by Melanie McManus | Jan 18, 2024 | Exploring and Experiencing, Stories, United States, Wisconsin
Read This Article, Published in the Star Tribune For decades, Wisconsin Dells was pretty much a summer-only destination. This was the era before indoor waterparks became a phenomenon, attracting winter tourists in droves. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links...
by Melanie McManus | Mar 17, 2023 | Exploring and Experiencing, Stories, Wisconsin
Read This Article, Published in the Star Tribune When I started dating my husband, he said, “Never ask me to take you to The House on the Rock.” I hadn’t heard of the attraction, which he said was more than a home built atop a rock. It included...
by Melanie McManus | Feb 14, 2021 | Exploring and Experiencing, Stories, Wisconsin
Read This Article On The Chicago Tribune Despite living in Wisconsin for several decades, I’d never heard of Cave Point until recently. This tiny county park sits in southeastern Door County in the state’s narrow, jagged thumb. Cave Point is unique in that...
by Melanie McManus | Feb 2, 2020 | Exploring and Experiencing, Stories, Texas
Read This Article On The Star Tribune I didn’t know much about Big Bend National Park until a recent travel writing conference took me to El Paso, Texas. As always, I wanted to squeeze in some prime hiking, if possible. What I discovered is that if I drove about...
by Melanie McManus | Nov 24, 2019 | Exploring and Experiencing, Stories, Wisconsin
Read This Article On The Chicago Tribune The Nutcracker is one of America’s endearing holiday traditions. An 1892 two-act ballet, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky penned its famous musical score. And the libretto, which is the text of an opera, was adapted from...
by Melanie McManus | Nov 6, 2019 | Europe, Exploring and Experiencing, Spain, Stories
Read This Article On The Star Tribune I’ve visited Spain many times before, but never made it to Málaga. That’s probably because on my second trip to the country, I fell in love with hiking the Vía de la Plata, or VDLP. The VDLP Camino is one of five main...