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Showing posts with the label day trip

A Fun & Delicious Day in Butler County-Part One

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I almost always use this blog for a story representing each day of a trip. The idea is to be able to talk about all the little things I don’t have a chance to put in published stories. Sometimes I need to break with tradition, and this trip was one of those exceptions. We had so many things to do, and I have so many photos, on day two that it deserves two blogs! One of the things I was told about Butler County before I arrived was that they have a Donut Trail. I’ve never been one to shy away from baked goods so this sounded like a scrumptious addition to the weekend. Heather, Teddy, and I got started with the trail first thing Saturday morning at Holtman’s Donuts in West Chester, just a few miles from the Marriott we were staying at. It became instantly apparent that this was going to be a challenge and I wasn’t backing down. The crew at Holtman’s was waiting for us with a box of donuts. I asked them, as I did on all the following stops, what their most unusual and popular donuts were...

The Safari in Central Illinois

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It had been a couple of years since I visited AikmanWildlife Adventure in Arcola, Illinois, less than an hour from where I live. The first time, I was impressed and excited. I had never seen anything like this in a small town that’s basically in the middle of nowhere.   I had been anticipating having the same feeling when I returned recently, but I found it was even stronger as there was much more to experience as this adventure is like no other I’ve seen anywhere in the U.S. James Aikman, whose family owns Aikman Wildlife, met me inside the shop, which  is also home to some of the smaller creatures, like Jax the McCaw, a lemur,  an iquana, and a sloth (for which they are planning encounters.   The dream for a park like this came from James and he and his wife, Kelsey, purchased the former Rockhome Gardens property in 2015. It is fittingly run with mostly members of their large family. Just a walk around the property brings you next to free roaming peacocks,...