This past weekend, we took a brief break from some epic spring cleaning to check out The Garden Conservancy‘s first Open Days event of the year in the Los Angeles area.

Held all over the United States each year between March and November, Open Days allow you to snoop around other people’s backyards and/or find landscaping inspiration while simultaneously raising money to provide and preserve garden spaces across the country. It’s a fun, romantic and altruistic outing, whether you’re traveling in a different city or simply exploring your own. Traditionally a mapped route of six private homes in one area that open their outdoor spaces to the public for one day, Open Days provide a unique opportunity to experience a neighborhood through its plantings, design, architecture and history. The volunteers who work these special events can generally answer questions about the people who own the homes involved, tales of the buildings and homes that surround it, why certain design decisions were made, what to call that purple flower over there, and stuff you’ll probably only think to ask once you’re surrounded by absolute floral magnificence.

Open Days gardens range from homey affairs to sprawling estate layouts, English country to low-water plantings, and it’s fascinating to see how truly gifted gardeners incorporate fountains, pools, waterfalls, patios, sculpture, lighting and a myriad artistic details into their designs. For garden and travel lovers like us, it’s also just plain exciting when we discover exotic plants we’ve never seen before.

These are some glimpses of this past Sunday’s Open Days event in Pasadena, California. Be sure to check out the entire Open Days schedule to see where you might catch some cool gardens in your area — or on your next vacation.

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Open Days are held around the U.S. between March and November,
on Saturdays and Sundays between (generally) 9am and 5pm.
No reservations are necessary, and all tours require self-driving.
Each Open Days event provides a starting point address where you can pick up a map of the day’s gardens.
Tickets can be purchased online in advance, or in person at any stop along an Open Days route.
Ticket prices: 6 for $25 US for non-members, or 6 for $15 US for Garden Conservancy members.

Travels With Two

Its famous symbol is a huge cherry perched on an even bigger spoon.
Its most famous town, Lake Wobegon, is entirely fictional.
It’s the home of Prince’s Paisley Park
and a senator who used to be a hit on Saturday Night Live.
Its state fair is the epicenter of on-a-stick cuisine,
its land dotted with 1,000 lakes.

Minnesota sounds like an altogether magical, American place.

Here are some resources to help you plan your own “travels with two” to Minnesota.

Minnesota Guides
Minnesota State Tourism Guide
National Geographic
Frommers
Samantha Brown
Globe Trekker

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MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL
Guides
Travel + Leisure: Minneapolis & St. Paul
Fodors: Minneapolis & St. Paul
Articles
NGT: 48 Hours in Minneapolis

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OTHER MINN DESTINATIONS
Articles
NGT: Great Mississippi River Road
NGT: Historic Places Rated: Red Wing
Travel + Leisure: Prairie Home Abandon
Travel + Leisure: Chef Couples: 112 Eatery
Travel Channel: Romantic Road Trips: North Shore Drive

Minneapolis by Jason DeRusha

Have a Minnesota tip, story, or blog post you’d like to share?

Travels With Two

Here are some resources to help you plan your own “travels with two” to Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Guides
Wisconsin State Tourism Guide
National Geographic
Frommers
Globe Trekker: Wisconsin
Globe Trekker: Midwest USA

Wisconsin Articles
NGT: Great Mississippi River Road
NGT: 48 Hours in Milwaukee
Budget Travel: Madison
Travel + Leisure: Top 25 Spas/U.S. & Canada: Kohler
Travel Channel: Romantic Spa Vacations: Sundara
Globe Trekker: Red Cliff Indians of the Apostle Islands

Stephens Falls, Governor Dodge State Park by Sam Wilson

Autumn Farm, Wisconsin by Randen Pedersen

Have a Wisconsin tip, story, or blog post you’d like to share?

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As a child, driving to visit relatives in Ohio was a wonderful opportunity
to play the Alphabet Game; the state has towns with names like Xenia and Zanesville.  

As adults we’d like to eat our way through the foodie heaven of Cleveland and wander through its
world-class art museum, see the glorious parks of Columbus,
and take a long, leisurely drive through pastoral Wood County (see photo below).

Here are some resources to help you plan your own “travels with two” to Ohio.

