Marcia Frost

Teddy and I, along with my friend Heather, were finishing our long weekend in Butler County, Ohio. We had discovered plenty of wheelchair accessible activities while more than satisfying my sweet tooth. We checked out of the Marriott Cincinnati North. It had been an ideal base for all the places we went around the county.   The Donut Trail is a popular part of Butler County. We had managed to stop at about a half dozen of the shops. On our last morning, it was Jupiter Coffee & Donuts in Fairfield. This place has been mentioned in USAToday10Best . They are known for their Red Storm donut. It is raspberry-filled and has cream cheese frosting, with a swirl of red raspberry on top. As much as I am a Buckeye donut fan, this one had me on the first bite. It was delicious. We had some coffee and they insisted we leave with a box of donuts.   Our next stop was a place I had been curious about for years. Jungle Jim’s International Market turned out to be nothing like I expect...

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...

It was another early day as we arrived in Ketchikan. Brittany and I had a quick breakfast and coffees from the International Café before we got off the ship in this Alaska city. We were once again going on separate excursions. I was doing the Historical Ketchikan & Creek Street Walking Tour, with my scooter. Brittany was doing Ketchikan Safari with a Local Photographer. We both learned a lot about this unique city and its history.   My guide was of Tlingit descent. They are one of the Indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest, mostly in Alaska and Canada. They are one of 229 recognized tribes in Alaska. He had lived in Ketchikan all his life. As we walked, he told us all about the colorful life of the city built on water. The streets are all built on trestles and stairs, with a 274-foot-long tunnel in the middle of town.   During the Gold Rush, this town was Alaska’s center of fun, with bars on every corner and legal prostitution. Many of the bars are still the...

  Sanctuary at Camelback I know it’s been a while. I think it’s pretty obvious that I haven’t been doing much traveling. Like everyone else in the world, I’ve mostly been sheltering in place. I did manage to get in two short, socially distant trips over the past six months that I will be posting soon. In the meantime, I thought I’d do a roundup of some ideas for those looking to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Romance deserves more than one day a year. February is the month that you’ll see most of the deals for it. That’s not different in this crazy time. What is different is the options to do things from a distance – if you’d like. Here are some ideas from places I have been to and enjoyed. Stay healthy. Wear your masks. I hope we’ll all be hitting the road in the near future. Marcia Frost Heart-Shaped Chocolate Cake? Of course! The chocolate cake at Portillo’s is one of my favorites ever. In honor of Valentine’s Day,, they always have a heart-shaped one available. This yea...

Brittany and I woke up pretty early at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Chicago .  We had a pretty full day and I didn’t want to overdo. We had breakfast downstairs at Fisk & Co. as we planned our day. Our first outing was to the Christkindlmarkt .  I had never been to one in Chicago before, but had a good time at the Carmel one last year (and really loved the ones in Europe ).  The Christmas Market is a great place to get handmade souvenirs and German treats.  I picked up a few Christmas tree ornaments and warmed with hot chocolate, while bringing home some potato pancakes and a pretzel. I didn’t want to eat anything at the market because we had a brunch plan—and it turned out to be a big one. After a nap, we took an Uber to the restaurant. River Roast   turned out to be an excellent choice for brunch. The location was scenic along the river and there was live jazz music in the background. We put in an order ...