California

     Hey guys! Today I'm going to talk to you guys about Santa Monica, CA. There is a variety of different things to do in this fun and youthful place! Santa Monica is a modern town that you may see your favorite celebrity at.

     Santa Monica is mainly known for their famous pier thats located on the beach. On this pier, there is multiple carnival rides as well as classic carnival games. One can go to beach right by the pier or go on the rides that the pier has to offer.
     Another attraction that is fun to attend in Santa Monica is the Third Street Promenade. This is where a lot of nationwide well known stores are that you can go shop at. This is also where a lot of restaurants in Santa Monica are located at.

     There are a lot of different types of restaurants that are in Santa Monica. The top 3 different restaurants that people enjoy the most in this town is Enterprise Fish Co.,  Melisse Restaurant, and Misfit Restaurant and Bar.
     Overall, Santa Monica is a modern youthful place that all ages can enjoy!

Minnesota

     Hey guys! Today I'll be talking to you guys about St. Paul, MI.

     There is an abundant amount of things to do in this town.

     Located outside of St. Paul is the U.S.'s largest mall called the Mall of America. This is unlike any mall that you may have been to before. There is a total of four floors filled with a variety of stores to chose from. There is a amusement park located in the building as well as a aquarium that you can visit. You could come back and visit this mall for days.

     Another activity to do in St. Paul is visiting the Cathedral of St. Paul. The architecture in the building is very details and outstanding. The building had a lot of history as well, there are tours that one can take in the building.
     There are a lot of different restaurants to choose from in St. Paul. Well-known restaurants that a lot of people enjoy are Moscow on the Hill, Ward 6 Food & Drink, and Pazzuluna Pizza.

     Overall, St. Paul is home to the largest mall in the United States. There is a variety of restaurants and other activities across the town that a variety of ages can enjoy!

Colorado

     Hey guys! Today, I'll be talking to you guys about Estes Park, CO.

     Estes Park is where a lot of tourists go to experience Colorado. Estes Park is home to Rocky Mountain National Park.

     There is a lot of fun things to do in Estes Park. You can hike or drive around Rocky Mountain National Park, walk and tour the small town shops Estes Park has to offer, and more.
Rocky Mountain National Park has a variety of different hiking trails as well as different places to pull you car off to get out of your car to take pictures or to go take a walk. If you go during the winter, remember to wear the appropriate clothing because I made the mistake of not doing that and I fell in the snow a couple of times!

     There is a variety of different shops in Estes Park. Mainly, there are a lot of clothing shops with fun souvenirs. But, they also have candy shops that make the candy right in their store as well as hiking stores.
There are multiple places to eat in Estes Park. Some places to eat are the Grubstreak restaurant, Mama Roses, and more.

     Overall, Estes Park is a fun tourist town that all ages can enjoy together!

Georgia

     Hey guys! Today I'll be talking to you guys about Columbus, Georgia.

     Columbus, GA is a historic city that is home to one of the largest military bases in the U.S. Ft Benning. Columbus is an older city that has a lot of wildlife.

     There is a lot of activities that you could in Columbus, GA. One of the popular attractions in Columbus, GA is the Riverwalk in downtown Columbus. The riverwalk is located right on a beautiful river that you can kayak and canoe on. There is is zip line that you can take that goes right over the river. You can also hammock and fishing at the river as well.

     Columbus has a variety of places to eat at. Some of the fun places to eat at are Longhorn Steakhouse, Krispy Kreme, Olive Garden, Captain D's, and more. Other places to go in Columbus are the Peachtree Mall, and all of the small local shops in downtown Columbus.

     Overall, Columbus is a historic and fun place to go to for all age groups to enjoy

Maryland

     Hey guys! Today I will be talking to you guys about Ocean City, Maryland.

     Ocean City, Maryland is located right on east coast on the ocean. This city is known to be a huge tourist area for Maryland because of their popular beaches and activities to do there.

