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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...

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.

De Pere, WI is sometimes called a suburb of Green Bay, but don’t say that to anyone who lives there.

Bloomington Minnesota is home to the Mall of America, and the behind-the-scenes tour was full of surprises for John McGivern.

The rest of the city was also full of surprises. He didn’t expect to find a ski-jump, the largest bicycle products distributor in America, the first tap room in Minnesota and a goat farm!

Austin MN is home to Hormel Foods’ world-famous SPAM Museum. But meat lovers like John McGivern also must stop at Knauer’s Meat Market and the Tendermaid Sandwich Shop. Nature lovers can’t miss the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center. And if you plan to visit at the right times, you can be wowed by the Oaxacan basketball tournament or the Austinaires.

Dubuque, Iowa was and is, first and foremost, a river town. The mighty Mississippi is worked, revered and enjoyed here by locals and visitors alike.

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.

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

John knew it‘s home to Vera Bradley and Sweetwater. But he didn’t expect a Diocesan Museum, a huge Public Library, the most perfect Children’s Zoo or Coney Island Hot Dogs. What a great city!

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.

Marquette in Michigan’s U.P. is for everyone! Incredible views, adventure, White fish, Theater. And if you still don’t get the picture, you can get that too!

Red Wing, Minnesota, isn’t named after the famous shoe company. It’s the other way around. See the world’s largest boot and do some shoe shopping, but also be sure to walk down to the Mississippi to watch the boats, spend time in charming downtown, climb Barn Bluff, and celebrate the return of the bison with the Prairie Island Indian Community.