’s #1 Italian Beef – Yes, it’s a chain. Yes, it doesn’t look all that quaint or authentic. But Al’s #1 Italian Beef is the place to go for this greasy, meaty sandwich. Be sure to get it with both sweet peppers and giardiniera. Make sure you have plenty of napkins handy.

Kuma’s Corner – I’m a hamburger snob. You can’t just throw any meat on a bun and expect me to say that you have a good burger. Well, I am without a doubt prepared to say that I had the best hamburger of my life at Kuma’s Corner. First things first, Kuma’s Corner is not T.G.I. Friday’s. If you don’t like listening to blasting rock music while you eat, don’t go. If you don’t like a place with bourbon on tap at the bar, don’t go. If you don’t like a place that names their burgers after heavy metal bands, don’t go. That said, if you enjoy all of these things and are amused by a hamburger called the Goblin Cock (a hamburger with a full Chicago dog on top), then get to Kuma’s Corner post-haste. I opted for their signature Kuma Burger, which came with bacon, cheddar and a fried egg (my favorite burger accoutrement). I ordered it medium rare and it came to me red on the inside and warmed through. In other words, perfect. Juicy, flavorful and simply the best burger I have ever eaten.

Pizzeria Due – While the original Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due are officially part of the Pizzeria Uno chain, the two flagship locations are allowed to keep their unique menus and are considered authentic restaurants as opposed to the other franchise location. But, you see, deep dish pizza ain’t pizza. Sorry, but it’s the truth. Sure, it’s sauce, bread and cheese. But it’s more of a casserole than a pizza. The flavor ratios are off. The sauce is on top. That’s just wrong. Frankly, it’s an abomination. My friend told me to consider it a “lasagna with a biscuit crust.” Well, that seems like a slippery slope toward those Dominos Pasta Bread Bowls. That’s not a good thing.

Perry’s Deli – “Because it’s there.” That was George Mallory’s response to a reporter who asked him why he wanted to climb the world’s tallest mountain. And it was my response when my friend asked me why I was going to Perry’s Deli to try the Peter Panski – a sandwich with ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and…peanut butter. Before you scoff, gag and/or stop reading, hear me out. This crazy combination actually works! The sweetness of the peanut butter compliments the ham. The smooth and creamy texture plays nicely with with the chewiness of the thick-cut bacon. After a few bites, I found myself no longer eating the Peter Panski for the novelty of it and was just enjoying my lunch. Afterwards, however, I did need a nap.

Sun Wah Bar-B-Que – If you’re looking for a break from typical Chicago cuisine, head over to Sun Wah for some Peking duck and other succulent Chinese dishes. Go with a group so that you can share, though. While the Peking duck buns were a treat, my friends and I are still talking about just how big our oysters were. Served with garlic and ginger, the oysters were roughly the size of a bread plate. While bigger does not always mean better when it comes to food, these oysters were flavorful, delicate and had a liquor that was beyond delicious. Order a Tsingtao or three to cut through that duck fat and spin the lazy Susan until there’s nothing left to eat.

< a href="http://www.lulacafe.com/" target="_blank">Lula Cafe – Not every meal I enjoyed was over-indulgent and ridiculous. Lula Cafe provided me with a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a fresh, seasonal and expertly crafted meal. Their Monday “Farm Dinner” features seasonal ingredients from local farms and is worth every penny. The menu is simple, but when the ingredients are this fresh and the kitchen is staffed by chefs who are respectful of their menu and their customers, simple is better. If the weather is cooperating, sit outside, order a beer and enjoy a quality meal with no pretense.

As you can imagine, I gained a few pounds in Chicago. But it was totally worth it! How did I work off all the new found weight? Check back tomorrow when I review some of my favorite Chicago activities.

Check out my Chicago food gallery here.

Special thanks to Jenny Lee, Joe Hobaica, Mike Lee, Gadling’s own Jeremy Kressmann and everyone else for their food suggestions.

Something new on the room service menu: ordering online

by Alison Brick on

Room service isn’t new. But not having to be in your room to place the order is.

