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From beaches to bike trails to breweries, the United States has something for everyone to explore. Hear from the locals themselves and discover the best attractions, places to eat, shopping and much more.
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Ask a Local: Texas Transcript
Houston, Texas, is one of the largest cities in the United States, and you know what we say, "Everything is bigger in Texas." But we're also the most diverse city in the United States, which may come as a surprise to some people. Here in Houston, we love our big hats, our big buckles, and our cowboy boots. You can get them all at the Houston Rodeo. It's a spectacle of all things Texas. You also get a sense of what Houston is really about in our people, but our food's where you can really get a taste of where everybody comes from. Take our Texas barbecue, which is what we're really known for. We have a little bit of a dry rub from the German community, a saucier mix from the African-American community, and our barbacoa from our Mexican community.
Check out this place called Corkscrew Barbecue. It's in a quaint neighborhood called Old Town Spring, and it looks like it's been frozen in time. The food is delicious. Another thing we're really, really known for is our Tex-Mex, which is like cowboy food with a little bit of a Mexican influence. You've get to check out El Real, which is the best Tex-Mex in town. While you're there, be sure you get the cheese enchilada. Then there's Tony's, which is an upscale, local favorite. The food is incredible. Where else are you get eat in front of a Rauschenberg? It's really interesting to see how different cultures come together. For example, folks from New Orleans brought over their love of crawfish. We really didn't have much crawfish in Houston before that, and now it's even making its way into some Asian dishes.
We actually have the largest Chinatown outside of California, and it's a lot of fun. Just walk around and try any dish from any culture in Asia. And the art. Houston is full of art. You can find art anywhere, in our museums, in our parks, on murals, in people's yards. I mean, it's everywhere. My favorite place to see art is a little bit off the beaten path, but you can get there, like everywhere, on METRORail. It's the Rothko Chapel. Houston is just a really neat place to visit, and it's really exciting to see how people from all over the world have come together to inspire each other, right in the heart of cowboy country. Y'all come see us.
Check out this place called Corkscrew Barbecue. It's in a quaint neighborhood called Old Town Spring, and it looks like it's been frozen in time. The food is delicious. Another thing we're really, really known for is our Tex-Mex, which is like cowboy food with a little bit of a Mexican influence. You've get to check out El Real, which is the best Tex-Mex in town. While you're there, be sure you get the cheese enchilada. Then there's Tony's, which is an upscale, local favorite. The food is incredible. Where else are you get eat in front of a Rauschenberg? It's really interesting to see how different cultures come together. For example, folks from New Orleans brought over their love of crawfish. We really didn't have much crawfish in Houston before that, and now it's even making its way into some Asian dishes.
We actually have the largest Chinatown outside of California, and it's a lot of fun. Just walk around and try any dish from any culture in Asia. And the art. Houston is full of art. You can find art anywhere, in our museums, in our parks, on murals, in people's yards. I mean, it's everywhere. My favorite place to see art is a little bit off the beaten path, but you can get there, like everywhere, on METRORail. It's the Rothko Chapel. Houston is just a really neat place to visit, and it's really exciting to see how people from all over the world have come together to inspire each other, right in the heart of cowboy country. Y'all come see us.
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Ask a Local: Ohio Transcript
Speaker 1: How many dad jokes can you tolerate? Anyway, uh…
Speaker 2: (laughs)
Speaker 1: We moved to Columbus in 2002, and we knew, like, this is going to be the place for us. We like all the people here. We like all the things to do.
Speaker 2: There was an energy here that it felt like it was really happening all around us, and that people were ready to really connect with other people.
Speaker 1: It was a big city, but it was a big city that was still kind of discovering itself. And that’s it… the secret to our success.
As we were getting to know Columbus, I found that we would discover all these cool places. I wanted to write down: Where was this little diner that we went to? Where’s this cool little place in this neighborhood? So, in 2007, I started a blog called “Breakfast with Nick.” I had enough of a following that people started emailing and asking for suggestions or they would recommend different places.
Speaker 3: Head down the street to the Book Loft, which is a bookstore.
Speaker 4: Scioto Mile is awesome to walk or jog down.
Speaker 3: Get ice cream at Jeni’s Splendid.
Speaker 2: When we first moved to Columbus, we really wanted to get to know the city organically, and so, we would walk around. And the way that Columbus is set up, it is welcoming and hospitable to people. It really makes it easy to walk almost every neighborhood in Columbus.
Speaker 1: One of our favorite phrases that a lot of people use is, they call it, “the biggest small town in America.” There’s a lot of layers to the city for a wide variety of interests. So, I mean, Columbus is very heavy on sports with the Ohio State football team here. We have professional hockey, we have professional baseball and soccer.
In terms of the arts scene, I feel like there’s this growing number of galleries and artists’ collectives.
If you’re really into international eats, you can find just about any world cuisine somewhere in Columbus.
It’s super family-friendly, so if you want things to do as a family, we have all these great attractions and cool little neighborhood parks to the science museum and stuff like that.
Speaker 2: I think a classic day that we would have with the boys is…
Speaker 1: Oh right, three kids. I mean, lights of our lives.
Speaker 2: We would potentially go down and walk along the river, the Scioto Mile, or go and play in the fountains downtown. And then, we maybe head over to the Columbus Art Museum and check out their kids area.
Speaker 1: One of our favorite things about the art scene in Columbus is how it is very accessible. There’s a variety of mediums that we can engage with, whether it’s visual art or live music. There’s all these great festivals and activities.
Food in Columbus mirrors the way the city works in general in that I think we are this really good balance of tradition and innovation and that we love traditional stuff, but at the same time, we’re also experimental. We’re also innovative. And so it’s really wonderful that when you go out to eat and when you experience Columbus, that you can choose from one of those two things.
Speaker 5: We use some really awesome short rib that we slice across the bone, which we cook for two days.
Speaker 4: We do a house-made pastrami and house-made gravlax. They are fantastic.
Speaker 3: I recommend the morning bun to everybody. It’s very good.
Speaker 6: Oh man. My personal favorite donuts? I love the apple fritters.
Speaker 2: Columbus food doesn’t take itself too seriously. You want to have fun when you’re eating. You want to experience something new. And I feel like Columbus chefs are really great at that. Avishar is the chef at Service Bar. He is obsessed with chalupas and the gorditas.
Speaker 5: This is our cheesy brisket crunch. This has been our most popular menu item.
Speaker 2: Oh man, it’s delicious.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I think on the more innovative and experimental side of things, one of our favorites is The Table, which is in Short North. They’re a great example of modern restaurants. They talk about how they are sourced locally but inspired globally.
Speaker 2: And then there’s Veritas, which is in an old bank building, and is just an amazing place that really works a lot with molecular gastronomy. So, you can go in and have different takes on things that you might have had before.
Speaker 1: Another spot is called Katalina’s. It’s this delightfully quirky place. Their signature dish is pancake balls. They put dulce de leche or Nutella in them. It’s a really colorful place too.
Speaker 2: And we also love Fox in the Snow. They make an egg sandwich that anyone in Columbus will tell you is the absolute best egg sandwich that they’ve ever had.
Speaker 1: In terms of traditional places, one of our favorites is Buckeye Donuts, which is right across the street from the university. It’s run by the third generation of the family, and they still make all their donuts by hand. And the other crazy thing is that they’re open 24/7, 365 days a year. The owner has said he doesn’t know where the key is.
Another great traditional place is Tommy’s Diner. It’s like one of the quintessential examples of it. I love how it looks very much like an old-school American diner. It has this big wall of photos just inside the door of like all the famous people who have stopped by. That’s one of my goals, is to get my picture on his wall ‘cuz that’s when like you know that you’ve made it. Tommy, if you’re listening, please.
Speaker 2: I think one of the big jokes in Columbus is that it feels like every week there is a new brewery, which we think is the best problem in the world to have. These breweries are doing things like family days, or they have a patio with board games.
Speaker 1: They just want to be the place that is loved by the neighborhood, where they do cool events, produce really excellent food, excellent beer – where it’s just like the neighborhood hangout.
Speaker 2: I love how connected Columbus feels. There is a friendliness to it that makes you feel really included, and everyone seems to be very hospitable. To have a city like that is really special.
Speaker 2: (laughs)
Speaker 1: We moved to Columbus in 2002, and we knew, like, this is going to be the place for us. We like all the people here. We like all the things to do.
Speaker 2: There was an energy here that it felt like it was really happening all around us, and that people were ready to really connect with other people.
Speaker 1: It was a big city, but it was a big city that was still kind of discovering itself. And that’s it… the secret to our success.
As we were getting to know Columbus, I found that we would discover all these cool places. I wanted to write down: Where was this little diner that we went to? Where’s this cool little place in this neighborhood? So, in 2007, I started a blog called “Breakfast with Nick.” I had enough of a following that people started emailing and asking for suggestions or they would recommend different places.
Speaker 3: Head down the street to the Book Loft, which is a bookstore.
Speaker 4: Scioto Mile is awesome to walk or jog down.
Speaker 3: Get ice cream at Jeni’s Splendid.
Speaker 2: When we first moved to Columbus, we really wanted to get to know the city organically, and so, we would walk around. And the way that Columbus is set up, it is welcoming and hospitable to people. It really makes it easy to walk almost every neighborhood in Columbus.
Speaker 1: One of our favorite phrases that a lot of people use is, they call it, “the biggest small town in America.” There’s a lot of layers to the city for a wide variety of interests. So, I mean, Columbus is very heavy on sports with the Ohio State football team here. We have professional hockey, we have professional baseball and soccer.
In terms of the arts scene, I feel like there’s this growing number of galleries and artists’ collectives.
If you’re really into international eats, you can find just about any world cuisine somewhere in Columbus.
It’s super family-friendly, so if you want things to do as a family, we have all these great attractions and cool little neighborhood parks to the science museum and stuff like that.
Speaker 2: I think a classic day that we would have with the boys is…
Speaker 1: Oh right, three kids. I mean, lights of our lives.
