Shutterstock Petersburg, Alaska They call Petersburg ‘Little Norway,’ but that only tells half the story. This Southeast Alaska fishing town blends Norwegian heritage with Tlingit culture, all while bringing in millions of pounds of salmon and halibut each year. The glaciers of the Coast Range tower over one side of town, while pods of whales … Read more
Shutterstock Ocean Drive, Miami Ocean Drive wrote the blueprint for South Beach: take some pristine Art Deco buildings, add endless outdoor cafes, mix in beach views and a 24/7 party scene. Locals might dodge it, but this iconic strip between 5th and 13th streets is still one of those Miami experiences your bucket list needs. … Read more
Shutterstock The National Atomic Testing Museum, Nevada Before Vegas hit the jackpot with casinos, it banked on bombs. The National Atomic Testing Museum preserves the strange era when atomic testing was just another Sin City tourist draw. Here, you’ll find everything from real ground zero equipment to atomic bomb merch. Flickr/rocbolt The Nuclear Test Simulation … Read more
Shutterstock Seligman, Arizona Seligman, Arizona should have dried up when I-40 replaced Route 66. Instead, this small town saved the entire historic highway. Local barber Angel Delgadillo – now known as the Guardian Angel of Route 66 – turned his fight to save his hometown into a movement that preserved America’s most famous road. Here’s … Read more
Shutterstock Union Station, Washington Before airports took over travel, Union Station was DC’s grand entrance. Presidents rolled in on private trains. WWII troops shipped out through its arches. And even today, beneath the restored gold ceiling and shops, it moves 100,000 people daily between Capitol Hill and everywhere else. Today’s Union Station is also packed … Read more
Flickr/Thomas Hawk Manitou Springs, Colorado Most Colorado towns brag about their mountains. Manitou Springs has those, sure, but it’s also got healing mineral springs that drew health seekers 150 years ago, an arcade full of vintage games, and more spiritual energy shops per block than anywhere else at the foot of Pikes Peak. Plus, there’s … Read more
Shutterstock San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway, Colorado The San Juan Skyway links four mountain ranges and five historic mining towns in one 233-mile loop. Between Durango and Telluride, you’ll hit hot springs, ghost towns, and some of Colorado’s most hair-raising mountain passes – including the famous Million Dollar Highway stretch. Shutterstock Your car will pass … Read more
Shutterstock Etowah Mounds, Georgia Along Georgia’s Etowah River stands a 54-acre window into a forgotten American city. The Etowah Mounds rise six stories above the river valley, marking where thousands of Native Americans built one of the most powerful settlements in the Southeast between 1000-1550 CE. Their descendants – the Muscogee Creek and Cherokee peoples … Read more
Shutterstock Del Mar, California Del Mar’s got range: you can watch thoroughbreds thunder down the same track Seabiscuit once ran, then grab fish tacos and catch sunset at a beach that hasn’t really changed since the 1930s. That’s the trick to this place – it’s held onto its history while the rest of SoCal reinvented … Read more
Shutterstock Grounds For Sculpture, Hamilton NJ What do you do with an abandoned fairground? If you’re artist and Johnson & Johnson heir J. Seward Johnson Jr., you turn it into a 42-acre wonderland of art. In 1992, he transformed the former New Jersey State Fairgrounds into Grounds For Sculpture, filling it with his signature lifelike … Read more