travel Archives - Page 2 of 34 - Maggie InkMaggie Ink

This sweet treat was born in Chicago

August 30, 2023

You might think you don’t care about the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, which was held in Chicago.

But let me tell you about some of the now-cherished items that debuted there: Cream of Wheat, Juicy Fruit gum, the chocolate bar (Hershey’s), Aunt Jemima Pancakes, the #2 yellow pencil, Shredded Wheat, the automatic dishwasher, Cracker Jacks, the zipper, Ferris wheels.

Also America’s first serial killer.

Right. We could’ve done without that last thing.

One of my favorite books, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, delves into that World’s Fair and how it profoundly changed the country. The inventions! The murders! The new foods! The murders! Zippers! More murders!

It’s a gripping and wildly informative read, and it’s also a master class in nonfiction that reads like fiction.

What does all this have to do with a sweet treat?

Well, I was recently in Chicago with my high school girlfriends. As we walked around downtown, we passed by a place that sounded familiar from the book: the Palmer House Hotel.

I pulled my friends inside, not just because it’s a grand building …

And not just because it’s infused with historic details, like Mark Twain’s gallon-sized beer stein, and ostentatious lamps …

but because this is a place in food history!

Palmer House is where the brownie was invented.

As the story goes, the dessert was inspired by socialite Bertha Palmer, who was married to Potter Palmer, the millionaire owner of the hotel. She chaired the ladies’ board for the World’s Fair and tasked the hotel pastry chef with creating something that would be easy to box up and transport to the festival grounds.

Voila, the chef dreamed up brownies! (Although they weren’t called that until 1898, when they appeared in a Sears Roebuck catalog.)

The Palmer House confection is not quite to my taste, as I’m more of a crunchy edge brownie person, and this one has a gooey, fudge-like consistency. But hey, we need both kinds of brownie eaters in this world.

If you want to try it yourself, here’s the recipe. More than a century old, it’s the same one they use today.

Kilimanjaro gear: Some of the more unusual items

February 9, 2023

I’m almost always a minimalist packer, a carry-on only kind of gal.

So packing for the week-long trek up Kilimanjaro, which moves through five climates, has been giving me fits. Bookending the climb is a long layover in Paris and quick jaunt to Zanzibar. Plus there are also weight limits to consider.

I know this is just another travel puzzle I need to figure out, and I’m working on it.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some of the more unusual items I’ll be stashing in my duffel up the mountain.

Camp shoes

I’ve camped before, but I’ve never had a dedicated pair of camp shoes. The Kilimanjaro guides recommend bringing some, though, because your feet get cold and tired each night, and your hiking boots are the last thing you want to wear.

I bought these Ramble Puff slippers from Chaco, and they are unbelievably light and comfortable while also being very sturdy. I love them so much, I’m not going to lie — I will probably wear them in Paris with confidence and pretend they’re fashionable.

Detergent strips

Lazy Coconuts is the detergent I use at home, and I always bring a couple of strips with me when I travel. They’re great for washing a couple of items in a sink, or you can toss one in a washing machine. (I’ve had people ask how I make a few items of clothing stretch for a month-long trip, and this is my boring secret. I do laundry all over the world.)

Silicone bags

Tanzania banned plastic bags in 2019, and it’s my understanding that plastic bags can be confiscated at customs/immigration. That inspired me to finally invest in some Stasher reusable bags. I plan to use them for keeping things organized in my duffel (along with my beloved compression cubes), but they’re made of food-grade silicone, so I can use these for snacks and food prep when I get home.

Portable urinal

This is my portable urinal, or as I call it, my pee accordion. This was another item recommended by the guides, because apparently it gets so cold at night, you should not leave the tent to pee. (And I WILL have to pee, I already know this.) That’s where the portable urinal comes in.

Some folks use a Nalgene bottle. However, I will be using Nalgene bottles for drinking water, so I wanted my urinal to look as different from a Nalgene bottle as possible. My night vision is terrible.

Amazing style — priceless

A balaclava is necessary to keep my face from becoming frozen, and these polarized sunglasses are for preserving my sight, even in snow and ice.

For the balaclava, I wanted both style and substance, which is why I opted for the floral. It’s giving me Magnum P.I. climbs a mountain. Or Golden Girls at 19,500 feet.

As for the glasses, I love these already. They’re Goodr, a brand that other Kili climbers raved about, and they’re so light. When it comes time to get new sunglasses again, I’ll be a return customer.