Speaker 2: We would potentially go down and walk along the river, the Scioto Mile, or go and play in the fountains downtown. And then, we maybe head over to the Columbus Art Museum and check out their kids area.
Speaker 1: One of our favorite things about the art scene in Columbus is how it is very accessible. There’s a variety of mediums that we can engage with, whether it’s visual art or live music. There’s all these great festivals and activities.
Food in Columbus mirrors the way the city works in general in that I think we are this really good balance of tradition and innovation and that we love traditional stuff, but at the same time, we’re also experimental. We’re also innovative. And so it’s really wonderful that when you go out to eat and when you experience Columbus, that you can choose from one of those two things.
Speaker 5: We use some really awesome short rib that we slice across the bone, which we cook for two days.
Speaker 4: We do a house-made pastrami and house-made gravlax. They are fantastic.
Speaker 3: I recommend the morning bun to everybody. It’s very good.
Speaker 6: Oh man. My personal favorite donuts? I love the apple fritters.
Speaker 2: Columbus food doesn’t take itself too seriously. You want to have fun when you’re eating. You want to experience something new. And I feel like Columbus chefs are really great at that. Avishar is the chef at Service Bar. He is obsessed with chalupas and the gorditas.
Speaker 5: This is our cheesy brisket crunch. This has been our most popular menu item.
Speaker 2: Oh man, it’s delicious.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I think on the more innovative and experimental side of things, one of our favorites is The Table, which is in Short North. They’re a great example of modern restaurants. They talk about how they are sourced locally but inspired globally.
Speaker 2: And then there’s Veritas, which is in an old bank building, and is just an amazing place that really works a lot with molecular gastronomy. So, you can go in and have different takes on things that you might have had before.
Speaker 1: Another spot is called Katalina’s. It’s this delightfully quirky place. Their signature dish is pancake balls. They put dulce de leche or Nutella in them. It’s a really colorful place too.
Speaker 2: And we also love Fox in the Snow. They make an egg sandwich that anyone in Columbus will tell you is the absolute best egg sandwich that they’ve ever had.
Speaker 1: In terms of traditional places, one of our favorites is Buckeye Donuts, which is right across the street from the university. It’s run by the third generation of the family, and they still make all their donuts by hand. And the other crazy thing is that they’re open 24/7, 365 days a year. The owner has said he doesn’t know where the key is.
Another great traditional place is Tommy’s Diner. It’s like one of the quintessential examples of it. I love how it looks very much like an old-school American diner. It has this big wall of photos just inside the door of like all the famous people who have stopped by. That’s one of my goals, is to get my picture on his wall ‘cuz that’s when like you know that you’ve made it. Tommy, if you’re listening, please.
Speaker 2: I think one of the big jokes in Columbus is that it feels like every week there is a new brewery, which we think is the best problem in the world to have. These breweries are doing things like family days, or they have a patio with board games.
Speaker 1: They just want to be the place that is loved by the neighborhood, where they do cool events, produce really excellent food, excellent beer – where it’s just like the neighborhood hangout.
Speaker 2: I love how connected Columbus feels. There is a friendliness to it that makes you feel really included, and everyone seems to be very hospitable. To have a city like that is really special.
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Ask a Local: North Carolina Transcript
Wilmington Speaker 1:
I've always loved the ocean. I’ve always loved the environment of the ocean. When I moved to Wilmington, one of the first things I did was get a surfboard and just went out into the ocean. Immediately fell in love with surfing. It was truly amazing, and it was almost like a spiritual thing for me – just wanted to stay in the ocean as long as possible.
I moved down to Wilmington to find a teaching job. And I decided I really liked it here and I didn't want to move away from Wilmington. Wilmington has a great small-town feel. It’s a place where everyone knows each other's names. And you get on the beach and it's not all the hustle and bustle of a big city.
Wilmington is one of the most historic towns in the United States, and you're going to go through all these historical homes that were built during the Civil War, past these old courthouses where movies are still filmed today. And you’re going to go past Wrightsville Beach, which in its own flavor, has this great history to it, lots of surfing. And then you can kind of come down into Carolina Beach and Kure Beach. That's more of the smaller town, not quite as touristy, but still has that real coastal community feel. We've got one of the greatest boardwalks in the country. We’ve got amusement rides, and if you have kids, they can go to the beach, they can go to the parks, they can go on the nature trails. They’ve got this endless amount of space to play.
Wilmington has one of the coolest nicknames; it’s called “Hollywood of the East,” and we have lots of different movies and TV shows that have been filmed here. There’s a lot of actors that stay in Wilmington that love it so much; some of them start their own acting camps. But it also kind of spawns off lots of different theatrical performances.
Wilmington Speaker 2:
As an actor, Wilmington is amazing in terms of its performing arts community. There are dinner theater productions, live music, poetry slams, karaoke nights, improvisation, live comedy events.
Wilmington Speaker 1:
And that also leads to great live music. Lots of actors perform in bands and we have a great live music scene that’s in Wilmington and on the beaches.
If you come to Carolina Beach, and you go nowhere else, you have to experience the Fat Pelican. It is literally one of the greatest dive bars in the world. You never know what you're going to find. Unique bar.
Wilmington has an amazing greenway system that is slowly being connected to all the islands, which is pretty cool. It's a really neat open space to be able to ride your bike clean across the whole county and to be able to experience all these magical areas.
Wilmington, Kure Beach, Carolina Beach – we all have amazing restaurants. We actually have world-renowned chefs that continue to come here, and it’s kind of one of those neat places where the fisherman still catch the fish and the oysters come locally. Britts Donuts is world-famous. It wins one of the top donuts every single year. People come from all over the country just to eat a donut. It’s the same donut; you’re only getting a glazed donut. It opens at 8:30; you should probably start lining up at 8 a.m. It’ll be a long line and one of the local secrets is you go and you sit at the counter, and you get either a hot chocolate or a cup of milk, and you can get your donuts without having to wait in line.
This is one of the best places in the world to learn to surf because it has such a long coastal area and sandy beaches and beautiful sandbars, which are perfect for small waves. And we have a huge coastline, so it spreads everybody out so you're not surfing through a million people, which is one of the reasons a lot of people want to come here to surf.
So, I have probably one of the most unique non-profits in the country. It’s based on using the ocean as a healing factor. And we take many different people with disabilities into the ocean to have that peaceful moment, to catch those waves, and then they feel that energy and it gets into them and then they just want it again and again and again and again.
One of the things that I think makes this coastal community one of the greatest communities, possibly in the world, is this beach floor mat. And what it is, is it’s a mat that lays on the sand and it allows someone in a regular wheelchair to come down onto the beach and it gives true independence.
In Wilmington, you have this amazing historical town blended with the coastal community. There’s endless amounts of things to do, always kind of exciting things happening, and you can go stick your toes in the sand and get in the ocean and just enjoy it.
Raleigh Speaker:
We talk to a lot of guests here who are visiting and the common phrase is that, “I don't know what it is about this place, but I really love it here.” My friend and I had a couple of friends in Raleigh that were part of the music scene here and I just really had this like sense of longing to be here, and it just felt like a really great place to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. And turns out, I just wanted to stay in Raleigh so, here I am.
I’ve just always loved food and always been fascinated by it. And I became a chef because I owned a restaurant. Raleigh is this unlikely culinary epicenter. And I think the role of the farmers market can’t be underestimated. We have a very large farmers market about a mile-and-a-half or two from downtown. Then we have international immigration communities, and so that makes somebody who is into food have access to a bunch of ingredients that they might just read about in Saveur that month.
Our businesses just happen to be housed in one building, but we have events like at least three or four nights a week, and when we opened this rendition of Kings, having a place for bands, it was really important to me for them to have a great experience when they came through on tour. Then we also have comedy and we do jazz improv downstairs at Neptunes.
So, what makes Raleigh a tourist destination? What we have is a lot of creative endeavors. We have great museums. They get really great national exhibits and then all of the restaurants surrounding that. Van Nolintha and his sister, Vanvisa, they are from Laos and opened Bida Manda down the street.
Van Nolintha:
Welcome to Bida Manda. We are one of the first Laotian restaurants in the United States. Bida Manda [are the] Sanscript words for “father” and “mother.” So it’s very special to have the parent’s portraits greeting our friends and family and neighbors into this space.
Raleigh Speaker:
And then they opened a brewery, Bhavana. And they have a flower shop and a little bookstore. And that sounds completely disconnected, but it’s not. Ashley Christensen, the owner of Poole’s Diner, just won outstanding chef in the nation, and I think she really figured out that connection between bringing people together to cook, bringing people together to eat and then bringing people together to give.
ALTA Bread is a phenomenal bakery. They source their own whole-grain wheat and mill their own flour. They’re not open every single morning, but when they are, they pretty much sell out of stuff. You can’t not go there. Across the street or I guess catty-corner from CAM is one of the older-newer restaurants in Raleigh called Humble Pie. Retail, oh God, we have Raleigh Denim, who are doing amazing things with fabric and exploring the textile history of North Carolina. Yeah, I mean that's just like in this four-block radius. That’s pretty crazy, right?
So, there's a new boutique hotel in Raleigh called guest house that’s owned by Matt and Nichole who are this amazing couple that have just the best sense of design and hospitality. In the way they’ve renovated it, it has maintained the original story of the family that used to live there. It was owned by the first African American mail carrier and the way they've built it out, yeah, it's a wonderful place to stay.
Raleigh creates this general culture of creativity and potential. That is the thing that has, like, really made this place be as special as it is. The more the city grows with people doing all of these independent projects that are becoming the landscape, I think that that is going to be the thing that makes our city grow in a very thoughtful and creative way.
I've always loved the ocean. I’ve always loved the environment of the ocean. When I moved to Wilmington, one of the first things I did was get a surfboard and just went out into the ocean. Immediately fell in love with surfing. It was truly amazing, and it was almost like a spiritual thing for me – just wanted to stay in the ocean as long as possible.
