Category: Travel Adventures

Travel Adventures

Danna’s Bar-B-Que & Burger Shop: Branson, MO

— Katy Flint7 Comments
Danna's Bar-B-Cue

We Love Branson

Who doesn’t love some good barbecue?!  And who doesn’t love a quaint locally owned joint?!  That’s exactly what you get at Danna’s Bar-B-Que & Burger Shop in Branson, MO!  T and I recently returned from a 5 day getaway to Branson! Can you believe we haven’t had a vacation (just the two of us) since our honeymoon over 5 years ago?!  We decided it was time and Branson was an easy choice since we loved it so much last summer!

Picking where to eat when we are on vacation or going on a date can be the longest undertaking!  Usually I’m craving a specific cuisine or I can’t decide at all!  The first night we were in Branson, I left all the picking and deciding up to T!  This doesn’t happen often, so he took advantage of it!

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Iowa

Gusto Pizza, Des Moines: Delicious & Family Friendly

— Katy Flint3 Comments

Have you been to Gusto Pizza in Des Moines? If you haven’t, you need to! We paired our trip to Gusto with an iCubs baseball game.  The games are such good family fun, if you’ve never been. We’ve been to several now and each time we’ve gone, we’ve done a tailgate meal because well…it’s a baseball game! This time, however, we decided to grab supper at a restaurant near the field instead.

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Iowa

High Trestle Trail & Trail Etiquette

— Katy Flint8 Comments

This past Sunday, my mom asked me if I wanted to join her for an afternoon bike ride on the High Trestle Trail. I had never been, it was a gorgeous afternoon, and the bridge has been on my Iowa Bucket List for quite sometime now! So, I took her up on the offer!

High Trestle Trail

The trail is gorgeous!  It’s a beautifully paved (cement) trail!  We parked at Slater and biked to the bridge and back, which was about 20 miles total!  The trail itself, is a good balance of sun and shade, and slightly rolling, which makes me a happy lady!  The few tunnels and small bridges along the route make it visually appealing!  There are also quaint bars and smoothie shops located along the trail in both Madrid and Slater!  While we didn’t patronize those places, they look wonderfully quaint!  I love that the communities along the trail have embraced it and are catering to the public!

Check out the Rolling Prairie Bike Trail in Franklin County, Iowa
HTT 1
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Camping

Our Favorite Things…Branson Style

— Katy Flint4 Comments
Our Favorite Things…Branson Style

I can hardly believe that it’s been over 2 weeks since we’ve been from our family vacation in Branson! I swear the older I get the faster time goes! But, I digress…we had such a fantastic time in Branson and all four of us have actually commented, “I’ll go back!”  So, what were our favorite parts about Branson?  Here they are…and in no particular order!

Top of the Rock/Lost Canyon Tours

A friend of mine recommended the Lost Canyon Tours at Top of the Rock to me and so I had to look into!  You are able to go on self-guided tours along their path with a golf cart through the canyon and caves and my interest was peaked.  This is something right up the boys’ alley and it didn’t sound so bad to me either!  They weren’t wrong and neither was I!  Being outside and closer to nature (away from the hustle and bustle of the city is fantastic).  Plus the views aren’t too shabby either!

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One of the many beautiful sights in Lost Canyon

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Travel Adventures

Hollywood Entertainment Center: Branson

— Katy Flint4 Comments
Hollywood Entertainment Center: Branson

#FlintsTakeBranson is all over: Done, finale, finished! One of our MANY stops was the Hollywood Entertainment Center on the main drag in Branson.  We actually made it our very first stop of the trip because we were that excited about it.

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The Hollywood Entertainment Center in Branson consists of four different aspects: Shoot for the Stars Miniature Golf, The Hollywood Wax Museum, Maze of Mirrors, and Castle of Chaos.

The marker and narrative display at each hole!
The marker and narrative display at each hole!

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Iowa

3 Reasons to Visit the Anchor Inn – Clear Lake, IA

— Katy Flint8 Comments
3 Reasons to Visit the Anchor Inn – Clear Lake, IA

Update: Since publication, the Anchor Inn has closed it’s doors for business as a restaurant.  

Locally owned restaurants are my favorite and those in lake towns have a little extra special something about them.  The Anchor Inn has been a staple in North Iowa and Clear Lake for quite some time now.  It’s even switched hands a few times, but one thing remains…excellent food and good service.

Anchor Inn

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Travel Adventures

A Trip Down Memory Lane at Tyden Farm No. 6

— Katy Flint8 Comments

Recently I got the privilege of visiting Tyden Farm No. 6 with some of the other North Iowa Bloggers and what a treat it was!

The impressive Tyden No. 6 barn
The impressive Tyden No. 6 barn

The History of Tyden Farm

Tyden Farm No. 6 is located outside Dougherty, Iowa in North Central Iowa.  It is owned by Ted & Judy Pitzenberger, who bought the farm from the Tyden family in the 90’s.  Emil Tyden was a Swedish immigrant who bought several acres of premium Iowa farmland in the early 1900’s and built up a total of 8 farms!  He was a very forward thinking man and was very good to his workers, and because of that he was beloved in the area!  Tyden owned over 200 patents and made his fortune in the industrial sector of the world (Viking sprinklers and the Cargo Seal, which is still used by companies today are his most well-known accomplishments).  However, he also made a strong impression on the agricultural world in North Central Iowa and the people of Dougherty.

Ted explaining to us how the water tower (in the background) worked to provide water to the entire farm!
Ted explaining to us how the water tower (in the background) worked to provide water to the entire farm!

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Travel Adventures

South Dakota: A Family’s Playground, Part 2

— Katy Flint6 Comments

Our family vacation to South Dakota was so fantastic, it had to be broke up into three different sections!  In case you missed Part 1, you’ll want to go back and find out about the Corn Palace, Badlands Scenic Loop, & Bear Country USA.  Those are things you certainly don’t want to miss if you are thinking about a trip to South Dakota!  But, for today, I bring you the South Dakota Air & Space Museum & Mount Rushmore!

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Camping

South Dakota: A Family’s Playground, Part 1

— Katy Flint4 Comments

I can’t believe it’s been over a week since we returned from the #FlintsTakeSD trip!  Life has continued on in full force and we’re in the homestretch before football season starts and then school.  As life continues on, I’m struggling to collect my thoughts about our vacation to South Dakota and so I decided to start with our recommendations for where to visit!  Due to there being so many this will be broken into several different posts!  So, without further ado….thing things that we think make South Dakota a Family’s Playground!

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Travel Adventures

Touring St. Louis – Olive Oil, Underground Railroad, & Baseball

— Katy Flint4 Comments

Traveling from North Iowa to St. Louis is easier than ever thanks to Air Choice One and the Mason City Airport!

Thanks to a Twitter Chat and the folks at Visit Clear Lake, I found myself with 2 complimentary plane tickets at one point in life!  Here in North Iowa we are are lucky to have a small, nice, regional airport situated between Clear Lake and Mason City.  We are also lucky to have Air Choice One offering service out of this airport to Chicago and St. Louis!

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