Chihuly Garden and Glass is an art museum at Seattle Center in Seattle, Washington. Located next to the Space Needle, it showcases the works of local artist Dale Chihuly and opened in 2012. In addition to the exhibits, there’s also a gift shop, café, and meeting space.
Olympic Sculpture Park is a public park affiliated with the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). It’s located a short walk from Seattle Center near the waterfront. Admission is free and the park is open 365 days a year.
The Ballard Locks are a fun place to visit while in Seattle. Officially known as the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, they opened in 1917 and are completely free to all vessels. It’s one of the busiest lock systems in the entire country, allowing passage between Puget Sound and Lake Union and Lake Washington via Salmon Bay and the Fremont Cut.
Pioneer Square is where the city of Seattle was born. Settled in 1852, buildings around the square were heavily damaged in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. The area’s Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, dating back to the 1890s, was saved from demolition by preservationists such as Bill Speidel and Victor Steinbrueck in the 1960s.
Seattle Center is a festival, arts, and entertainment center just north of Belltown in Seattle. It was originally built for the 1962 World’s Fair but now hosts a collection of excellent museums and the Space Needle as its centerpiece.
Nappanee is a town in the heart of Indiana’s Amish country. The main attraction is Amish Acres, but it’s nice to stop in the small downtown. (NOTE: Amish Acres closed at the end of 2019 and reopened on May 15, 2020, as The Barns at Nappanee.)
Gary’s Miller Beach area is a different world compared to the rest of the city. Once an independent town settled in 1851, Miller was annexed by Gary in 1918. It remains culturally and economically separated from the rest of Gary.
The Bellagio features a spectacle unlike any other on the Las Vegas Strip. Watching the dancing fountain spray water over 1,000 feet into the air, beautifully choreographed to music, is a must-see when visiting Vegas. Every show is different, so when you’re walking past the Bellagio and a crowd is gathering, find a good spot and enjoy!
The small town of Beverly Shores, Indiana, is surrounded on three sides by Indiana Dunes National Park and borders Lake Michigan to the north.