Season 4 starts January 23rd, 2025

Oak Park, Illinois, is only a short ride on the “L” from Chicago, but location isn’t the only good thing about this close-knit community.

This charming town in northwest Illinois is named after a mineral mined here 20 years before the gold rush in California.

Le Claire is a storied river town, a classic Mississippi River port that boomed in the mid-19th century. The old river pilot homes are still here, which are testament to the fact that river pilots were needed because here is where the river makes a sharp turn to the...

Waukesha, Wisconsin, is known as Guitar Town because it’s where Les Paul was born. But it’s also home to so much more than that.

Amana Colonies, Iowa Iowa’s Amana Colonies are not Amish! Come meet the past while enjoying right now. Iowa’s Amana Colonies lived communally until 1932. Today their innovative past and welcoming hospitality draw visitors by the thousands. John McGivern is reminded of...

Escanaba, Michigan, has “Yooper” culture all their own.

You can taste it in the delicious pasties at Dobber’s and in the sweet wines at Leigh’s Winery. You can hear it in Ludington Park when the nearly 100- year-old City Band plays. You can feel it in the great outdoors while you fish with Beaver’s Lures or watch the sun rise at Terrace Bay Inn.

Formed more than 10-thousand years ago by glaciers, the area was first home the Miami and Potawatomi tribes. The area quickly thrived thanks to its location to not just Lake Michigan, but also rivers –helping the fur trade and eventually steel production, flourish. But water wasn’t the only mode of transpiration that brought in commerce. Railroads brought in goods and people.

Today, the Indiana Dunes are a hot spot for visitors in the Midwest and beyond.

Michigan City, Indiana, surprised John by having so many of his favorite things: Incredible sandy beaches and dunes, the Barker Mansion, beautiful local stores, large-scale manufacturing and of course, delicious food!

Rockford is the largest city in Illinois outside of the Chicago area. It was originally known as “Midway Village” because, for travelers, it was halfway between Chicago and Galena.

This city was known for industrial manufacturing in the last century but today it’s been retooled into a center for healthcare and aerospace technology.

Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood boasts a main street straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. John McGivern enjoys the German roots still present, but also finds many ethnicities in this diverse neighborhood.

Goshen is in Elkhart County, IN. This area makes 85% of recreational vehicles in the US. Dynamax, Janus Motorcycles, Goshen College and Radio Horizonte were surprising. Mexican food is a given here, but Neopolitan pizza at Venturi and Maple City Indian Restaurant? Yum! Add the Old Bag Factory and Quilt Gardens and what you get is joy.

Greater Lafayette, Indiana, is two cities, and we didn’t come only for Purdue University. If we told you we were going to a place where people raise wolves, operate a 1920s farm, frequent a Triple X establishment, and spit crickets, you might question our judgment. But once you watch this episode your only question will be, when can I go there?