Lovely video before the tour of the studio. This man did a lot of things!…read moreThe studio tour was informative and descriptive of the transition/creativeness of making the loft into a livable space.

Definitely wanted to share my positive experience at this amazing place. The free tour starts with…read morea well-produced video that immerses you into the world of Grant Wood: personal history, career history, accolades and awards, and great backstories to many of his iconic creations. I highly recommend you see this video before attending the art museum, because it is great reference to prime you for what you will see in person. The studio tour is great, and as you are shown all of the features of the studio and are told about its background, what truly amazes is that Wood crafted it all out of a simple, primitive hayloft -- Everything. Keep that in mind, because your respect for him will multiply exponentially. My hosts, Dan and Kevin, were both friendly, accommodating and very knowledgeable -- the passion they both have for the space is authentic and contagious. Extremely pleased I went!

I thought I had written a review of Brucemore but hadn't so this is a little late. I took my mom…read more(who had always wanted to go) there in early June. I honestly wasn't excited about going but definitely was wowed. It's worth the price of admission. We had a great tour guide and it was just two of us. Tours are every hour. They definitely have a script but once our guide got warmed up, he shared a lot of information and stories with us. Gardens and property are nice to walk through as well. We were told they didn't have a gardener at the moment but the gardens still looked good. There's a pet cemetery on the property. (The last property owners had lions and monkeys and German Shepherds and other animals throughout their tenure.) Go see it after the tour so you know what you're looking at. Also know that there are some private homes now in in the carriage house and servants' houses so don't explore too much. Very interesting history. Don't miss the basement. (Also know that there are four flights of stairs and no elevator so plan accordingly if needed.)

Wow! What a cool place. The outdoor part of the property is huge and beautiful for walks or taking…read morein nature but the tour of the mansion is something you don't want to miss. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and the house was so well restored with so much of the original furniture and character from the three eras of Brucemore. So impressed and very grateful to have had the experience.

I haven't been to the theatre in years, and was so happy when my boyfriend surprised me with…read moretickets to see Carrie. The show was ABSOLUTELY amazing! We loved the dancing, acting, singing, props, ALL of it! TCR also has fun cups you can purchase with themed beverages to bring in while you watch the show which was a really nice touch. Can't wait to come back for more performances!

Comfy and known to invite talent in the area, I'm no easy critic but I felt at ease coming here for…read morea friends concert, it was amazing!!

The Lincoln Highway was America's first coast-to-coast highway. "Founded" by the Lincoln Highway…read moreAssociation in 1913, it was comprised of extant roads that were marked to show automobilists the way. In the early years, when the Lincoln Highway was being built, if any part of the road was paved at all, it was paved with gravel or macadam. The Portland Cement Association members and Lincoln Highway Association provided states with enough paving material to build one mile of concrete demonstration highway, out in the country, to demonstrate to motorists what a good road could be like. Called "Seedling Miles," the demonstration sections were built out in the country, so if anyone wanted to see what the paved highway of the future would be like, they were forced to drive across lousy roads in order to experience the concrete Seedling Mile. Iowa had only one Seedling Mile, this one on Mount Vernon Road between Mount Vernon (home of Cornell College) and Cedar Rapids. Iowa has now signed the historic highway. You can follow the historic route from the Mississippi River at Clinton to the Missouri River at Council Bluffs by following the signs. As much as this section of highway is historic in nature, I only gave it four stars because you aren't driving on the original concrete from 100 years ago. Linn County tore it up and replaced it a few years ago, but they did put up a monument. Originally, they placed a monument about 4-1/2 miles of east of here but after loud protest from Lincoln Highway enthusiasts, a duplicate marker was placed at the western portal of the Seedling Mile. (The original, misplaced tombstone marker, is located with a kiosk and reproduction bridge in Cedar Rapids, at Lincoln Heights Drive SE. It's a street that was the original route of the Lincoln Highway. It's a loop that avoided a steep hill that has since been cut down that Mount Vernon Road follows.) When you're on this stretch of Mount Vernon Road, you are traveling a section of the most historic highway in the United States, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2013.

Very understated piece of historical Americana. It's hard to find but once you do pull off the road…read moreand take a few minutes to read the tourism sign. The area could use some weed removal but it's essentially a piece of concrete road.

Thunder Bay Falls is a must see on your way into or out of Galena! It's only about a 10 min drive…read moreout of the way for a majestic view of the waterfall. Depending on how much rain there's been will determine how full the waterfall is- the 1st time I came here, there was a trickle of water. This time (a full year later) was a full fledged roaring waterfall! This is a quick stop- it's just the waterfall! There's a gravel parking lot (usually the other cars are a dead giveaway). There are several viewing areas with selfie stations for you to prop up your phone! The wildflowers are beauty here too. If you brought a fishing pole, go for it! There are signs (and reviews) that clearly state you have to be a member or a guest of something in order to be here... we've never seen anyone enforcing the rules here. It's too much of a treasure to keep people away.

Discovered this nice , small waterfall in the Galena Illinois area. You don't need to spend much…read moretime here , maybe fifteen minutes tops. If you're in the area , it's worth a quick stop for some nice photos. The parking area is located very close to the falls. Maybe a two hundred yard walk. The terrain is a little bit bumpy for elderly people to walk on, but you can still view the falls from the road above if you don't want to get out of the car. The water empties into a beautiful , slow moving stream , surrounded by wildflowers. This attraction is free to view.