I moved down to Wilmington to find a teaching job. And I decided I really liked it here and I didn't want to move away from Wilmington. Wilmington has a great small-town feel. It’s a place where everyone knows each other's names. And you get on the beach and it's not all the hustle and bustle of a big city.
Wilmington is one of the most historic towns in the United States, and you're going to go through all these historical homes that were built during the Civil War, past these old courthouses where movies are still filmed today. And you’re going to go past Wrightsville Beach, which in its own flavor, has this great history to it, lots of surfing. And then you can kind of come down into Carolina Beach and Kure Beach. That's more of the smaller town, not quite as touristy, but still has that real coastal community feel. We've got one of the greatest boardwalks in the country. We’ve got amusement rides, and if you have kids, they can go to the beach, they can go to the parks, they can go on the nature trails. They’ve got this endless amount of space to play.
Wilmington has one of the coolest nicknames; it’s called “Hollywood of the East,” and we have lots of different movies and TV shows that have been filmed here. There’s a lot of actors that stay in Wilmington that love it so much; some of them start their own acting camps. But it also kind of spawns off lots of different theatrical performances.
Wilmington Speaker 2:
As an actor, Wilmington is amazing in terms of its performing arts community. There are dinner theater productions, live music, poetry slams, karaoke nights, improvisation, live comedy events.
Wilmington Speaker 1:
And that also leads to great live music. Lots of actors perform in bands and we have a great live music scene that’s in Wilmington and on the beaches.
If you come to Carolina Beach, and you go nowhere else, you have to experience the Fat Pelican. It is literally one of the greatest dive bars in the world. You never know what you're going to find. Unique bar.
Wilmington has an amazing greenway system that is slowly being connected to all the islands, which is pretty cool. It's a really neat open space to be able to ride your bike clean across the whole county and to be able to experience all these magical areas.
Wilmington, Kure Beach, Carolina Beach – we all have amazing restaurants. We actually have world-renowned chefs that continue to come here, and it’s kind of one of those neat places where the fisherman still catch the fish and the oysters come locally. Britts Donuts is world-famous. It wins one of the top donuts every single year. People come from all over the country just to eat a donut. It’s the same donut; you’re only getting a glazed donut. It opens at 8:30; you should probably start lining up at 8 a.m. It’ll be a long line and one of the local secrets is you go and you sit at the counter, and you get either a hot chocolate or a cup of milk, and you can get your donuts without having to wait in line.
This is one of the best places in the world to learn to surf because it has such a long coastal area and sandy beaches and beautiful sandbars, which are perfect for small waves. And we have a huge coastline, so it spreads everybody out so you're not surfing through a million people, which is one of the reasons a lot of people want to come here to surf.
So, I have probably one of the most unique non-profits in the country. It’s based on using the ocean as a healing factor. And we take many different people with disabilities into the ocean to have that peaceful moment, to catch those waves, and then they feel that energy and it gets into them and then they just want it again and again and again and again.
One of the things that I think makes this coastal community one of the greatest communities, possibly in the world, is this beach floor mat. And what it is, is it’s a mat that lays on the sand and it allows someone in a regular wheelchair to come down onto the beach and it gives true independence.
In Wilmington, you have this amazing historical town blended with the coastal community. There’s endless amounts of things to do, always kind of exciting things happening, and you can go stick your toes in the sand and get in the ocean and just enjoy it.
Raleigh Speaker:
We talk to a lot of guests here who are visiting and the common phrase is that, “I don't know what it is about this place, but I really love it here.” My friend and I had a couple of friends in Raleigh that were part of the music scene here and I just really had this like sense of longing to be here, and it just felt like a really great place to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. And turns out, I just wanted to stay in Raleigh so, here I am.
I’ve just always loved food and always been fascinated by it. And I became a chef because I owned a restaurant. Raleigh is this unlikely culinary epicenter. And I think the role of the farmers market can’t be underestimated. We have a very large farmers market about a mile-and-a-half or two from downtown. Then we have international immigration communities, and so that makes somebody who is into food have access to a bunch of ingredients that they might just read about in Saveur that month.
Our businesses just happen to be housed in one building, but we have events like at least three or four nights a week, and when we opened this rendition of Kings, having a place for bands, it was really important to me for them to have a great experience when they came through on tour. Then we also have comedy and we do jazz improv downstairs at Neptunes.
So, what makes Raleigh a tourist destination? What we have is a lot of creative endeavors. We have great museums. They get really great national exhibits and then all of the restaurants surrounding that. Van Nolintha and his sister, Vanvisa, they are from Laos and opened Bida Manda down the street.
Van Nolintha:
Welcome to Bida Manda. We are one of the first Laotian restaurants in the United States. Bida Manda [are the] Sanscript words for “father” and “mother.” So it’s very special to have the parent’s portraits greeting our friends and family and neighbors into this space.
Raleigh Speaker:
And then they opened a brewery, Bhavana. And they have a flower shop and a little bookstore. And that sounds completely disconnected, but it’s not. Ashley Christensen, the owner of Poole’s Diner, just won outstanding chef in the nation, and I think she really figured out that connection between bringing people together to cook, bringing people together to eat and then bringing people together to give.
ALTA Bread is a phenomenal bakery. They source their own whole-grain wheat and mill their own flour. They’re not open every single morning, but when they are, they pretty much sell out of stuff. You can’t not go there. Across the street or I guess catty-corner from CAM is one of the older-newer restaurants in Raleigh called Humble Pie. Retail, oh God, we have Raleigh Denim, who are doing amazing things with fabric and exploring the textile history of North Carolina. Yeah, I mean that's just like in this four-block radius. That’s pretty crazy, right?
So, there's a new boutique hotel in Raleigh called guest house that’s owned by Matt and Nichole who are this amazing couple that have just the best sense of design and hospitality. In the way they’ve renovated it, it has maintained the original story of the family that used to live there. It was owned by the first African American mail carrier and the way they've built it out, yeah, it's a wonderful place to stay.
Raleigh creates this general culture of creativity and potential. That is the thing that has, like, really made this place be as special as it is. The more the city grows with people doing all of these independent projects that are becoming the landscape, I think that that is going to be the thing that makes our city grow in a very thoughtful and creative way.
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Ask a Local: Pennsylvania Transcript
Philadelphia Speaker:
OK, we have the cheesesteaks, we have the soft pretzels. I mean, you already know that we have the Liberty Bell, but Mural Arts Philadelphia is so unique. It has made this city the Mural Capital of the World. That is amazing. In a city of neighborhoods, each mural tells a story of the people that live there and the history that surrounds them. And of course, murals like this is something you want to see.
My favorite thing about this city is that I can park one place and then walk to my destination. It is insanely cool how I can find my favorite coffee shops, little gems that I’ve never even seen before. And of course, you can see all these different places that are quite “Instagrammable.”
If you go a little bit, not too far, from Center City, you can see Wissahickon Valley Park. Stone brick bridges, magical forests, the creek, barn – there’s so many different things you can do there. Take a walk, take a hike, bring your dog, bring a friend. It is the most beautiful place in Philadelphia.
Welcome to my Philadelphia.
Brian Bossuyt:
Growing up here I always felt like I was in a playground. There was always something to do outside. You know, you could go play at one of the ski resorts, skiing or snowboarding; go outside and ride your bike somewhere; enjoy one of the lakes; go rafting on the river.
Going out on Lake Wallenpaupack, water skiing or Jet-Skiing – just getting out really and enjoying all the things that nature has to offer. But it’s really something when you’re walking on some of our hiking trails or in our state parks and you come across a waterfall that you weren’t expecting.
One of the craziest things you can do in the Pocono Mountains is drive a racecar, and from experience, I can tell you it’s an awesome experience. Here, you get to drive it on a three-turn track called the Tricky Triangle. It’s something you’re never gonna forget. It’s awesome. You’re behind a racecar, you’re doing top speeds, and when you’re done, you’re just like, “Holy Cow, I just drove a racecar.”
Zip lining in the Pocono Mountains is a breathtaking experience, and I really recommend it, zipping down the line from the top of Camelback Mountain all the way to the bottom. And it’s something that you’re going to enjoy and remember for the rest of your life.
One of the great things that’s new to the Pocono Mountains the last few years is indoor water parks, so you can come to the Poconos and never worry about the weather because you have those great amenities as well.
Jim Thorpe is known as Little Switzerland. It’s crafted after that era of time when the town was pristine, and you feel like you’re stepping back in time.
Another great place is Honesdale. When you walk down the Main Street of that town and you can see that it’s still the same picturesque town that it was way back then and it’s just this great small-town feel, that you really get a piece of Americana.
And we are only a few hours from New York City and Philadelphia, so we recommend renting a car and coming here and really enjoying the outdoors. We have some great roadways and you’re going to see breathtaking scenery throughout the year, as well as just getting out and seeing the different things we have to offer.
OK, we have the cheesesteaks, we have the soft pretzels. I mean, you already know that we have the Liberty Bell, but Mural Arts Philadelphia is so unique. It has made this city the Mural Capital of the World. That is amazing. In a city of neighborhoods, each mural tells a story of the people that live there and the history that surrounds them. And of course, murals like this is something you want to see.
My favorite thing about this city is that I can park one place and then walk to my destination. It is insanely cool how I can find my favorite coffee shops, little gems that I’ve never even seen before. And of course, you can see all these different places that are quite “Instagrammable.”
If you go a little bit, not too far, from Center City, you can see Wissahickon Valley Park. Stone brick bridges, magical forests, the creek, barn – there’s so many different things you can do there. Take a walk, take a hike, bring your dog, bring a friend. It is the most beautiful place in Philadelphia.
Welcome to my Philadelphia.
Brian Bossuyt:
Growing up here I always felt like I was in a playground. There was always something to do outside. You know, you could go play at one of the ski resorts, skiing or snowboarding; go outside and ride your bike somewhere; enjoy one of the lakes; go rafting on the river.
