Thursday Thirteen 255: Thirteen Place Magnets

Thirteen magnets from places I've been:

1. Pittsburgh, PA -- Friend and I attended the wedding of another friend, spent a week exploring the area.

2. Colorado -- Family lived there for a few years when younger, but I picked up at a conference attended in Denver in 2002. Too bad there wasn't time for a day-trip to the mountains.

3. Lewis Gintner Botanical Gardens; Richmond, VA -- Friends and I visited this lovely garden comprised of 30 acres in 1998.

4. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse; Door County, WI -- A friend and I camped a week at Peninsula State Park in Door County one summer. Eagle Bluff is a beautiful historical lighthouse open to visitors, located inside the park. One of these days I'll manage to dig out photos from the trip to share.

5. Wall Drug; Wall, SD -- Friends and I stopped here on a return trip from the Black Hills of South Dakota. A little hokey, but you almost have to stop just to say you've been. The western entrance of the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway off Interstate 90 is here--a highly recommended detour that runs roughly parallel to I-90.

6. Bear Country, USA; Rapid City, SD -- One of our many stops on the Black Hills camping trip, just south of Rapid City. This is a must see if you are ever in the area. It's a drive-thru animal park featuring North American wildlife. The big attraction, of course, are the black bears. There are tons of them! And if you're lucky, as we were, they come right up to your car.

7. Natchitoches, LA -- Pronounced "Nack-a-tish," this town is located 72 miles south of Shreveport.  Friends and I visited my sister there in December 1999. Natchitoches is known as the film site of Steel Magnolias (self-guided tour available), but there are other sites in the area worth seeing, including Oakland, Melrose (which we visited) and Magnolia Plantations, the Kate Chopin House and Alligator Park. There are a lot of galleries and crafts shops in the historic downtown area, and one of their biggest draws is the Christmas Festival of Light (featured in a scene of Steel Magnolias). The entire town is lit up, with neighbors competing against each other to see who can put up the most lights or lighted displays. I remember passing one cul-de-sac that was so lit up it looked like a runway.

8. Louvre Museum; Paris, France -- Visited during a spring break trip senior year in high school, though the ugly glass pyramid was not yet complete when we were there (a friend brought this back for me when she returned a few years ago). One of the best weeks ever!

9. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial; St. Louis, MO -- Otherwise known as the Gateway Arch. Friends and I stopped here a few hours en route to Natchitoches. We also stopped a night in Memphis, TN, but I apparently did not get a magnet there.

10. Pennsylvania -- I have actually been to PA four times. The first time a friend and I passed through en route to Washington, DC. The second time I traveled with a friend's family and we spent a day at Gettysburg. The third time friends and I were again in the DC area and made a day trip up to Gettysburg (it is impossible to truly see and appreciate everything in one day). The fourth time was for a friend's wedding in Pittsburgh. One of these days I may get as far east as Philadelphia.

11. Reptile Gardens; Rapid City, SD -- This place is actually just north of Bear Country, USA and is another must-see attraction that kids and adults alike will enjoy. The bird and gator shows were especially impressive.

12. Chicago, IL -- I have been to Chicago a few times, seeing as it is only about three hours southeast of me. Lots to see and do, including: Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Navy Pier, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

13. Minnesota -- Another state I have been to a few times, as a friend has lived in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area since college. Yes, we have been to Mall of America (twice), but also the Minneapolis Museum of Art and Renaissance Festival.

More Thursday Thirteen Participants