Tiny Marshall, Michigan sure has a lot to see in a very small area. Most of the downtown area is part of the National Historic Landmark District which includes over 850 buildings, a staggering amount for a town of just 7,000 people. It is not easy to maintain a town in the condition Marshall is in, and I really take my hat off to those who are working so hard to keep it the way it is.
Marshall was founded in 1830 and grew as a transportation hub catering to road, rail and river travelers with several historic inns and restaurants in the city dating back to those early days. The town was named for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall and of the more than 20 towns named after Marshall, this was the only one so-named before his death. Marshall became an early innovator in the public schools movement and their model was copied across the country. The town was also one of the final contenders to become the State Capital when it was moved from Detroit, but lost out to Lansing in the end.
Today, Marshall is incredibly well maintained. I loved that I could pick up a map outside of their tourism office at any time of day and the music playing on the street made me smile. There were historic walks laid out on the map, and markings on the sidewalks to help guide you along. The buildings downtown were well preserved and some truly transported me back in time. The homes in the surrounding neighborhood were equally historic and also well cared for. My favorite was Honolulu House which offered a wonderful guided tour. I came to Marshall planning on spending an hour and ended up there for more than half the day. It was definitely the cutest town I saw in all of southern Michigan and I am definitely looking forward to returning in the future. If Marshall isn’t on your list of Michigan small towns to visit, it certainly should be. I hope you enjoy these photos from beautiful Marshall, Michigan.
Coral Castle is the magnum opus of Edward Leedskalnin, and sits as a tribute to his life’s work in Homestead in far south Florida. Edward was born in Latvia in 1887. In 1913, he was engaged to marry the love of his life, but she called off the wedding at the last moment and never saw Ed again. Heartbroken, he moved to the new world, and took up work as a lumberjack and miner in several places around the US and Canada. Somewhere around 1919, he developed tuberculosis and moved to Florida for the warm air. He settled in Florida City and began work on his now infamous castle.
Ed hadn’t forgotten his former fiance, and worked to build this castle for her, in the hopes she might change her mind and come join him in Florida. Working mostly at night, for both the cool temperatures and privacy it provided, Ed slowly but methodically built this impressive structure over the next twenty years. In 1936, Ed bought a different plot of land in Homestead, and slowly moved his castle north, one piece at a time, and reassembled it in its current location. There he continued its construction until it was completed in 1940. The real marvel of the project are the 10 ton coral walls which he cut, moved and placed by himself in the middle of the night with only primitive tools and pulleys. He also built doors which weighed several tons and rested on ball bearings which allowed them to swivel easily using the pressure of just one finger. These doors gave the site the name which Ed called it in his time: Rock Gate Park. How exactly he moved and placed these giant pieces is still somewhat of a mystery, and one which he took with him to the grave. The man who built this impressive structure was only 5 feet tall and weighed in at a diminutive 120 pounds. He lived in his castle for the rest of his life, and offered tours to the general public, first for a dime and then later for a quarter. Today it will cost you $19 to tour the structure, a bit much in my opinion. For me though, I am always interested in seeing something which is a tribute to one person and their individual and unique dream…
While for years people have discussed how the proliferation of Walmart across the country has contributed to the downfall of many towns’ historic downtown shopping districts, most people may not know that the same thing is happening in deeply rural parts of the country as well. As the number of Family Dollars and Dollar Generals has grown, the number of small country stores has rapidly declined. While these big chain stores can carry more items at lower prices and can be incredibly important in rural “food deserts”, they don’t have the same personality as independent stores. You certainly won’t get the same level of service from an hourly employee as you will from an owner/operator. I was very happy when the Marketing Director of Henderson County’s tourism department contacted me with a list of the six independent shops which were hanging on in Henderson County. I took a day to visit these six stores and meet the people who were running them and try and get a feel for how they are making a go of it. It was a great day in the American heartland. These places were sometimes hard to find, and some didn’t even have a sign out front at all. They were definitely catering to the locals more than the casual passers by, but all welcomed me in warmly with true Kentucky country hospitality. Henderson County’s country stores may not have had a lot on their shelves, but they were wonderful places with a lot of heart. While trying to capture the soul of these places on film was somewhat of a challenge, it was one I embraced. This is what I hoped to find as I traveled the country. These places are the very definition of the word “local”…
Tennessee is one of the country's most visited states for music lovers, and for good reason. From the Birthplace of Country Music in Bristol to the one-time home of W.C. Handy in Memphis, Tennessee's musical tradition dates back to the very beginnings of recorded music and beyond. Cities like Memphis and Nashville have multiple options for great live music seven nights a week, and incredible museums like the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum provide plenty of information when you finally wake up. Tennessee is a great destination for any fan of American roots music, and will no doubt leave you tapping your feet and humming along. I'm going to break this post into East, Central and West Tennessee for easy reference. Also, be sure you check out my Spotify playlists for Tennessee…
The Discover Tennessee Trails and Byways project is one of the most comprehensive and far reaching statewide tourism initiatives I've ever encountered, and one of the best. The time and energy that must have been put into this project is staggering, but so are the results. Essentially, Tennessee has done all your off-the-beaten-path research for you, and all you have to do is follow the signs to your next adventure. The Trails and Byways program features 16 trails covering 5,225 miles of road and all 95 counties in the state. There are printed brochures for each trail and online resources as well. During my 5+ weeks in Tennessee, I found myself on several of these trails and found them to be a really great resource. It was an enormous undertaking by the state Department of Tourism, but I think other states could follow their lead in an effort to bring tourism dollars to smaller communities and lesser known areas of your state.