Going out on Lake Wallenpaupack, water skiing or Jet-Skiing – just getting out really and enjoying all the things that nature has to offer. But it’s really something when you’re walking on some of our hiking trails or in our state parks and you come across a waterfall that you weren’t expecting.
One of the craziest things you can do in the Pocono Mountains is drive a racecar, and from experience, I can tell you it’s an awesome experience. Here, you get to drive it on a three-turn track called the Tricky Triangle. It’s something you’re never gonna forget. It’s awesome. You’re behind a racecar, you’re doing top speeds, and when you’re done, you’re just like, “Holy Cow, I just drove a racecar.”
Zip lining in the Pocono Mountains is a breathtaking experience, and I really recommend it, zipping down the line from the top of Camelback Mountain all the way to the bottom. And it’s something that you’re going to enjoy and remember for the rest of your life.
One of the great things that’s new to the Pocono Mountains the last few years is indoor water parks, so you can come to the Poconos and never worry about the weather because you have those great amenities as well.
Jim Thorpe is known as Little Switzerland. It’s crafted after that era of time when the town was pristine, and you feel like you’re stepping back in time.
Another great place is Honesdale. When you walk down the Main Street of that town and you can see that it’s still the same picturesque town that it was way back then and it’s just this great small-town feel, that you really get a piece of Americana.
And we are only a few hours from New York City and Philadelphia, so we recommend renting a car and coming here and really enjoying the outdoors. We have some great roadways and you’re going to see breathtaking scenery throughout the year, as well as just getting out and seeing the different things we have to offer.
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Ask a Local: New Jersey Transcript
Elizabeth Bakley:
Cape May is an architect’s dream and a vacationer’s paradise. The first thing you should do when you get here: Go down to the beach, put your feet in the water, feel that soft sand and just enjoy the peace and quiet of being in Cape May.
To take a walk down the streets of Cape May is like walking into a Charles Dickens novel. It’s a really romantic, historic experience.
In 1878, there was a great fire. When they rebuilt, it was during the Victorian era, so that’s why you see a lot of the Victorian-style homes throughout the city. Places like the Physick Estate or the Southern Mansion provide guided tours for anyone who’s interested in seeing what the inside of these beautiful homes look like.
If you’re only here for a day or two, I definitely recommend getting on a boat, get out in that back bay, get out in the ocean and see the Cape May area from a different perspective.
The fishing industry in Cape May has sustained this area for a very long period of time and still does. What we catch in those back bays and in the ocean, you can find right in those local restaurants fresh and served daily.
The Washington Street Mall is the heart of Cape May. What I like to do is get a coffee, walk down that brick walkway of the mall, window shop, just take a deep breath, take it all in and really just enjoy that downtown area.
Because Cape May is a peninsula you have various opportunities to get out and see the wildlife. During your stay in Cape May, you can also pop up to Stone Harbor. Stone Harbor Point gives you an opportunity to see Stone Harbor the way that it used to be from a beach perspective. It’s a conservation area that helps preserve the land for the animals. You can go right up to the Wetlands Institute and have an opportunity to feel some of these animals to learn more about them. They have a great educational program there at the Wetlands.
If you’re into architecture, if you’re into great food, if you’re in for fun and a good time, come see us in Cape May.
Alessia Aron:
Jersey City is definitely urban with a small-town feel. We have some of the best views of the New York City skyline, so the best way to experience them is to take a stroll along the waterfront.
There’s always something happening downtown. Coming out of the Grove Street PATH Station, you walk out into this pedestrian plaza and you’re gonna hear live music, a farmer’s market going on.
If you’re hungry, we have amazing food. One of my favorites downtown is Razza. You’re gonna get incredible pizza, but get there early because a line forms when they open.
In the heart of Journal Square, you’re gonna find a little pocket we call “Little India.” You’ll find a ton of Indian grocery stores, Indian places to eat; you can just kinda feel like you’re in India when you’re there.
One of the highlights of Jersey City has got be the Liberty Science Center. It’s an interactive science museum. It’s great for kids and adults. It’s a ton of fun to spend half a day there with the whole family.
Corgi Spirits is Jersey City’s only distillery and the first one to open since prohibition. It kinda has this library feel inside where you can taste their gin, their vodka, their whiskey – and they make some really fantastic cocktails as well.
Our neighbor to the north is Hoboken, where Frank Sinatra is from. It’s definitely gonna have a more of a cute, quaint feel. You’re gonna walk down Washington and just see a ton of bars, restaurants, cafes. One of the places people really like to stop in is Carlo’s Bakery, which is featured on Cake Boss.
Jersey City has one of the best mural programs in the country. We have local and international artists who are showcasing their gorgeous artwork. When you’re seeing this art, you’re getting a sense of the community, and that is something that makes Jersey City really special.
We really embrace diversity here. I like making other people feel welcome and I hope that people get the same experience when they come and visit Jersey City.
Cape May is an architect’s dream and a vacationer’s paradise. The first thing you should do when you get here: Go down to the beach, put your feet in the water, feel that soft sand and just enjoy the peace and quiet of being in Cape May.
To take a walk down the streets of Cape May is like walking into a Charles Dickens novel. It’s a really romantic, historic experience.
In 1878, there was a great fire. When they rebuilt, it was during the Victorian era, so that’s why you see a lot of the Victorian-style homes throughout the city. Places like the Physick Estate or the Southern Mansion provide guided tours for anyone who’s interested in seeing what the inside of these beautiful homes look like.
If you’re only here for a day or two, I definitely recommend getting on a boat, get out in that back bay, get out in the ocean and see the Cape May area from a different perspective.
The fishing industry in Cape May has sustained this area for a very long period of time and still does. What we catch in those back bays and in the ocean, you can find right in those local restaurants fresh and served daily.
The Washington Street Mall is the heart of Cape May. What I like to do is get a coffee, walk down that brick walkway of the mall, window shop, just take a deep breath, take it all in and really just enjoy that downtown area.
Because Cape May is a peninsula you have various opportunities to get out and see the wildlife. During your stay in Cape May, you can also pop up to Stone Harbor. Stone Harbor Point gives you an opportunity to see Stone Harbor the way that it used to be from a beach perspective. It’s a conservation area that helps preserve the land for the animals. You can go right up to the Wetlands Institute and have an opportunity to feel some of these animals to learn more about them. They have a great educational program there at the Wetlands.
If you’re into architecture, if you’re into great food, if you’re in for fun and a good time, come see us in Cape May.
Alessia Aron:
Jersey City is definitely urban with a small-town feel. We have some of the best views of the New York City skyline, so the best way to experience them is to take a stroll along the waterfront.
There’s always something happening downtown. Coming out of the Grove Street PATH Station, you walk out into this pedestrian plaza and you’re gonna hear live music, a farmer’s market going on.
If you’re hungry, we have amazing food. One of my favorites downtown is Razza. You’re gonna get incredible pizza, but get there early because a line forms when they open.
In the heart of Journal Square, you’re gonna find a little pocket we call “Little India.” You’ll find a ton of Indian grocery stores, Indian places to eat; you can just kinda feel like you’re in India when you’re there.
One of the highlights of Jersey City has got be the Liberty Science Center. It’s an interactive science museum. It’s great for kids and adults. It’s a ton of fun to spend half a day there with the whole family.
Corgi Spirits is Jersey City’s only distillery and the first one to open since prohibition. It kinda has this library feel inside where you can taste their gin, their vodka, their whiskey – and they make some really fantastic cocktails as well.
Our neighbor to the north is Hoboken, where Frank Sinatra is from. It’s definitely gonna have a more of a cute, quaint feel. You’re gonna walk down Washington and just see a ton of bars, restaurants, cafes. One of the places people really like to stop in is Carlo’s Bakery, which is featured on Cake Boss.
Jersey City has one of the best mural programs in the country. We have local and international artists who are showcasing their gorgeous artwork. When you’re seeing this art, you’re getting a sense of the community, and that is something that makes Jersey City really special.
We really embrace diversity here. I like making other people feel welcome and I hope that people get the same experience when they come and visit Jersey City.
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Ask a Local: Delaware Transcript
Captain Steve Savidge:
Rehoboth Beach is great for families. The boardwalk in Rehoboth is a mile long. It’s a great place to take a walk. You can shop; there’s plenty of things for the kids to do.
A perfect day on the beach for me would be to get there early before the crowds arrive, get a little swimming in, get a little sun, and then go to one of the amazing restaurants there for lunch.
Dogfish Head brewery got started here in Rehoboth in the early ’90s. They have a restaurant, store and a small brewery there still.
Lewes, Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach are all very close in proximity. Rehoboth is more of a family-oriented restaurant scene. Dewey is more of the party, the bar scene. And Lewes is more of a historical town. Lewes has a lot of historical sights. There is a museum from the origination of Lewes called the Zwaanendael Museum. There’s a historic lightship that’s docked in the canal.
Cape Henlopen State Park is almost a 1-mile-square area between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. It is one of three kind of rare dune habitats that are in the United States. The trails at Cape Henlopen are the best way to really experience the park. We have elevated platforms so that you can actually walk through the dunes and the wetlands. My favorite activity at Cape Henlopen is to fish. We have a surf-fishing beach so you can get a permit to drive out on the beach and actively engage in fishing.
The Fort Miles Museum & Historical Area is what is left of the original Fort Miles that was built during World War II. We have fire control towers at Fort Miles and Cape Henlopen. One of the fire control towers is open and you can actually climb up it and get an amazing view of the park and the town of Lewes.
If you’re here just for a day or two, I would recommend walking on the boardwalk, walking on the beach, watching the sunrise first thing in the morning and eating out.
Lauren Weaver:
Well, the unique thing about Bethany Beach is that it’s family. My grandfather vacationed here; my father vacationed here as a boy. And there’s just such a timeless tradition that you have in Bethany Beach.
