Jeff & Crystal

About Jeff & Crystal

We are Jeff and Crystal, a Baby Boomer couple who love exploring this big blue marble we all call home. After spending the first portion of our lives together raising a family, the empty-nest syndrome finally caught up with us. This has given us the opportunity to spend more time traveling, and seeking out new destinations. We developed this travel blog with the goal of showing how we “Visit Like A Local”. Our itineraries are designed to get us off the interstates, and into the heart of the places we visit. We believe this will allow our readers to choose a cultural experience, and eventually head home with a real flavor of the places they visit. We hope you are enjoying our website and will consider sharing it with your friends. Please come back often, as we post new articles three times per week.
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Day-tripping In Boonville, Missouri

Located in the heart of the state of Missouri, you will find the city of Boonville. While many pass by the exit along I-70, we went day-tripping in Boonville to learn more of the city's historical significance. Transportation has seemed to have played a huge role in this Midwest destination, even before it was founded. Lying along the Missouri River, the region was home to native Indian tribes for thousands of years. They were the first to understand the value of the nearby salt licks. Lewis and Clark passed through the area in 1805, as they explored the lands of the Louisiana Purchase. [...]

By |2020-08-14T06:08:56-06:00August 14th, 2020|Boonville, Guides, Midwest, Missouri|0 Comments
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Background Stories – Marshall County Museum

Exploring new destinations is always an eye-opening experience. One of our first stops is usually the local history museum. This helps us learn the background stories that are found in every community. That is how we landed at the Marshall County Museum in Marysville, Kansas. Pulling up in front of the 1891 courthouse had our eyes popping. Not all of the museums we visit are found in such amazing architectural spaces. We were excited to learn how this Kansas city grew from it's simple start as a ferry crossing. We want to thank Visit Marysville the Marshall County Museum for hosting our visit. [...]

By |2020-08-11T07:48:32-06:00August 11th, 2020|Kansas, Marysville, Midwest|0 Comments
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Parkville Nature Sanctuary – A Walk On The Wild Side

Looking for an escape from the city without having to leave the city? Some of our friends have been giving us suggestions on places to visit. When a few told us details about the Parkville Nature Sanctuary, it seemed like the perfect place to take a walk on the wild side. These days long distance travel requires an unprecedented amount of preparation. That seems to be good enough reason to find activities and destinations closer to home. Seeing that we have done a lot of exploring in Parkville, we had to wonder why we hadn't visited this site sooner. Parkville Nature Sanctuary We [...]

By |2020-08-07T07:11:10-06:00August 7th, 2020|Kansas City Vicinity, KC Fun, Out & About, Parkville|0 Comments
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Black Squirrel Sightings In Marysville, Kansas

Have you ever seen a black squirrel? When we started planning our visit to Marysville, we discovered that this Kansas town has an unexpected mascot. It seems that sometime in the past, black squirrels were introduced to this environment. Now they have proliferated throughout the community and have achieved somewhat of celebrity status. While our trip to this north-central Kansas town was primarily based on learning the local history, we couldn't pass up adding spotting these cute creatures to our "to do" list. We want to thank Visit Marysville for hosting our visit. Rest assured all opinions are our own. Oh Look, a [...]

By |2020-08-04T06:13:25-06:00August 4th, 2020|Kansas, Marysville, Midwest|8 Comments
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Iron District – Taking It Outside

It seems that people are coming up with new ways to re-purpose familiar items all of the time. Finding alternative uses for shipping containers seemed to be a logical next step. A visit to North Kansas City, Missouri showed us how one group of ingenious people had built a space that combines function and frugality into one. The Iron District is a destination space comprised of locally-owned eateries, boutique shops, and entertainment options. All of this is wrapped up into shiny metal boxes. Incubating New Businesses The idea of creating a business park with shipping containers isn't new to us. We first saw [...]

By |2020-08-04T03:36:27-06:00July 31st, 2020|Kansas City, KC Dining, KC Fun, Out & About|2 Comments
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Mitchell Car Museum – Coloring The Past

When we think about travel at the turn of the 19th Century, everything seemed so black and white. Much of that is because color photography had not yet been invented. Of course, from visiting museums, we also realize that many of the automobiles of the day were produced in one color. Until our visit to the Mitchell Car Museum, we didn't know there were so many wonderful colors to choose from in those days. Our trip to Boonville, Missouri offered us a chance to see some of these beautiful machines up close. An Early Start You have to head back to the early [...]

By |2020-07-28T05:58:36-06:00July 28th, 2020|Boonville, Midwest, Missouri|8 Comments
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History Lessons In Arrow Rock, Missouri

How many times have you overlooked a small town, because you didn't think it had much to see? If we are being honest, this happens too often, because we have been programmed to believe this. Creating our travel blog has opened our eyes and minds to the wonderful collection of artifacts found in villages and towns across North America. One of our day trips provided history lessons about the Village of Arrow Rock, Missouri. This town of about 55 residents has seen a lot of changes since the first trading post was erected in 1814. A Thorough History Lesson Our first stop was [...]

By |2020-07-24T06:14:26-06:00July 24th, 2020|Arrow Rock, Guides, Midwest, Missouri|16 Comments
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River, Rails, and Trails Museum – Travel Around Boonville

Boonville, Missouri rests along the Missouri River, just about 100 miles east of Kansas City. For thousands of years, Native Indians were the sole inhabitants of the region. It was not until the 1600s that the first European explorers would travel to the heart of the continent. A pair of Daniel Boone's sons would uncover a nearby salt lick, and that would signal the start of a town. Named for their father, Boonville became an important point for pioneers jumping off on the Santa Fe Trail. We dropped in the River, Rails, and Trails Museum to learn more about travel around Boonville. Charting [...]

By |2020-07-21T18:11:07-06:00July 21st, 2020|Boonville, Midwest, Missouri|0 Comments
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German Smorgasbord At Affäre

Kansas City can be described in many ways, but we like to think of it as the "Melting Pot of the Midwest". Within the boundaries of the metro, you can find nearly every ethnicity. This provides an amazing array of cultures, and they each bring their unique cuisine to the table. Diners can choose from a Thai banquet to a German smorgasbord. We have tried to delve deep into this mix, but in reality, we have only scratched the surface. In just the main five-county portion of the city, it is estimated that there are over 3200 eateries. That's a lot of spots [...]

By |2020-07-21T04:11:09-06:00July 17th, 2020|German, Kansas City, KC Dining|2 Comments
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Let Us Not Forget – African-American Experience Museum

It is vital that we examine our history, to let us not forget the lessons that we wish not to repeat. During our visit to Arrow Rock, we had a chance to examine a more sinister side of Missouri history. Growing up in Kansas City, we were taught about the Border War between Kansas and Missouri. The underlying issue between this escalation was slavery. By the time that Missouri was admitted into the Union as a slave state, many of the plantation ideals had already been brought into the region from the south. This included the use of slave labor to perform manual [...]

By |2020-07-14T06:11:40-06:00July 14th, 2020|Arrow Rock, Midwest, Missouri|10 Comments
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