Ohio Guides
Ohio State Tourism Guide
National Geographic
Conde Nast Traveler
Fodors
Globe Trekker

Anthony Bourdain: Cleveland

Ohio Articles
Budget Travel: Discovering Columbus
Globe Trekker: Explore Cleveland’s West Side Market
Globe Trekker: Quiet of the land: Amish People
Globe Trekker: Key West of the North: Put-in-Bay Island

Wood County, Ohio by Joe Tordiff

Lorain, OH lighthouse at sunset by Rona Proudfoot

Have an Ohio tip, story, or blog post you’d like to share?

Travels With Two

Here are some resources to help you plan your own “travels with two” to Missouri.

Missouri Guides
Missouri State Tourism Guide
National Geographic
Frommers
Fodors

Missouri Articles
NGT’s Intelligent Travel: I Heart My City: St. Louis
NGT’s Intelligent Travel: Blooming in St. Louis
Cooking Light: Best Cities: St. Louis
Cooking Light: There’s No Place Like Kansas City
Budget Travel: 10 Coolest Small Towns: Parkville, MO

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Missouri - Photo by JoePhoto

Have a Missouri tip, story, or blog post you’d like to share?

Travels With Two

Adam and I visited Chicago in 1999 to attend our friends’ wedding
at the tail end of our honeymoon;
the beginning of September is a gorgeous time to be in the city.

Park spaces are lush and full of friendly local people
soaking up the last sun they’ll see for months,
but tourist numbers are low due to the return of the school year.

It’s a great time to visit the  Field Museum, Art Institute, Navy Pier and Second City,
take an architectural tour cruise on the Chicago River, eat your way through town,
and have an after-dinner cocktail at Signature Room at the 95th,
the penthouse bar at the John Hancock Building, to see clear across the twinkling Midwest.

Here are some resources to help you plan your own “travels with two” to Illinois.

ILLINOIS  - GENERAL
Guides
Illinois State Tourism Guide
Conde Nast Traveler
Frommers
Globe Trekker

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CHICAGO
Guides
Time Out Chicago
Chicago Magazine
National Geographic
Fodors
Conde Nast Traveler
Travel + Leisure
Anthony Bourdain
Articles
NGT’s Intelligent Travel: I Heart My City
Travel + Leisure: Chicago’s Hottest Dogs
New York Magazine: Weekend Escape: Cheat on Broadway with Chicago

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OTHER IL DESTINATIONS
Articles
NGT: The Great Mississippi River Road
NGT: Galena, IL

Have an Illinois tip, story, or blog post you’d like to share?

Travels With Two

Here are some resources to help you plan your own “travels with two” to South Dakota.

South Dakota Guides
South Dakota State Tourism Guide
National Geographic
Frommers

Fodors: Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills
Globe Trekker: American Rockies

South Dakota Articles
NGT: Historic places rated: Deadwood
Budget Travel: Eye of the Warrior: Crazy Horse Memorial
Budget Travel: Presidents, Tumbleweeds and Brontoburgers

Mount Rushmore by mtoz (flickr)

White Butte, South Dakota by Andrew Filer

South Dakota by mtoz (flickr)

Have a South Dakota tip, story, or blog post you’d like to share?

Travels With Two

Our cousin Megan hails from Kalamazoo, and when she speaks of the lakes and beaches in her home state, her gaze grows soft and her voice takes on a note of great reverence.
Now, this we’ve gotta see. 

Here are some resources to help you plan your own “travels with two” to Michigan.

Michigan Guides
Michigan State Tourism Guide
National Geographic
Frommers
Globe Trekker

Fodors: Detroit
Travel + Leisure: Detroit

Islands Magazine: Mackinac Island

Michigan Articles
Travel + Leisure: Ann Arbor’s Food Revolution
Travel + Leisure: Farm Stand
Travel + Leisure: Best Summer Getaways: Wine Region, Leelanau & Old Mission Peninsulas
Cooking Light: Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan
Daily Candy: Lake Expectations: Michigan Beach Towns

Three Rivers, Michigan by John Menard

Lake Michigan by John Menard

Have a Michigan tip, story, or blog post you’d like to share?

Travels With Two