One of the coolest things that you can do here is take a wildlife paddle. We have a really unique ecosystem that is host to birds from all over the world. The inland bays ecological system is unreal. So, we have the horseshoe crab, which is the symbol of Delaware. We have the largest population outside of Japan of horseshoe crabs.
The beach culture here is a fun mix of vacationers and year-round people that love the beach. When you love a sunrise or the smell of the ocean and the breeze and the sand, it’s just something that everyone gets excited for.
The boardwalk in Bethany Beach is really unique. There’s no real loud neon signs coming at you. It’s just a real fun family feel. I think nobody leaves without a box of fudge or a box of taffies to take home and show off that you were down at the shore.
Fenwick Island State Park is on the narrows in between Bethany and the town of Fenwick Island, and you have oceanfront and bayside, so you can go and have a beautiful day on the beach, or you can cross the street and have a day in a stand-up paddle or a kayak, and get the best of both worlds: the ocean and the bay.
The Shipwreck Museum, which is in Fenwick Island, has been there since Dale Clifton found his first coin. He decided that he wanted to create a museum to tell a little bit of the story about the unique history and shipwrecks all up and down the coast of the Atlantic and some of the treasures heading up into the Delaware Bay.
The Assawoman preservation area used to be farmland that has been given over for a wildlife refuge. It’s a really beautiful area. They have observation towers, so you can get a view of the marshes and the birding nurseries.
Bethany Beach is beautiful. It is quaint, it is small, it is friendly – all the things that people come to the beach for in the summer.
Rehoboth Beach is great for families. The boardwalk in Rehoboth is a mile long. It’s a great place to take a walk. You can shop; there’s plenty of things for the kids to do.
A perfect day on the beach for me would be to get there early before the crowds arrive, get a little swimming in, get a little sun, and then go to one of the amazing restaurants there for lunch.
Dogfish Head brewery got started here in Rehoboth in the early ’90s. They have a restaurant, store and a small brewery there still.
Lewes, Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach are all very close in proximity. Rehoboth is more of a family-oriented restaurant scene. Dewey is more of the party, the bar scene. And Lewes is more of a historical town. Lewes has a lot of historical sights. There is a museum from the origination of Lewes called the Zwaanendael Museum. There’s a historic lightship that’s docked in the canal.
Cape Henlopen State Park is almost a 1-mile-square area between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. It is one of three kind of rare dune habitats that are in the United States. The trails at Cape Henlopen are the best way to really experience the park. We have elevated platforms so that you can actually walk through the dunes and the wetlands. My favorite activity at Cape Henlopen is to fish. We have a surf-fishing beach so you can get a permit to drive out on the beach and actively engage in fishing.
The Fort Miles Museum & Historical Area is what is left of the original Fort Miles that was built during World War II. We have fire control towers at Fort Miles and Cape Henlopen. One of the fire control towers is open and you can actually climb up it and get an amazing view of the park and the town of Lewes.
If you’re here just for a day or two, I would recommend walking on the boardwalk, walking on the beach, watching the sunrise first thing in the morning and eating out.
Lauren Weaver:
Well, the unique thing about Bethany Beach is that it’s family. My grandfather vacationed here; my father vacationed here as a boy. And there’s just such a timeless tradition that you have in Bethany Beach.
One of the coolest things that you can do here is take a wildlife paddle. We have a really unique ecosystem that is host to birds from all over the world. The inland bays ecological system is unreal. So, we have the horseshoe crab, which is the symbol of Delaware. We have the largest population outside of Japan of horseshoe crabs.
The beach culture here is a fun mix of vacationers and year-round people that love the beach. When you love a sunrise or the smell of the ocean and the breeze and the sand, it’s just something that everyone gets excited for.
The boardwalk in Bethany Beach is really unique. There’s no real loud neon signs coming at you. It’s just a real fun family feel. I think nobody leaves without a box of fudge or a box of taffies to take home and show off that you were down at the shore.
Fenwick Island State Park is on the narrows in between Bethany and the town of Fenwick Island, and you have oceanfront and bayside, so you can go and have a beautiful day on the beach, or you can cross the street and have a day in a stand-up paddle or a kayak, and get the best of both worlds: the ocean and the bay.
The Shipwreck Museum, which is in Fenwick Island, has been there since Dale Clifton found his first coin. He decided that he wanted to create a museum to tell a little bit of the story about the unique history and shipwrecks all up and down the coast of the Atlantic and some of the treasures heading up into the Delaware Bay.
The Assawoman preservation area used to be farmland that has been given over for a wildlife refuge. It’s a really beautiful area. They have observation towers, so you can get a view of the marshes and the birding nurseries.
Bethany Beach is beautiful. It is quaint, it is small, it is friendly – all the things that people come to the beach for in the summer.
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Ask a Local: Kentucky Transcript
Ryan Rogers:
There’s a lot of different ways to say Louisville. You could say Lou-ee-ville, you could say Louis-ville, Lou-i-ville. It’s Lou-uh-vul, Louisville.
Only in a city like Louisville, Kentucky, can you turn a two-minute horse race into a two-week party – and that is the Kentucky Derby. Mint Julep is like the classic Derby cocktail. We’re really gonna bring out our bowties; our big, giant hats; and then, ultimately, the Run for the Roses, the fastest two minutes in sports.
You want to check out Churchill Downs, and if they don’t have a race going on, you always have an opportunity to tour the track or check out the Kentucky Derby Museum, a testament to all the great horses that won the Derby previously.
I really recommend you that you visit one of our Kentucky bourbon distilleries. We have an entire Main Street here in Louisville that we call Whiskey Row. One of my favorite distilleries to check out is the Evan Williams distillery. They do a really cool tour and tasting, and they talk about their history. The Old Forester Distillery, they’re really dedicated to making all their Old Forester product and distilling it here on Whiskey Row.
Louisville has a really exciting culinary scene. One of my favorite restaurants is Proof on Main at the 21c Hotel. Chef Jonathan Searle gets ingredients coming in fresh from farmers and puts them on a menu in a very seasonal way. Red Hog’s a really cool restaurant. They’ve combined kind of the best things of a local artisanal butcher shop with a restaurant and bar. Royals Hot Chicken focuses on great fried chicken paired with classic southern sides as well.
Over the past 30 years, Louisville has done a really exciting job of turning our riverfront into a really great, usable space. It also connects Louisville to our Louisville Wharf, where you can find the Belle of Louisville, as well as the Mary M. Miller steamboat. You can take out on a dinner cruise or just a daytime cruise.
The Louisville Mega Cavern is actually not a cave; it’s a former limestone mine, and it’s a really cool place to go and explore and visit. They’ve got an underground zip line; it might be the only underground zipline in the world.
Louisville, let it roll through your mouth – Louisville.
Anne Hardy:
I love Lexington because it is absolutely gorgeous. We are surrounded by the most amazing natural beauty, and it has a lot of the amenities still with the kind of southern small-town charm.
The sights and sounds of horse country are gorgeous rolling hills, green grass; the smells are heavenly. A typical horse country tour is never really typical because every day on a farm is a little bit different. So, you get to choose what kind of experience you want.
Lexington is unique because it is the epicenter of thoroughbred world. Keeneland is the premier thoroughbred racecourse in the United States, maybe the world. It really is one of the most amazing locations for anyone who is interested in thoroughbred racing, or even if you’re not, because you just hear the pounding of the hooves and the screaming of the crowd – and it is so exciting.
The neighborhoods of Lexington are so fun to walk around. Thursday Night Live is the party where everyone goes after work. Grab a cocktail, listen to music, experience downtown and also be on our historic Courthouse Square.
Smithtown Seafood is your quintessential pub, fish and chips, location, and you can walk right into the West Sixth Brewery, put an order in for your beer, get your fish and chips, and then you’ve got a West Sixth pint waiting on you. I love it.
Windy Corner Market is an absolute gem, right out in the middle of horse country, and you get to experience true Kentucky southern cooking.
Whether you were born here or you’re a transplant, you learn to love the bourbon and appreciate it. There are lots of great bars around and different ways to introduce you to it if you’ve never had it before.
At the Pepper Campus, you will find a hodgepodge of really fun and unique things to do. It is actually an old bourbon distilling operation that for many years sat vacant and has been completely revitalized, and it is now a center for fun attractions. So, if you want ice cream, you’ve got it; local pizza, same thing. If you want to elevate your experience a little bit, Middle Fork is a great spot. So, it’s just a really fun thing to see it come back together because it once was a really vibrant part of Lexington, and now it is again and still incorporating that bourbon heritage that we have.
Welcome to Lexington!
There’s a lot of different ways to say Louisville. You could say Lou-ee-ville, you could say Louis-ville, Lou-i-ville. It’s Lou-uh-vul, Louisville.
Only in a city like Louisville, Kentucky, can you turn a two-minute horse race into a two-week party – and that is the Kentucky Derby. Mint Julep is like the classic Derby cocktail. We’re really gonna bring out our bowties; our big, giant hats; and then, ultimately, the Run for the Roses, the fastest two minutes in sports.
You want to check out Churchill Downs, and if they don’t have a race going on, you always have an opportunity to tour the track or check out the Kentucky Derby Museum, a testament to all the great horses that won the Derby previously.
I really recommend you that you visit one of our Kentucky bourbon distilleries. We have an entire Main Street here in Louisville that we call Whiskey Row. One of my favorite distilleries to check out is the Evan Williams distillery. They do a really cool tour and tasting, and they talk about their history. The Old Forester Distillery, they’re really dedicated to making all their Old Forester product and distilling it here on Whiskey Row.
Louisville has a really exciting culinary scene. One of my favorite restaurants is Proof on Main at the 21c Hotel. Chef Jonathan Searle gets ingredients coming in fresh from farmers and puts them on a menu in a very seasonal way. Red Hog’s a really cool restaurant. They’ve combined kind of the best things of a local artisanal butcher shop with a restaurant and bar. Royals Hot Chicken focuses on great fried chicken paired with classic southern sides as well.