Ordering room service is now going the way of everything else–online, via smartphones or laptops. And it’s getting more detailed, offering more food choices with photos and daily specials.

Some of the hotels that are making the jump are Omni Mandalay (Irving, TX), Hyatt Regecy (Monterey, CA), and Westin Maui (Lahaina, HI).

Not that a quick phone call was inconvenient, but the ease of ordering from practically anywhere could be a businessperson or busy parent’s dream. And for the hotels, the service means more business–Malibu Beach Inn’s room service orders jumped 25% in the first six months. And Omni Mandalay’s guests have been spending about $3 more per order when ordering online.

And it’s not just food that hotels are offering up online. Other services that are becoming available the same way: housekeeping, valet, wake-up calls, and towel requests.

[Thanks, USAToday.com]

Gadling product review – You Bars customizable nutrition bars and trail mix

by Scott Carmichael on

Today’s quick product review is going to introduce you to You Bars. You Bars is a line of completely customizable nutrition bars, trail mix and protein shakes.

Portable snacks have passed through Gadling before – back in March, Annie reviewed Jerky for us, so it only makes sense that we keep that trend going with other travel friendly snacks.

For the review, I ordered a box of “Gadling Trail Mix”, and a box of “Gadling Bars”. The You Bars web site is of course where you’ll start the order process.

For the Gadling Trail Mix, I ordered the following ingredients:

Almonds, Macadamia nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, organic coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sweetened blueberries, mini pretezls, oat bran, crystallized ginger, organic cacao nibs, sun drops chocolate candies, pineapples and cherries.

Needless to say that this is way, way more impressive than most store brand trail mix products.

For the Gadling nutrition bar, I ordered the following ingredients:

You Bar base (almond butter and organic dates), organic clover honey, whey protein, chocolate chips, almonds, blueberries, cherries, coconut, organic brown rice, cocoa nibs and a vitamin infusion (adds vitamin A and C)

So, how did the final product taste? Since I am the one that picked the ingredients, it would be silly to say anything other than “great”. And I am happy to report that the trail mix and bars do indeed taste fantastic.

The trail mix has all the items I selected perfectly balanced, and every single bag had all the ingredients I ordered, which is quite an impressive feat considering how many items I had picked.

The trail mix I ordered came in 45g bags, and I found each portion to be more than sufficient as a snack, or to keep me going till my next meal.

The trail mix contained more of the kind of ingredients I like, and probably not enough of the kind of stuff that is really good for me. Because of that, a full serving comes in at 233 calories. In addition to this, it also has 16g of fat and 20 of carbs. It provides very little in the way of vitamin A or C, but does serve you 40% of your RDV of iron. The recommended “enjoy by” date is 4 months from the production date.

The You Bar nutrition bar is equally impressive. Each bar is also 45g, and my “Gadling Bar” had a very dense consistency, making it the perfect snack for keeping me going. It was sweet, but not too sweet.

As with the trail mix, this bar was put together with some less than healthy ingredients, the serving contained 203 calories and 11g of fat. The bar also provided 8g of protein, with decent levels of calcium (24% RDV) and iron (18% RDV). The recommended “enjoy by” date is 2 months from the production date.

The order process is about as simple as it can get – you start at the top with the base ingredients, and make you way down through fruits, nuts, canides and other ingredients.

Each ingredient section shows how many items you can add, and allows you to tweak the portion of each section (more or less of each). As you build your product, a nutrition facts counter shows your progress in the right, allowing you to build your bar based off its nutrition, rather than how tasty it’ll be.

This nutrition information is printed on a label, along with all the ingredients, and is attached to every product you receive.

Once you are satisfied with your selection, you can place the order. Each bar, trail mix or protein shake you design is assigned a unique code, making reordering much easier.

The name you give your product is also printed on the bag (trail mix and protein shakes) or wrapper (nutrition bar).