     People of all ages are seen throughout Ocean City. There are a lot of activities that one can do in Ocean City.

    The main attraction in this city is going to all the beaches that Ocean City has to offer. Throughout the beaches, there is typically volleyball nets and a lot of space to do a lot of other activities such as playing frisbee or throwing a baseball with friends and family. All of the beaches have lifeguards and have been voted some of the best life guards in the country at one point.
Other activities to do in Ocean City is going to the Ocean City Boardwalk. The board walk has an abundant amount of places to eat both quick and sit down, rides, and fun arcade/carnival games that anyone can play.

     Overall, Ocean City is a fun city that has a lot of activities to do for a variety of ages to enjoy that mainly surround the beach!

North Carolina

     Hey guys! Tonight I'll be telling you guys all about Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville used to be a small town in NC that did not get that much attention. Now, things have changed.

     You all may know that film series the Hunger Games? Yes, they filmed this here which brought a lot more attention to the town!

     One of the main places in Asheville that the town is known for is the Biltmore Estate. This was a massive mansion built in the mountains built by a wealthy family. You can take different tours throughout inside and outside the building. If you like, you could stay at a hotel that the Biltmore estate owns on their huge amount of property.

     Personally, Christmas time is the best time to go to the Biltmore. The Biltmore becomes beautifully decorated with lights and decorations that make you want to walk right in. It's really beautiful.

 

  Restaurants in Asheville that I would highly recommend to go to are the Blue Ridge Artistanal Buffet, Biscuit Head, Sunny Point Cafe, White Duck Taco Shop, and more! Each of these restaurants vary in price but all have things that make them unique.
   



      Other things to do are to check out their outdoors. Asheville is home to the Blue Ridge Mountains.  You are able to take tours, hike, bike, take pictures, and more in these mountains. If you don't want to go outside, you can take a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This drive was voted America's best drive.
   
 Overall, Asheville is home to the Biltmore and the beautiful outdoors!

   

Pennsylvania

     Hey everybody! The 4th state that I'll be talking about is Pennsylvania. When I was younger, I had lived right outside of Philadelphia, PA in a town called Thornton. So I am very familiar very the area. I will be narrowing this all down to all the fun things to do in Philadelphia, PA.

     Philadelphia is a large city in Pennsylvania filled with a lot of history of the United States as well as modern day things such as great restuarants and fun places to go!

     This popular city is known for a type of food nationwide called a Philly cheesesteak. According to the locals, the top 3 places to get a Philly cheesesteak is at Tony Lukes, Dalessandro's Steaks, and Steve's Prince of Steaks. If you want to try someplace else other than a Philly cheesesteak place, one of my favorite restaurants is the Parc. This is a French restaurant with a wide variety of food at a decent price that over looks a beautiful park in Philadelphia.

     Philadelphia is home to a big part of the United States' past and you can go and observe it yourself. The Liberty Bell and its history attached is in here where you can go take a look. There are tours around the Liberty Bell that you can take that you can learn more about what happened around the area. Throughout Philadelphia, there is also a lot of museums that you can visit.
 



 If you don't want to go to any museums or look around the liberty bell, your best bet would be to tour a lot of the local restaurants as well as other local places. Shofuso Japanese House and Garden is a cool place to go to if you want to take a glimpse at another countries culture and spend some time outside. Love Park is a beautiful park that many people "love" to go to. Also, this town is the home of this years super bowl winner the Philadelphia Eagles. If you like football, the Lincoln Financial Field is where to go if they're playing a home game.

     Pennsylvania is also known to have some places that are "haunted" because of events that have taken place there in the past and the state has a lot of history to it. If you look up Ghost Tours in Philadelphia, you can find multiple tours to go on at night.
     Overall, Philadelphia, PA is a historic state that you can take an up close look at as well as home to well-known restaurants and other places that you can enjoy!

   

   

Kansas

     Hey guys! So today I'm going to talk about the state that I'm currently in, which is Kansas!