Over the past 30 years, Louisville has done a really exciting job of turning our riverfront into a really great, usable space. It also connects Louisville to our Louisville Wharf, where you can find the Belle of Louisville, as well as the Mary M. Miller steamboat. You can take out on a dinner cruise or just a daytime cruise.
The Louisville Mega Cavern is actually not a cave; it’s a former limestone mine, and it’s a really cool place to go and explore and visit. They’ve got an underground zip line; it might be the only underground zipline in the world.
Louisville, let it roll through your mouth – Louisville.
Anne Hardy:
I love Lexington because it is absolutely gorgeous. We are surrounded by the most amazing natural beauty, and it has a lot of the amenities still with the kind of southern small-town charm.
The sights and sounds of horse country are gorgeous rolling hills, green grass; the smells are heavenly. A typical horse country tour is never really typical because every day on a farm is a little bit different. So, you get to choose what kind of experience you want.
Lexington is unique because it is the epicenter of thoroughbred world. Keeneland is the premier thoroughbred racecourse in the United States, maybe the world. It really is one of the most amazing locations for anyone who is interested in thoroughbred racing, or even if you’re not, because you just hear the pounding of the hooves and the screaming of the crowd – and it is so exciting.
The neighborhoods of Lexington are so fun to walk around. Thursday Night Live is the party where everyone goes after work. Grab a cocktail, listen to music, experience downtown and also be on our historic Courthouse Square.
Smithtown Seafood is your quintessential pub, fish and chips, location, and you can walk right into the West Sixth Brewery, put an order in for your beer, get your fish and chips, and then you’ve got a West Sixth pint waiting on you. I love it.
Windy Corner Market is an absolute gem, right out in the middle of horse country, and you get to experience true Kentucky southern cooking.
Whether you were born here or you’re a transplant, you learn to love the bourbon and appreciate it. There are lots of great bars around and different ways to introduce you to it if you’ve never had it before.
At the Pepper Campus, you will find a hodgepodge of really fun and unique things to do. It is actually an old bourbon distilling operation that for many years sat vacant and has been completely revitalized, and it is now a center for fun attractions. So, if you want ice cream, you’ve got it; local pizza, same thing. If you want to elevate your experience a little bit, Middle Fork is a great spot. So, it’s just a really fun thing to see it come back together because it once was a really vibrant part of Lexington, and now it is again and still incorporating that bourbon heritage that we have.
Welcome to Lexington!
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Ask a Local: American Samoa Transcript
Sandra Lutu:
I love Pago Pago because it’s my home. American Samoa is located in the South Pacific below the equator. It’s the farthest and southernmost U.S. territory. As you drive along the coast, all the way through to the Pago Pago Bay, the water is everything. It’s just really, really beautiful; you see it.
Tutuila and the harbor is, like, something you can’t find anywhere else – the most beautiful, natural harbor in the world.
You’ve gotta enjoy the ocean. Go snorkeling. See the island from the harbor. And you can see the majestic beauty of being in this beautiful bay. You’ve gotta enjoy the World War II artifacts that we have. It’s a short hike up at Blunts Point.
Umu is how we traditionally cook our food. It’s like our outside oven. It’s right on the ground and then it’s covered with hot rocks. The rocks are heated up and then you put food in, and it bakes in there. We bake breadfruit, we bake taro, we bake chicken.
If you want to experience the umu here in American Samoa, the best place to start is Tisa’s Barefoot Bar. They do an excellent job.
Sadie’s by the Sea is a good café. It’s probably the most ideal place for a beautiful view of the bay.
Going to the national park in American Samoa is a great experience. One of the most unique things about our national park are the indigenous plants and species that live there.
Rainmaker Mountain, as legend tells it, is actually a person. When I grew up, I knew the Rainmaker Mountain as Pioa because that’s his name. If you look at the top of the mountain, it looks like a man that’s laying down facing up. If a cloud touches Rainmaker Mountain, you can guarantee it will rain.
I like the views, the landscapes; it’s just so, so beautiful. I think it’s breathtaking. I think it’s mesmerizing. It just makes me proud to be part of American Samoa.
I love Pago Pago because it’s my home. American Samoa is located in the South Pacific below the equator. It’s the farthest and southernmost U.S. territory. As you drive along the coast, all the way through to the Pago Pago Bay, the water is everything. It’s just really, really beautiful; you see it.
Tutuila and the harbor is, like, something you can’t find anywhere else – the most beautiful, natural harbor in the world.
You’ve gotta enjoy the ocean. Go snorkeling. See the island from the harbor. And you can see the majestic beauty of being in this beautiful bay. You’ve gotta enjoy the World War II artifacts that we have. It’s a short hike up at Blunts Point.
Umu is how we traditionally cook our food. It’s like our outside oven. It’s right on the ground and then it’s covered with hot rocks. The rocks are heated up and then you put food in, and it bakes in there. We bake breadfruit, we bake taro, we bake chicken.
If you want to experience the umu here in American Samoa, the best place to start is Tisa’s Barefoot Bar. They do an excellent job.
Sadie’s by the Sea is a good café. It’s probably the most ideal place for a beautiful view of the bay.
Going to the national park in American Samoa is a great experience. One of the most unique things about our national park are the indigenous plants and species that live there.
Rainmaker Mountain, as legend tells it, is actually a person. When I grew up, I knew the Rainmaker Mountain as Pioa because that’s his name. If you look at the top of the mountain, it looks like a man that’s laying down facing up. If a cloud touches Rainmaker Mountain, you can guarantee it will rain.
I like the views, the landscapes; it’s just so, so beautiful. I think it’s breathtaking. I think it’s mesmerizing. It just makes me proud to be part of American Samoa.
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Ask a Local: Utah Transcript
Alexander Ortega:
I think that the first thing that people notice about Salt Lake City is how wide the streets are. It’s funny because that actually comes from the urban planning from the first pioneers. It has a nice kind of refreshing quality.
Downtown Salt Lake City is always buzzing. And so, whether it’s people bar hopping or going to great restaurants, it’s always fun to just kind of walk around.
At the center of Salt Lake City is the LDS temple and around that is Temple Square. Temple Square is actually the most visited attraction in Utah. It’s the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it’s where you can see the iconic Salt Lake Temple. It covers 35 acres with museums, attractions and beautiful gardens. For a really special treat though, go during Christmas time. You can see their gardens are strung up with Christmas lights. It really is an amazing site to behold.
9th and 9th is a hip neighborhood with all kinds of unique shops, restaurants and cafes. Catch a show at the Tower Theater. It’s a historic theater that is also a Sundance Film Festival venue every winter. If you’re looking for high-quality, fashion-forward clothing, I would definitely recommend going to the Stockist at 9th and 9th.
UMOCA is the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. And so, you can find local and national and international artists whose work pushes the boundaries of what art can be and offers a lot of conceptual underpinning for visual artwork, performance art and more.
You’ve got to visit the Utah Museum of Natural History. Utah is one of the world’s richest areas for dinosaur fossils and the museum has tons of amazing dinosaur skeletal displays. They’re really cool, interactive exhibits, and they show everything from like minerals and metals to flora and fauna. It’s really just a great place to explore.
The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. It’s an amazing place for nature and wildlife viewing. And if you really want to see some stunning sights, head to Antelope Island. It’s a wildlife preserve on the Great Salt Lake where you can see bison, raptors, coyotes and antelope.
To me what’s unique about Salt Lake City is its offering of art and culture with a community that really cares about each other.
Victor Cooper:
Kanab is a small Southern Utah town surrounded by gigantic landscapes. The town is only about 4,500 people. It’s much more laid-back, and a lot of people like that when they come to visit – that it is such a chill, chill area. And then they get out in nature and they’re just overwhelmed.
My favorite thing to do in Kanab is just to get out and hike and explore, whether it’s a national park or just gorgeous natural features. You have Zion National Park to our west, Bryce Canyon National Park to our north.
Zion National Park truly is a one-of-a-kind experience. It is breathtaking. Some of the highest sandstone cliffs in the world, and when you’re in it, you really kind of feel small in the universe.
The word that best describes Bryce Canyon National Park would be “hoodoos.” And hoodoos are pillars of rock that stick up from the canyon floor and it is so spectacular and so unique.
Hog Canyon is one of my most fun places to go. Riding ATVs is just exciting. You have just trails that are flat and are more scenic. You have trails that are very rocky and really challenge your skills as a driver. And you have everything in between.
The Mansard Petroglyph site is really a wonderful feature located just basically here in Kanab. And riding your ATV to it enables you to see thousand-year-old petroglyphs.
It’s really an incredible sight to see Coral Pink Sand Dunes when the sun’s out. You have the blue sky and that pinkish-red sand. It’s almost like the camera can’t process the color. But it’s a sweeping and endless landscape of just gorgeous, smooth lines. And then when the wind blows, it creates these little funnels. It’s truly, truly amazing.
Moqui Cave is a fun and different place for all visitors to go. It’s a real cave, and in the back, they have various gems and things like that that are lit under black light and it really is fun. You don’t want to miss the dinosaur tracks when you go to Moqui Cave. These are from three-toed dinosaurs that lived millions and millions of years ago.
After a long day of hiking or riding ATVs, it’s nice to come into Kanab and have a great meal at one of our great restaurants. The Rocking V is the perfect place to have a meal. Fabulous food, casual atmosphere, great service.
One thing I think a lot of our guests really like about coming to Kanab is kind of a slower pace. Nature kind of imposes its will on you and everything. People who are used to running around at a fast pace tend to, I think, slow down and want to look at things and take the time to see things more carefully when you’re here.
I think that the first thing that people notice about Salt Lake City is how wide the streets are. It’s funny because that actually comes from the urban planning from the first pioneers. It has a nice kind of refreshing quality.
Downtown Salt Lake City is always buzzing. And so, whether it’s people bar hopping or going to great restaurants, it’s always fun to just kind of walk around.
