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We are always “On Patrol” looking for a place to take our kids and grand kids. It must be family friendly, which for us means there is something of interest for all ages. The Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort, Kentucky fits the bill. The permanent exhibit titled “A Kentucky Journey” is a great walk through our early history up until the present day. The exhibits are interactive and at eye level for children seven or eight years and older. It is filled with rare and authentic artifacts that reflect the strengths and talents of our ancestors. Many of the objects are in drawers so you have easy access for viewing.

Louisville, Kentucky has repurposed a 118-year-old railroad bridge over the Ohio River into the longest pedestrian bridge in the United States. It connects Louisville with Jeffersonville, Indiana by foot, bicycle, and mindset. Spectacular sunrises and sunsets can be viewed on a regular basis. You can marvel at the power of the river as it rolls beneath you toward New Orleans. You can see how the river widens at The Falls of the Ohio to almost a mile.

If you are interested in a combination of Revolutionary and Civil War history, and are passing through rural Virginia, then Tappahannock, on the Rappahannock River is one of your destinations.  Being central to so many stories of America’s past, any road you take getting there will deepen your understanding of the ancestors we owe gratitude to for our modern way of life.  Throughout its history, the Rappahannock River has nurtured all of America’s inhabitants from Native Americans to native wildlife.

San Antonio, Texas is the happiest large urban city we have ever visited. People looked you in the eye, said hello, and helped you out. The unemployment rate is virtually zero. Everyone has a job. It is booming. It is a great place to go downtown, find a place to park, and just head out for a walk. 

As a child, when we were watching Johnny Weissmuller swing through the jungle and swim at lightning speed in Tarzan’s Secret Treasures we really were experiencing Wakulla Springs State Park in Florida up close and personal.  While traveling to visit family in Gainesville we discovered this jungle gem 14 miles south of Tallahassee.  If you want the best family boat ride through an exotically diverse natural habitat, this is your spot. 

Travel Tips for Road Trips by Mike Miller.

My wife and travel partner, Carolynn, saw The Beatles on September 3, 2023 at the Indianapolis State Fair. She was 13 years old. She sat on the 20^th row on the floor with her friends, Janice and Penny, and her sister, Sharon. “It sounded like being inside a jet engine. I knew then that something bigger than The Beatles was happening”, she told me recently. It changed her life. 

Hot Springs, Arkansas is one of North America’s first resort cities. It is a mix of vintage hotels, Hot Springs National Park, Art Galleries, and historic Bathhouse Row. Nature’s geo-thermal healing powers have attracted people to the hot springs for centuries. 

Any time you are traveling in or around Nashville, TN, a visit to Andrew Jackson’s home, The Hermitage, is well worth it.  His home is a great window into Jackson’s tumultuous life and presidency.  The house tour is one of the best we’ve experienced.  Our tour guides were in period clothing and were excellent storytellers.  The house is filled with original family artifacts, giving a real idea of what day to day life was like for the wealthy in the 1830’s.  The French landscape wallpaper in the curved center atrium was hand painted in dark shades of blue indigo dating to the period. 

Our visit to the Cleveland Art Museum was awe-inspiring. Their collections are World Class. They have integrated state-of-the-art technology as a way to showcase and teach about their collections. They told us that every major museum in the world has visited to check out their new gallery that utilizes an Artlens app on an iPad as a wireless interactive personal guide for visitors.

Venice is the most magical, mysterious city I’ve ever visited. It has to be in as close to in its original condition as any city in the world. It consists of a series of over 100 islands built upon centuries ago. It allows you to wander where you want without hearing the sound of any motorized vehicle. That’s right-no motorized vehicles. Think about it. 

When we decided to go on our first trip to Europe, Italy was the destination. Being a coin collector, I wanted to look at examples from the large cities we were going to visit- Rome, Florence, and Venice. I asked a fellow collector I had met the previous summer while taking classes at the American Numismatic Association’s Summer Seminar (another story) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, if he had any suggestions. He told me about the Il Mio Hobby Coin Shop in Venice. As a total rookie in world travel, I found it hard to believe I could really find that spot in a land that seemed so far away.  

It is difficult to find a true intergenerational family experience that entertains, educates, and inspires, but on our recent road trip to SanAntonio, Texas, we found one. We went to Enchanted Springs Ranch with aunt, uncle, niece, twin 5-year olds, and a fifth grader and we all loved it!!

