My family and I spent about a month visiting Pittsburgh recently, a luxury most visitors don’t have. Usually guests drop in on new cities like unexpected in-laws, hoping to learn as much as possible in a long weekend or short week. While every city has quintessential attractions — many with hefty advertising budgets to lure the bulk of first-time visitors — some of the best places to absorb a lot in a short amount of time are the lesser known local museums and history centers, places dedicated to moments and themes only natives and school teachers care about. Remember the historical society in your own town you visited on an elementary school field trip? That’s actually an excellent place for a town newbie to find out what you and your neighbors are all about. The Heinz History Center is Pittsburgh’s local field trip hot spot and storyteller worth listening to.

The Senator John Heinz History Center is part history and part sports museum, which makes sense if you know anything about the fanatical nature of Pittsburgh fans. They are sports fans through and through and the History Center helps visitors understand why by illustrating the development of sports lore in the industrial town. The center introduces old heroes and makes the case for sports as an escape for hardworking Americans.

The history center also examines Pittsburgh’s role in early American history and highlights some of the inventions and technologies that came out of the soot clouds for which the city was once known. Today the city is better known for it’s beautiful bridges and tree-covered hills, but the spirit of innovation and love of sports live on.

Photo:Britt Reints

When my family relocated to Massachusetts for a few months I had lots of ideas of things we would see… the Freedom Trail and Salem were at the top of the list.  Nowhere on my list was the town of Fall River- or its naval ship exhibit, Battleship Cove.  My husband, a history geek and retired military, talked about visiting (a lot) so I planned a day for us.

The World’s Largest Naval Ship Exhibit

USS Massachusetts

At Battleship Cove you can explore four ships, practically from top to bottom.

• Battleship, the USS Massachusetts, built in Quincy, Massachusetts
• Destroyer, the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., also built in Quincy, Massachusetts
• Balao-class Submarine, the USS Lionfish
• Tarantul I class corvette, the Hiddensee, built near St. Petersburg and commissioned by the East German People’s Navy
• The bow of the USS Fall River, at the entrance of Battleship Cove

Walking through these ships is a bit intimidating.  It also gives you a very tiny idea of how our seamen live; how isolated they must feel- especially on something as small and enclosed as a submarine.  Even the USS Massachusetts, a floating city if there ever was one, had to feel small and impersonal after an extended period of time.

Now the USS Massachusetts is a floating museum complete with a restaurant/snack bar area, a Memorial Room, a Crewmember’s Exhibit, a Women’s Veteran’s Exhibit,and much more. We wandered through the Officers’ Mess, the kitchens, the Main Galley, the Machine Shop… but the ship was so large, its hallways a maze, I’m not sure we saw everything.

Anchor on the USS Massachusetts

I wasn’t sure I would even be able to enter the submarine- I’ve never experienced claustrophobia before, but walking into such cramped spaces threatened to bring it on.  I couldn’t imagine living in such tight quarters, underwater no less!  It gave me a new respect for the men who sailed this “invisible” ship.

In addition to the ships you’ll also see a PT Boat exhibit hall, a mechanized landing craft, a Japanese motorboat (for suicide missions), a Cobra attack helicopter, a Huey helicopter, an anti-sub helicopter and a T-28 trainer plane and a very beautiful 9/11 memorial.

Japanese Motorboat used for Suicide Missions

Just under an hour from Boston, Battleship Cove is an interesting- and educational- day trip..  A really cool feature is that organized youth groups can actually stay overnight on the ships- they are even assigned shipboard duties and learn handy naval techniques, like knot tying.

Trying a bunk on the USS Joseph P Kennedy, Jr.

Stay at an Infamous Inn in Fall River

Lizzie Borden House

Planning to overnight in Fall River?  You might want to consider staying at the Lizzie Borden House, now a B&B.  Afternoon tours are available if you don’t want to take the chance.

Photos by Jody Halsted

I have to confess that I had very little interest in even visiting Richmond, Virginia, let alone finding out about any of the local attractions. My family and I were just planning to spend the night with friends to break up the trip from North Carolina to Washington, D.C. But when we heard about the Museum of the Confederacy, we decided we had to set aside a day to check it out. We were not disappointed with our decision.

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I recently read that Americans eat 6 gallons of ice cream per person per year.  Over 100 million of those gallons are produced by the world’s largest family owned and operated ice cream company- Blue Bunny- which is located in the small north-western Iowa town of LeMars.  In fact, there is more ice cream made in the city of Le Mars than any other one location on earth, making Le Mars, Iowa the Ice Cream Capital of the World®!

Outside the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor

Life is Sweet

The city’s slogan, Life is Sweet, refers to more than just ice cream.  When we visited we found a friendly town filled with public parks and plenty to keep our family occupied.  Cleveland Park was a favorite for its massive wooden “castle” play set while the skate park was filled with the teen crowd.

Ice Cream Days Parade

Our visit coincided with the city’s annual Ice Cream Days festival.  We played games at the Cone-ival, listened to live music, wandered through art in the park and enjoyed a terrific parade – complete with the best parade treats ever: Blue Bunny Bomb Pops and chocolate milk courtesy of Land O Lakes Milk which is also located in LeMars.

Visiting the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor

Just days before the Ice Cream festival began, Blue Bunny opened their new Ice Cream Parlor in downtown LeMars.  Ice cream fans from across the country stood in lines a block long to enter the historic George E. Pew building.  Part old-time soda fountain, part museum, the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor serves up delicious treats,  interesting history, and even a lovely gift shop for that perfect ice cream souvenir.

Tasty Treats

My girls were excited to sit at the soda fountain and watch as massive ice cream treats were created.  Be sure to come with an appetite because even the single scoop ice cream cones are huge!  After finishing your treat be sure to wander up the grand staircase.  Here you’ll find Blue Bunny memorabilia and interactive displays.  More tables and comfortable couches are here, too.  If the meeting room isn’t being used take a peek inside- it has a full kitchen that any cook would love to have.  The meeting room is available for parties or business- with snacks from the parlor downstairs, of course!

Eating in LeMars

Dining at Bob's Drive In

We follow the advice of locals when we travel and everyone we spoke to said we had to visit Bob’s Drive-In.  Many raved about the cheese curds, “They just taste like they’re made with love”, while others said we had to eat a “tavern”, the eastern Iowa name for a loose meat sandwich, and still more said a visit wasn’t complete without a Bob Dog- a natural casing hot dog served with loose meat on top.  We tried them all.  There is something special about the cheese curds and the snap of the natural casing on the hot dog, well, that’s a pleasure too few people know exists.  Another pleasure?  My family ate well for just over $20.

Raspberry Jalapeno Turkey Crepe

We enjoyed lunch the next day at another recommended eaterie, Habitue Coffeehouse and Creperie.  Located just across the street from the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor, you’ll find so many tempting treats on the menu it can be difficult to choose.  I love that many sandwich options can be rolled in a crepe; the Raspberry Jalapeno Turkey crepe I had was incredible.  And the selection of beautiful cupcakes gave the ice cream parlor a run for my dessert dollars.  The interior is beautiful, with dark wood tables, comfortable chairs and couches scattered throughout the restaurant’s two stories.  A lovely patio off the rear of the building is inviting on a lovely summer day.

LeMars, Iowa is a welcoming weekend destination or a terrific rest stop if you’re passing through northwest Iowa.

Photos by Jody Halsted.