At the center of Salt Lake City is the LDS temple and around that is Temple Square. Temple Square is actually the most visited attraction in Utah. It’s the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it’s where you can see the iconic Salt Lake Temple. It covers 35 acres with museums, attractions and beautiful gardens. For a really special treat though, go during Christmas time. You can see their gardens are strung up with Christmas lights. It really is an amazing site to behold.
9th and 9th is a hip neighborhood with all kinds of unique shops, restaurants and cafes. Catch a show at the Tower Theater. It’s a historic theater that is also a Sundance Film Festival venue every winter. If you’re looking for high-quality, fashion-forward clothing, I would definitely recommend going to the Stockist at 9th and 9th.
UMOCA is the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. And so, you can find local and national and international artists whose work pushes the boundaries of what art can be and offers a lot of conceptual underpinning for visual artwork, performance art and more.
You’ve got to visit the Utah Museum of Natural History. Utah is one of the world’s richest areas for dinosaur fossils and the museum has tons of amazing dinosaur skeletal displays. They’re really cool, interactive exhibits, and they show everything from like minerals and metals to flora and fauna. It’s really just a great place to explore.
The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. It’s an amazing place for nature and wildlife viewing. And if you really want to see some stunning sights, head to Antelope Island. It’s a wildlife preserve on the Great Salt Lake where you can see bison, raptors, coyotes and antelope.
To me what’s unique about Salt Lake City is its offering of art and culture with a community that really cares about each other.
Victor Cooper:
Kanab is a small Southern Utah town surrounded by gigantic landscapes. The town is only about 4,500 people. It’s much more laid-back, and a lot of people like that when they come to visit – that it is such a chill, chill area. And then they get out in nature and they’re just overwhelmed.
My favorite thing to do in Kanab is just to get out and hike and explore, whether it’s a national park or just gorgeous natural features. You have Zion National Park to our west, Bryce Canyon National Park to our north.
Zion National Park truly is a one-of-a-kind experience. It is breathtaking. Some of the highest sandstone cliffs in the world, and when you’re in it, you really kind of feel small in the universe.
The word that best describes Bryce Canyon National Park would be “hoodoos.” And hoodoos are pillars of rock that stick up from the canyon floor and it is so spectacular and so unique.
Hog Canyon is one of my most fun places to go. Riding ATVs is just exciting. You have just trails that are flat and are more scenic. You have trails that are very rocky and really challenge your skills as a driver. And you have everything in between.
The Mansard Petroglyph site is really a wonderful feature located just basically here in Kanab. And riding your ATV to it enables you to see thousand-year-old petroglyphs.
It’s really an incredible sight to see Coral Pink Sand Dunes when the sun’s out. You have the blue sky and that pinkish-red sand. It’s almost like the camera can’t process the color. But it’s a sweeping and endless landscape of just gorgeous, smooth lines. And then when the wind blows, it creates these little funnels. It’s truly, truly amazing.
Moqui Cave is a fun and different place for all visitors to go. It’s a real cave, and in the back, they have various gems and things like that that are lit under black light and it really is fun. You don’t want to miss the dinosaur tracks when you go to Moqui Cave. These are from three-toed dinosaurs that lived millions and millions of years ago.
After a long day of hiking or riding ATVs, it’s nice to come into Kanab and have a great meal at one of our great restaurants. The Rocking V is the perfect place to have a meal. Fabulous food, casual atmosphere, great service.
One thing I think a lot of our guests really like about coming to Kanab is kind of a slower pace. Nature kind of imposes its will on you and everything. People who are used to running around at a fast pace tend to, I think, slow down and want to look at things and take the time to see things more carefully when you’re here.
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Ask a Local: Hawaii Transcript
Emma Wo:
Honolulu is so unique because it’s a cosmopolitan city; you have the beautiful buildings and city skyline. But you also have some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, parks, hikes. It kind of has a combination of everything. It’s green and lush. It’s just a bustling city with so much great energy.
If you only had a couple of days here, I would definitely say, “Head straight to Waikiki.” Waikiki Beach is an iconic surfing spot. The waves are amazing, especially for beginners. You can actually rent a surfboard, you can rent a paddleboard, or you can even canoe-surf, which is a really cool experience.
One of the most amazing places to visit is the Iolani Palace. One of my favorite rooms to visit is the Throne Room, which has two thrones that were made for King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani.
Foster Botanical Garden is located right near downtown Honolulu, and it’s a really nice escape. The garden itself is 14 acres, and you can see an amazing collection of mature trees and tropical plants.
Right next to Foster Botanical Garden is the Kuan Yin Temple, which is actually Honolulu’s oldest temple. It’s a really ornate Chinese Buddhist temple.
I love to go and stroll down Nuuanu Avenue, see a lot of the different art galleries, eat lunch and maybe shop some of the boutiques as well.
I love Honolulu because it is a melting pot of so many different cultures. The food is unreal, the art is incredible, and I just think you’re never going to find another place quite like it.
Andrew Hara:
My very favorite thing about Hilo is the accessibility to nature. You can step out of your door, and in five minutes, you’re in the middle of a remote rainforest.
I love Rainbow Falls because it’s the icon of Hilo. During a certain time of the year, a rainbow appears. When you’re at ‘Akaka Falls, you’re under this beautiful forest and in front of you, these falls that pretty much fall almost forever, and at the end, you just see this mixture of mist and water and air. It’s just a really timeless moment.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is about 45 minutes away from Hilo. What you can expect to see there is a very large caldera, which was formed thousands of years before us. You have different areas of volcanic landscape that go down to the ocean. It’s just amazing.
Lili’uokalani Gardens is one of the largest Japanese gardens in the nation. It’s got these beautiful archways. The front lawn is Hilo Bay and exquisite.
When you go into downtown Hilo, you’ll notice all these multi-colored buildings. A lot of these buildings have been around for about 100 years or so. I think downtown Hilo feels untouched.
Café 100 is a cool spot. My grandfather founded it 73 years ago. One of the best things you can get at Café 100 is the Loco Moco: a bed of rice, a hamburger patty, a little bit of gravy, and you got an egg any way that you want it.
Two Ladies Kitchen is a mochi confectionary shop. It’s one of the most popular mochi places in the nation. People come here from all around the world to try this delicious, chewy, beautiful, handmade mochi. It’s just so good.
There is a feeling of authenticity that Hilo is not trying to be anything it’s not supposed to be. It is just Hilo, and there’s a pride in that. It’s beautiful.
Honolulu is so unique because it’s a cosmopolitan city; you have the beautiful buildings and city skyline. But you also have some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, parks, hikes. It kind of has a combination of everything. It’s green and lush. It’s just a bustling city with so much great energy.
If you only had a couple of days here, I would definitely say, “Head straight to Waikiki.” Waikiki Beach is an iconic surfing spot. The waves are amazing, especially for beginners. You can actually rent a surfboard, you can rent a paddleboard, or you can even canoe-surf, which is a really cool experience.
One of the most amazing places to visit is the Iolani Palace. One of my favorite rooms to visit is the Throne Room, which has two thrones that were made for King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani.
Foster Botanical Garden is located right near downtown Honolulu, and it’s a really nice escape. The garden itself is 14 acres, and you can see an amazing collection of mature trees and tropical plants.
Right next to Foster Botanical Garden is the Kuan Yin Temple, which is actually Honolulu’s oldest temple. It’s a really ornate Chinese Buddhist temple.
I love to go and stroll down Nuuanu Avenue, see a lot of the different art galleries, eat lunch and maybe shop some of the boutiques as well.
I love Honolulu because it is a melting pot of so many different cultures. The food is unreal, the art is incredible, and I just think you’re never going to find another place quite like it.
Andrew Hara:
My very favorite thing about Hilo is the accessibility to nature. You can step out of your door, and in five minutes, you’re in the middle of a remote rainforest.
I love Rainbow Falls because it’s the icon of Hilo. During a certain time of the year, a rainbow appears. When you’re at ‘Akaka Falls, you’re under this beautiful forest and in front of you, these falls that pretty much fall almost forever, and at the end, you just see this mixture of mist and water and air. It’s just a really timeless moment.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is about 45 minutes away from Hilo. What you can expect to see there is a very large caldera, which was formed thousands of years before us. You have different areas of volcanic landscape that go down to the ocean. It’s just amazing.
Lili’uokalani Gardens is one of the largest Japanese gardens in the nation. It’s got these beautiful archways. The front lawn is Hilo Bay and exquisite.
When you go into downtown Hilo, you’ll notice all these multi-colored buildings. A lot of these buildings have been around for about 100 years or so. I think downtown Hilo feels untouched.
Café 100 is a cool spot. My grandfather founded it 73 years ago. One of the best things you can get at Café 100 is the Loco Moco: a bed of rice, a hamburger patty, a little bit of gravy, and you got an egg any way that you want it.
Two Ladies Kitchen is a mochi confectionary shop. It’s one of the most popular mochi places in the nation. People come here from all around the world to try this delicious, chewy, beautiful, handmade mochi. It’s just so good.
There is a feeling of authenticity that Hilo is not trying to be anything it’s not supposed to be. It is just Hilo, and there’s a pride in that. It’s beautiful.
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Ask a Local: New Hampshire Transcript
Portsmouth Speaker:
I love New Hampshire. It's got so much to offer, whether you’re interested in history or looking to get out into nature, or you want to experience culture or the arts. I grew up in the country on a dairy farm actually, so for me, Portsmouth was the big city. I remember coming with my parents to Portsmouth to come see a show, see a gallery. And it was always such an amazing experience.
I always wanted to be a performer. I love everything about the stage. The spotlight, the audience – there’s just something magical about transporting people to a different place. After college, I wanted a life in the arts. And knowing that Portsmouth had that is what attracted me here. There are people making their living as artists and they've got this cultural life beyond just their day-to-day jobs. Here at the Music Hall where I work, we have performances year-round. In the summertime, there's always something good going on at Prescott Park. There are producing houses like Seacoast Rep and the Players Ring. There's just always something going on.