For thousands of years, humans have found areas in the world where the natural mineral springs seemed to miraculously help cure health ailments. For over 9000 years The Jefferson Pools have refreshed the fortunate few who knew her location. Warm mineral springs are relaxing, rejuvenating, and offer a great pit stop on a road trip to brush off the aches and pains of road travel.  Thomas Jefferson came in 1818 at the age of 75 suffering from what he called “rheumatism.”  He stayed for three weeks, taking the waters several times each day.  He reported their naturally warm mineral springs had a healing effect. Mrs. Robert E. Lee came often, but during the Civil War sorely missed her visits because of her fear of travel.  

Our first trip to Italy was transformational. Art, history, adventure, and trauma (lost luggage) combined to leave a lasting impression and a strong desire to return.

While in Florence, we stayed at the Hotel De Lansi. It provided a comfortable home base with easy walking to many of the pictures we had seen in our art history books while in college. Carolynn was a walking encyclopedia of insight and information about the Renaissance and it's cast of characters. One of our favorite walks was looking for the weird and unusual doors of Florence. 

Last year was the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. If you want your understanding broadened, your senses dazzled, and your collector gene completely awed, The Civil War Museum in Bardstown, Kentucky is a must see. It has one of the largest collections of rare and authentic artifacts of any Civil War Museum in the country. Prominent Civil War magazine, The North and South, named it the 4th best in the U.S. out of 500. This is quite a surprise for this great small Central Kentucky town.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a huge collection of the personal artifacts from almost all the Rock and Rollers you know and love. This includes the musical instruments, cars, vans, clothes, advertising, handwritten song lyrics, gold records, jewelry, and much, much more. 

On the historical marker by the replica of his cabin, it says that George Rogers Clark (1753-1818) was “A pioneer, soldier, patriot, conqueror of the Northeast territory…” His brilliant Revolutionary War campaign captured Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes and brought the states northwest of the Ohio River into the Union.  He brought 150 men and 15 families down the Ohio River in 1778 and built a fort on Corn Island to plan and implement this conquest. This fort was the beginning of Louisville, Kentucky. 

On our way to San Antonio to visit our family, we decided to venture off The Beaten Path onto the Natchez Trace between Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee. The 444-mile two-lane highway is a National Scenic Byway, All-American Road and Designated Bike route. We drove 17 miles southwest of Nashville on I-40W and took Exit 192 onto McCrary Lane. We went five miles to the entrance of the Park. We put on two of our “travel” CD’s consisting of the Grammy Songs from the last two years and headed out to find harmony in midst of a sometimes-troubled world. 

Mark Twain called the sunrise on Haleakala Volcano, “The sublimest spectacle I’ve ever witnessed.” Hawaiians have been trekking up Haleakala to honor and celebrate the gods for hundreds of years. It was considered a sacred place, called wao akua, wilderness of the gods. Its eerie and otherworldly feel as the sun peaks over the rim and lights the crater below is an experience that you will always treasure.

If you are in or around Chicago, you have got to go to the retail store named Primitive, three floors of rare antiquities, ancient art, and authentic craft from cultures all over the world. Each object is artfully arranged to showcase the individual item in the context of a room. The effect is amazing and it’s all for sale. 

In the heart of Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville is one of the largest Gingko trees in the state of Kentucky. On a recent visit, we wandered into its presence. All the leaves were a bright yellow. It was 2:00 in the afternoon on November 8^th so the light was hitting the tree at a sharp angle. The reflections off the surface of these usual shaped leaves filtered throughout the giant tree. This tree is the volume of a two-story house with about 3000 square feet. I was told that all Gingko trees shed their leaves on the same day. The gingko is a living fossil dating back 270 million years. The word Gingko is derived from the Japanese word ginkyo meaning “silver apricot”. The realization that this tree was 150 years old reminds us to think about all the history it had witnessed and that we are standing in a sacred place. 

When we found out the “best” Antique Mall and oldest continuously running Dance Hall in Texas were in a place called Gruene, we had to head out on patrol. We were on our way back from San Antonio visiting our niece and spent a great afternoon walking around exploring this unique small Texas town.

The American Numismatic Association sponsors the largest and most important coin show each year called the World’s Fair of Money. It is held in August and rotates between the largest cities on the East Coast and Chicago.