Hello my friends! It has been a great first week in Tennessee out here on the road. When I wrote last week, I was on my way out to the Deep Creek area of Great Smoky Mountain National Park in far western North Carolina. Today, I'm writing from Knoxville in north eastern Tennessee. It's been an exciting week of festivals and hiking in the park, and the weather has been just beautiful. Strawberries are coming into season and I love good, local strawberries which I'm thankful I've been able to find. I've also been trying to wrap up a few things from South Carolina and begin writing my next podcast. Thankfully the days are getting long down south and it seems like long ago and a million miles away that I was sitting in sub-freezing temperatures in the dark at 4:30 p.m. in West Virginia. Daylight and sunshine really do make a difference - I hope you are all getting outside and enjoying both. Anyways, this is what I've been up to this past week. I didn't quite get it done in time for my Thursday newsletter, but it has been busy out here…
This is my last week in South Carolina! I've been here longer than expected and I've really had a great time here. It's a small state, but some places have just pulled me in and kept me around for a while. I'm not complaining - it's been a wonderful stay - but it's definitely time for me to be moving on.
As stated when last we met, my week did indeed begin with a visit to Clemson. Clemson is a cool little college town, very purple and orange, but also a nice place for a quick visit. I caught up with some of my fraternity brothers there for dinner and then left them to their evenings while I went and checked out some of the bars around town. I particularly liked the massive Tiger Town Tavern and the Esso Club. Clemson was somewhat reminiscent of my own experience at Penn State, but on a much smaller scale. I enjoyed my short visit there, though I only stayed one night and headed out in the morning...
North Carolina has a wonderful musical tradition. From the mountain music roots in the west to the urban sounds of jazz and hip-hop in the cities, you are never far from some great music anywhere in the state. North Carolina has produced such musical legends as Earl Scruggs, Randy Travis, Charlie Daniels, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Maceo Parker and too many more to list. I got to see some wonderful live music in my time in North Carolina and visit some great venues as well. Here are a few of my favorites...
During my five weeks in North Carolina, I have had some really wonderful food. It is always great to be back in the south where food is often simple, hearty and delicious. In this post I want to highlight some of the unique, iconic and delicious meals I've had here in North Carolina.
This culinary journey began at Skylight Inn in Ayden, North Carolina. I'll start by saying that North Carolina barbecue is not my favorite. As much as I love pork, it is the beginning and the end in classic North Carolina barbecue joints. There isn't a brisket or a rack of ribs to be found. Then there's the sauce - a sweet liquid pepper-vinegar concoction in the east and the same with some ketchup in it in the west - generally it just doesn't really do it for me. I did find some decent barbecue places in North Carolina, but none even held a candle to Skylight Inn. Skylight Inn was a whole different experience...
f you had told me a few weeks ago that some of the best music I would see in North Carolina would be in the back room at a Barber Shop, I would have looked at you a little funny. Today I'm here to tell you it's true. For over 50 years, local musicians have gathered in the back room at The Barber Shop in Drexel, North Carolina and picked some tunes, chewed the fat and created one of the most wonderful music experiences in the country.
It all started when Lawrence Anthony was getting ready to deploy for the European theater during World War II. He picked up a guitar in Washington State for just $3 and carried it with him throughout the war. The guitar rode with him in his tank as he followed General Patton into battle and he would pick it during his downtime...
It is very exciting to have entered the second state of my journey, North Carolina. North Carolina has a lot of history, some of which I know and some of which I hope to uncover for both of us in the month or so to come. It's nice to be here.
I began my journey into the Tar Heel State by visiting the tiny town of Halifax, and more specifically Halifax State Historic Site. This seemed like an appropriate place to start my travels in the state, not just geographically, but because of the history of the area. It was in Halifax, on April 12th, 1776 that the underground, non-British, Fourth Provincial Congress met and passed what became known as the Halifax Resolves. The Halifax Resolves essentially authorized North Carolina's delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to vote for independence for the colonies...
West Virginia is now behind me, fading away in my rearview mirror, but not in my memory or my heart. I chose West Virginia to start this 4 year journey for a reason. West Virginia is one of the most misunderstood states in the country. People have an image in their head of a bunch of backwoods hillbillies picking their banjos and sipping moonshine from a mason jar. And there is certainly some element of truth to that, but that isn't the whole story. West Virginia is a beautiful place with a wonderful State Park system, some top-notch universities, a deeply proud musical tradition, some fun and vibrant cities and a host of off-the-beaten-track sites, shops and restaurants to enjoy. The people, though maybe a little shy, are kind and friendly and generally very welcoming.