I have to say, everyone here has a creative practice of some sort. Take for example Kristina Logan. She's a world-renowned bead maker. Her work’s in the Smithsonian, and she lived right next door to me. And then you've got all of these chefs who come here to take advantage of the fresh seafood and the locally grown produce, and it's really made Portsmouth a culinary destination. Actually, we call it a “little big city” because there’s just so much happening in this little place. We’re an hour outside of Boston. We’ve really got everything from a historic downtown with the best food to these amazing beaches where, to be honest, the water’s not always that warm, but they're still a great place to explore.
In addition to the sandy beaches, there are also these great wooded beaches. They’re perfect for kayaking. You can try New Castle Common; it’s one of my favorite spots. You’ve got the playground and you can go fishing there. It's just wonderful.
Portsmouth used to be kind of a gritty place, between the shipyard and the working port, not to mention the brothels. But in the ’70s and ’80s, a lot of those industrial buildings got to turn into lofts and studios spaces, and artists from all over New England started moving in.
Alongside the artists moving in, we started to get some really great restaurants. It started as just a trickle, but now we've got more restaurant seats than residents and we’re a culinary destination. On that note, you should definitely try the lobster rolls and oysters while you're here. You've got to go see Matt Louis who's recreating traditional American recipes at his restaurant, Moxy. And go see Jack Blalock. He opened one of the original riverfront restaurants, the Old Ferry Landing. And he’s actually the mayor now.
Jack Blalock:
Yep, I’m also the mayor. So, this is my other job at City Hall. Fun fact: I was actually born a few offices down the hall back when this was Portsmouth Hospital.
Portsmouth Speaker:
Yeah, once you’re here for a couple of days, you'll see a lot of the same characters around town. It’s called “the city of the open door,” and everyone's really friendly. You can't help but feel welcome. Come by the coffee shops if you want to meet the locals. We also have some great cafes. Mayor Jack will probably be there with a book, and it’s a great place to meet some new friends and find someone to recommend your next dinner spot. Like I said, you'll see a lot of familiar faces.
Then, you might want to sit out and watch the working port. But definitely don't miss one of the great performances while you're in town. Check out the beaches. Take out a kayak. And then head to the White Mountains for nature like you've never seen.
White Mountains Speaker:
I started coming to the White Mountains when I was a little kid. I think I was probably about 7 or 8 the first time. My parents would bring me out here and I remember just walking around and exploring nature. I was kind of a lonely kid when I was here, I think a little homesick, and it was really comforting out here. I actually didn't realize the impact that it had on me until years later. I was living in the city and going through a divorce. Sometimes that kind of pain I think, brings you back and makes you want that original source of comfort that you knew. So, I found myself back in the White Mountains.
I spent some time on the trails. I camped and walked, and I just started to heal. And then I decided to stay. Now I volunteer as an Alpine Steward with the Appalachian Mountain Club. Our job is to help other people connect with the outdoors and with nature, to teach people to be good environmental stewards, so that we can protect the trails and keep them in good working order for years to come.
I think when people think of the White Mountains, they think about Mount Washington, which is the highest peak in the northeast. In the winter, Mount Washington is formidable. It’s so high, it actually has its own climate and weather station. You can go to the top of Mount Washington by train or by the Auto Road in the summertime. Mount Washington is surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges. There's 48 4,000-footer peaks that people like to hike in the area. But there's actually a lot more to the White Mountains than that.
A lot of people come up here to climb and hike and ski. But there's also lots of valleys and forests and beautiful lake areas to explore. We actually have some of the best climbing in the world. Cannon Cliff in particular is renowned. But if climbing is not your thing, you can also take a tram up Cannon Mountain to get some great views of Franconia Ridge.
You can really be as connected with nature as you want here. There are remote trail cabins across the mountains that you can stay in. Or you can try one of the old resorts that were built in the 1800s. They're pretty impressive. And I need to get down there more often, but there's also the Lakes region, which is beautiful. We also have this scenic drive; we call it the Kanc. It connects you with a lot of cute towns like Lincoln and North Conway. North Conway has a five-and-dime and a general store, and it's really close to the village of Jackson.
I’ve always liked Jackson; it has a small-town vibe and it's really iconic. In Jackson, you'll find all these great inns and taverns. The Wildcat Inn has been there forever. They do a pasta night and it's a great way to meet the locals. There's also this breakfast place called Yesterdays. They have amazing pancakes, and that’s also where you’ll find the regulars. And if you're here in the winter, go to Nestlenook Farms, where you can go snowshoeing and drink hot cocoa out by the frozen pond. In the winter, you can also go on a horse-drawn sleigh ride. It's just a magical place and what could be better than sharing that?
I love New Hampshire. It's got so much to offer, whether you’re interested in history or looking to get out into nature, or you want to experience culture or the arts. I grew up in the country on a dairy farm actually, so for me, Portsmouth was the big city. I remember coming with my parents to Portsmouth to come see a show, see a gallery. And it was always such an amazing experience.
I always wanted to be a performer. I love everything about the stage. The spotlight, the audience – there’s just something magical about transporting people to a different place. After college, I wanted a life in the arts. And knowing that Portsmouth had that is what attracted me here. There are people making their living as artists and they've got this cultural life beyond just their day-to-day jobs. Here at the Music Hall where I work, we have performances year-round. In the summertime, there's always something good going on at Prescott Park. There are producing houses like Seacoast Rep and the Players Ring. There's just always something going on.
I have to say, everyone here has a creative practice of some sort. Take for example Kristina Logan. She's a world-renowned bead maker. Her work’s in the Smithsonian, and she lived right next door to me. And then you've got all of these chefs who come here to take advantage of the fresh seafood and the locally grown produce, and it's really made Portsmouth a culinary destination. Actually, we call it a “little big city” because there’s just so much happening in this little place. We’re an hour outside of Boston. We’ve really got everything from a historic downtown with the best food to these amazing beaches where, to be honest, the water’s not always that warm, but they're still a great place to explore.
In addition to the sandy beaches, there are also these great wooded beaches. They’re perfect for kayaking. You can try New Castle Common; it’s one of my favorite spots. You’ve got the playground and you can go fishing there. It's just wonderful.
Portsmouth used to be kind of a gritty place, between the shipyard and the working port, not to mention the brothels. But in the ’70s and ’80s, a lot of those industrial buildings got to turn into lofts and studios spaces, and artists from all over New England started moving in.
Alongside the artists moving in, we started to get some really great restaurants. It started as just a trickle, but now we've got more restaurant seats than residents and we’re a culinary destination. On that note, you should definitely try the lobster rolls and oysters while you're here. You've got to go see Matt Louis who's recreating traditional American recipes at his restaurant, Moxy. And go see Jack Blalock. He opened one of the original riverfront restaurants, the Old Ferry Landing. And he’s actually the mayor now.
Jack Blalock:
Yep, I’m also the mayor. So, this is my other job at City Hall. Fun fact: I was actually born a few offices down the hall back when this was Portsmouth Hospital.
Portsmouth Speaker:
Yeah, once you’re here for a couple of days, you'll see a lot of the same characters around town. It’s called “the city of the open door,” and everyone's really friendly. You can't help but feel welcome. Come by the coffee shops if you want to meet the locals. We also have some great cafes. Mayor Jack will probably be there with a book, and it’s a great place to meet some new friends and find someone to recommend your next dinner spot. Like I said, you'll see a lot of familiar faces.
Then, you might want to sit out and watch the working port. But definitely don't miss one of the great performances while you're in town. Check out the beaches. Take out a kayak. And then head to the White Mountains for nature like you've never seen.
White Mountains Speaker:
I started coming to the White Mountains when I was a little kid. I think I was probably about 7 or 8 the first time. My parents would bring me out here and I remember just walking around and exploring nature. I was kind of a lonely kid when I was here, I think a little homesick, and it was really comforting out here. I actually didn't realize the impact that it had on me until years later. I was living in the city and going through a divorce. Sometimes that kind of pain I think, brings you back and makes you want that original source of comfort that you knew. So, I found myself back in the White Mountains.
I spent some time on the trails. I camped and walked, and I just started to heal. And then I decided to stay. Now I volunteer as an Alpine Steward with the Appalachian Mountain Club. Our job is to help other people connect with the outdoors and with nature, to teach people to be good environmental stewards, so that we can protect the trails and keep them in good working order for years to come.
I think when people think of the White Mountains, they think about Mount Washington, which is the highest peak in the northeast. In the winter, Mount Washington is formidable. It’s so high, it actually has its own climate and weather station. You can go to the top of Mount Washington by train or by the Auto Road in the summertime. Mount Washington is surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges. There's 48 4,000-footer peaks that people like to hike in the area. But there's actually a lot more to the White Mountains than that.
A lot of people come up here to climb and hike and ski. But there's also lots of valleys and forests and beautiful lake areas to explore. We actually have some of the best climbing in the world. Cannon Cliff in particular is renowned. But if climbing is not your thing, you can also take a tram up Cannon Mountain to get some great views of Franconia Ridge.
You can really be as connected with nature as you want here. There are remote trail cabins across the mountains that you can stay in. Or you can try one of the old resorts that were built in the 1800s. They're pretty impressive. And I need to get down there more often, but there's also the Lakes region, which is beautiful. We also have this scenic drive; we call it the Kanc. It connects you with a lot of cute towns like Lincoln and North Conway. North Conway has a five-and-dime and a general store, and it's really close to the village of Jackson.
I’ve always liked Jackson; it has a small-town vibe and it's really iconic. In Jackson, you'll find all these great inns and taverns. The Wildcat Inn has been there forever. They do a pasta night and it's a great way to meet the locals. There's also this breakfast place called Yesterdays. They have amazing pancakes, and that’s also where you’ll find the regulars. And if you're here in the winter, go to Nestlenook Farms, where you can go snowshoeing and drink hot cocoa out by the frozen pond. In the winter, you can also go on a horse-drawn sleigh ride. It's just a magical place and what could be better than sharing that?