Very cool part of Dubuques history. This along with its…read moremines of Spain park is always and great walk in the evening . This tower is close proximity to Dubuques River walk . So many great things to see in Dubuque .

The tower itself is a bit uneventful, it's tall (120 feet), and it's a piece of history (built in…read more1856). The tower is a registered historical landmark. It is kind of neat how the tower was used in shot production... "Lead was melted at the base of the tower, hoisted to the top, poured through screens of different gauges, tumbling smoothly round as it fell into the water vats below. The shot was then sorted and packed. When completed, the tower could produce between 6 to 8 tons daily" Even if the tower really isn't your thing the nearby Mississippi riverwalk is really nice with several nearby lookout points... Hungry or thirsty when you're over by the George W. Rogers Company Shot Tower...? If you have time definitely check out the nearby winery and brewing company. https://www.cityofdubuque.org/712/Shot-Tower

We had time to kill and took a drive up the Great River Road from the quad cities. We decided to…read moreexperience De Immigrant and what a treat. We didn't realize that there would be a guided tour with staff passionate and knowledgeable about their craft and history. We learned all about the process of adding a windmill to the community, how they actually work it, and what challenges they can face. What fun! The fact that they actually sell their product(s) for a very reasonable price across the street was neat to find out. We got home with some bran and flour. Looking forward to using it. We may have to sneak back by the local meat market for more as they'll be closing down sales at the gift shop for Winter.

I was looking foreword to exploring this cool windmill which was closed when I went, its seasonal…read moreand I should checked first but I was in the area anyway so not a big deal. This is an authentic working Dutch windmill and you can buy the finished products at the gift shop so you can take home some stone ground goodness and how cool is that, just go when there open.

Very well done reconstruction of an old frontier fort. There is a nice short walk to the fort with…read moreinteresting information on the Blackhawk war that was fought here

Apple River Fort is a historic site located in charming downtown Elizabeth, IL. There is a store…read moreand exhibit space when you enter, with staff members who can give you a great education about the fort, it's history, and why the town is named Elizabeth. Great family experience with the kids, too. Especially fun to then tour the fort which has been re-constructed or re-produced from the original. A video presentation is available in the lower level of the store, too. And admission is free. As good as it gets.

Destination: Willy Street is such a great neighborhood for this tour. It is a very walkable…read moreneighborhood and easily accessible to walk from place to place. Food: Some great stops along the way, including a bakery and a recently opened restaurant. Madison info: Our tour guide had a lot of stories about everything we were walking past, which was great for the newcomers to Madison. Overall: Great way to get to know and neighborhood and enjoy some tasty food. Would do again in another neighborhood!

My husband and I went on the lake to lake tour with guide Stanley. We we super excited to eat and…read moretour our way through Madison!! We've done 3 walking food tours prior to this one and were excited to add it to our list. There were many things we loved about this tour; Stanley's enthusiasm, the beautiful day and great walking weather, the folks we chatted with on the tour and *most* of the food. The tour was extremely slow to get going. We were all very hungry; eating small breakfasts and no morning snacks in anticipation of a heavy food afternoon. The tour began promptly at 12:30. We spent a very long time in the Convention Center talking about Frank Lloyd Wright. And then when we left the history part of the tour continued for an hour. The first tasting of any food did not happen until a little after 1:30. First stop was Merchant, a funky restaurant/bar, where we were served a Small quarter of a cuban sandwich and a tiny arugula salad dressed in vinaigrette. The Cubano was very good but the serving we seriously tiny. Then we lingered waaaay too long (in my opinion) at the Merchant sitting at the table even though everyone had been done for a while. After the merchant we made Lots of little stops to look at landmarks around the capital area. And we did a little walk through of the capital building, which was very beautiful, but my tummy was still rumbling!!!! 2:22 was our second stop at Fromagination Cheese Shop. This was an absolutely adorable shop with oodles of cheese as well as other gormete food stuffs like cookies, pastries, honey, balsamic vinegar, mustard, jams and jellies and other gift stuff . 3 small pieces of cheese and 2 crackers. There were also a few samples around the store for tasting but really it was a very small food sampling. Shortly after that around 2:44 we made it to Ian's Pizza for a half-slice of Mac and cheese pizza. Ehhh. Did not like it. They had some really cool other kinds and just an awesome menu in general. Just was not into the Mac and Cheese slice. Ick Next up was a little after 3:00 and we stopped at Himal Chuli which was a Nepalese eatery for a Mango Lassi. I was disappointed that we did not get to go inside the restaurant. We just grabbed-and-go our drinks and walked to our next stop. At around 3:17 we stopped into State Street Brats where we were served half to a third of a brat and A half pint of Spotted Cow beer from New Glarus Brewery. Good tasting. But again, a very small sample Lastly we walked to UW campus to the student union for a vanilla malt. It was good. Wish we had gotten to try the ice cream. I'm sure they have some great flavors there. The union was amazing however, right on the lake. Lucky students. The tour ran over, ending around 3:45. My husband and I left still feeling kind of hungry which has NEVER happened to us after a food tour. So, we had a fun time but left with mixed feelings about the tour. Not sure how much we will recommend this one to ours friends. Would rather send them down to the zerve.com food tours in Chicago.