I'll be narrowing it down to Topeka, KS. Topeka is the capital of Kansas and is home to Washburn University Ichabods. Coming here for college from a different state, I had to learn what there was in Topeka just like anyone else would do if they weren't familiar with a place!

     If you want to go out to eat, Topeka has a lot of restaurants to choose from. Popular restaurants in Topeka include Burger Stand, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Longhorn Steakhouse, Lonnie Q's, Blue Moose, and more. My personal favorite restaurant is Blue Moose. Blue Moose is a causal restaurant with a variety of food. Blue Moose is known nation wide for their Mac-n-cheese that you can customize to however you like!

     If you are looking for activities to do in Topeka, is there quite a couple. If you want to go outside and enjoy Kansas's nice spring weather, there are parks throughout the town that have areas where you can play frisbee with some friends. In the heart of Topeka is Topeka's capital building that you can take tours inside and out. Lake Shawnee is a popular area to visit either to just drive through and enjoy the scenery, take a walk along the lake, take pictures at, and more! Also, if you just want to take a drive to the out skirts of Topeka, you can and just listen to music with friends or family and enjoy the country side. 

     If you're looking for a night out, Topeka has bowling that is family friendly as well as multiple places to go mini golf! Topeka is also relatively close to 3 other populated and well-known towns such as Manhattan, Lawrence, and Kansas City that you can take a drive to. 

     Overall, Topeka, KS has a lot of places to go out to eat with a variety of options and has more things to go and do than you would really think! 

    

Florida

     Hey guys! The 2nd state that I'll be talking about is where I came to Washburn from, Florida. I'll be talking about Naples, Florida which is in south west Florida. Naples is on the Gulf of Mexico which is well known for their beaches. Naples is a decent sized beach town with a lot of up scale restaurants. If you go to Naples, you're most likely do spend A LOT of time at the beach.
     The best time to visit Naples is during the summer cause its one of the best times to go to their well-known beaches! Local favorite beaches are Lowdermilk and Clam Pass. The Naples Pier is another popular place to go to especially if you want to catch some of Florida's well known sunsets!        
If you want to go to where all of the upscale restaurants are, 5th Avenue is where to go. A couple of restaurants on 5th Avenue include Bistro 821, Chops City Grill, and more. If you want to go to more casual restaurants but not in 5th Avenue, local favorites are Sushi Thai, Joey D's, California Pizza Kitchen, and more.
      If you want to take a break from the beach or the restaurants, Naples has beautiful nature walks and sanctuaries. A couple of these places are, Corkscrew Swamp, Naples Zoo, and more.
     Overall, Florida is such a beautiful state with a lot of things to do in nature as well as great places to eat. Look forward to spending a lot of time at the beach!

   

Delaware

Hey guys! The first state that I'm going to talk about is Delaware. The main place that I travel to in Delaware is called Fenwick Island and it's right by the Atlantic Ocean. My grandparents have had our family beach house there for my entire life.
In Fenwick, everything is easy to get to a car isn't necessary! It's a small beach town with a lot of character. Their beaches are decent in size and have volley ball nets too. If you want to take a break from the beach, there are many fun local shops to go to and great restaurants to try. Some of the local shops are geared towards beach shopping but they also have tourist type of restaurants.
One of my favorite places to get breakfast before taking a walk on the beach is called Crepes and Crazes. If you want to have a more upscale kind of dinner, Just Hooked is perfect with a variety of food but mainly focusing on seafood. Other great restaurants are Warrens Station and Jimmy's Kitchen. Overall, Fenwick Island is a fun small beach town with a lot of character that everyone should try to go to!

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Hey! My name is Caitlin Lee and I'm a freshman at Washburn University. This blog will show and describe 12 states that I've been to and what makes each state so unique.
I am the right person to create this blog because I've been fortunate enough to travel to many states. While being in each state, I've gotten to experience different things that each state has. The audience will most likely get out of this blog is where they would like to travel next. I hope to encourage others to travel the U.S. and see what there is to explore!