Trail mix can be ordered in three sizes; small (33g), regular (45g) and large (55g). Each order ships in batches of 13 bags, and costs $24.57 for the small ($1.89 per bag), $25.87 for the regular ($1.99 per bag) and $28.47 for the large ($2.19 per bag).

The nutrition bars also come in three sizes; small (35g), medium (45g) and large (55g). Each order ships in batches of 13 bars, and costs $37.57 (for the small ($2.89 per bar), $38.87 for the medium ($2.99 per bar) and $41.47 for the large ($3.19 per bar).

Protein shakes also come in packs of 13 pouches, and ship in the same three sizes as the other products. The price of the shakes is the same as for the nutrition bars.

Shipping is $7.99 for the US, $19.99 for Canada and $39.99 for international destinations. Orders can be set to ship on a recurring basis, with new batches being sent bi-weekly, tri-weekly or monthly. Customers who take advantage of the recurring shipment program also receive free gifts with their order.

I’m very impressed with the product and the ordering process. There is something extremely cool about going online to build your own trail mix, nutrition bar and protein shake, and have your personal selection show up on your doorstep. Of course, if you screw up, and mix really lousy ingredients, you can only blame yourself for the end result.

Building your own personal product is perfect if you just want a really tasty snack for on the road, or if you need a specific selection of ingredients and nutrition from each snack. The price is on the high end of what I’d be willing to pay for on-the-road snacks, but it sure as hell beats paying $10 for a lousy snack box on your next flight. Best of all, you get to snack on something filled only with stuff you like.

You Bars can be ordered from Youbars.com.

Beer travel for Memorial Day: 10 options and more

by Jamie Rhein on

Head to any state and you’ll find a favorite local beer with quite the following. At HalogenLife, Kyle Anderson has come up with a favorite 10 beers in 10 states list to add perfection to a Memorial Day weekend trip. The list doesn’t mean you should drink and drive your way across America. Instead, use it as a guide to the best beers whether you’re beaching it, going on a picnic, or throwing a backyard barbecue.

Read on for Anderson’s suggestions as well as other best beer options.

I’m quite fond of Barley’s Brewing Company in Columbus. You’ll have to go to this microbrewery restaurants to partake, however–unless someone brings you a sealed glass jug of it like a friend of mine once did for her husband. Her main job was figuring out how to keep it cold long enough to make it to Sturbridge, MA. This was back when a glass jug filled with liquid could be a carry-on bag.

My favorite beer and food pairing is Barley’s Pilsner and sauerkraut balls. For a beer lover’s experience, order a sampling of each arranged from the lightest to the darkest. It’s a bit hard to find parking, but here’s a tip. Park at the North Market and head in to buy Jose Madrid salsa and chips. Get your parking ticket stamped, and voila, parking has just become affordable. By the way, this is a family friendly place.

For beer to take on the road, try Great Lakes Brewing Company. Brewed in Cleveland, the beer never disappoints. Burning River is the one we bring home the most. Great Lakes Brewing also has a brew pub in the Ohio City section of Cleveland, but it’s also easy to find at grocery stores and many convenience stores across Ohio.

If you’re driving through Montana, try Bayern Brewing Company, the only German-style microbrewery in the Rockies. The brewery is located in Missoula, but you can find its beer elsewhere. Every summer when we head to Montana, this beer is one thing we look forward to. Not the only thing. One thing. Try Juergen’s Bayern Pilsner.

Karen, the Gadling non-beer drinker vouches for St. Arnold’s Brewing Company in Houston and expressed disappointment it wasn’t on the list. Now it is. St. Arnold’s is touted as Texas’s oldest craft brewery. You don’t have to be at the brewery to partake On Thursday nights from how through the summer, you can quench that beer thirst while listening to a Thursday night concert at Discovery Green. Because this beer is also bottled, you can take it with you when you head out of Texas. Before you go, take in a public brewery tour at 1:00 on Saturday. Tours are $5 and included beer tasting and a souvenir glass.

Here’s Anderson’s list. The article gives a run-down of what makes each beer a standout. Enjoy a beer adventure this Memorial Day. Just don’t drink and drive.