Disclosure: I only endorse things I personally use and have purchased for myself. If you buy anything using one of the above referral links, I might receive a small commission. However, there’s no extra cost to you, and the $ goes toward paying my Internet bill.

Road trip: Underground adventure at Mitchell Caverns in the Mojave Desert

January 9, 2023

The guide prepped us with a countdown of “Three, two, one …”

Instantly, we were plunged into the blackest darkness I’ve ever experienced. A darkness so complete, it felt thick. I put my hand in front of my face, and not only was I unable to see it, I wondered if my hand still existed.

Just when I felt like I might be falling through space, my son wrapped his arms around my legs. A moment later, the guide turned on the small lights that illuminated the path.

I quickly reoriented myself. Ahead of me, cave. Behind me, cave. Above me, you guessed it. Cave.

It’s a good thing I’m not the kind of person who gets claustrophobic in confined spaces. Rather, I’m the kind of person who, when faced with darkness, potentially loses their own body.

I was standing in the deepest point of Mitchell Caverns, an adventurous Southern California road trip destination within two hours’ drive from Barstow and a fun add-on for camping trips in the surrounding area.

The caverns are named for Jack Mitchell, who bought claims to the land and sounds a bit like a sunbaked, desert version of P.T. Barnum. Back in 1934, he and his wife, Ida, built stone structures by hand on the property and ran a small resort that included tours of the caves. They also developed the road that led from Route 66 to the caverns, approximately 22 miles, and turned it into a popular attraction.

On view are two main caves: “El Pakiva,” the Devil’s House, and “Tecopa,” named for a Shoshone chief. There’s a third cave, but it’s deep and dangerous, and at this point it’s off limits to the public.

The tour enters through the “eyes of the mountain” and only becomes more spectacular from there.

The caverns feature some unique and unusual formations, and our guide was excellent about explaining them. I knew about stalagmites and stalactites, but I had no idea that so many cave features are named for food! We saw cave bacon, cave frosting, cave mushrooms, and cave shields — “they’re kind of like a sandwich,” our guide said.

Overall the caverns were more impressive than I expected, a true gem within the California state park system.

GO SEE IT

Where: Mitchell Caverns is located in the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area in the eastern Mojave Desert.

When: The State Park is open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday Mondays from September to June. (Closed July and August.)

You must have a guided tour for the caverns. Reserve this by calling (760)928-2586 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Mondays. Group size is limited to 15 people.

What time: Tours are approximately 2 hours long and take place at 10 a.m. in June and September, and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. during the other months.

Cost: Tours are $10 per adult, $9 per senior, and $5 for children. There’s also a $10 State Park fee per vehicle.

Bring: There’s no gas or food located within many miles of the attraction, so make sure you have everything you need to fuel yourself and your vehicle. For the tour, you can take a water bottle, but no backpacks or snacks.

Good to know: The bat population is being decimated by white-nose syndrome. It’s a fungal growth that does not affect humans, but humans can carry and spread the spores, and the spores can survive for up to a decade. For that reason, the park requests that whatever you wear to Mitchell Caverns, you never wear into another cave. (So if you have plans to visit another cave soon, this is a great excuse to buy new hiking boots!)

Accessibility: The location of the caverns do not allow for trails to be ADA accessible. Also, the cavern formations create areas as low as 62 inches and as narrow as 14 inches. There are video tours of the caverns that can be viewed inside the visitor center.

Find out more: Visit the park website

Need outdoor gear? Check here first

December 26, 2022

There are plenty of reasons to buy used outdoor gear. It saves money, making recreation more affordable and accessible. It’s better for the planet, (and if you’re spending time outdoors, chances are you dig this planet). And at a time of fast fashion, when 85% of clothing ends up in landfills, buying used means you’re not contributing to that abysmal number.

I’ve been prepping for a trek on Mount Kilimanjaro, which unfortunately comes with a hefty gear list. I’ll be renting some items in Tanzania, but for things like base layers and jackets, I want to have my own reliable pieces. At the same time, I don’t want to break my budget on $90 waterproof mittens I’ll wear once.

That’s how I found these excellent sites where you can extend the life of quality, functional gear without spending a bundle. It’s never been easier to reduce consumption!

Here are my favorites so far:

• Patagonia Worn Wear — Patagonia Worn Wear consists of two main collections: Recrafted garments are new pieces made from the fabric of used clothes; meanwhile, Patagonia pieces that leave the factory with some sort of flaw are refurbished for the Seconds collection.

• REI Used — Awesome selection of a wide variety of gear and clothing. Note that you have to be an REI co-op member to shop (or sell) on the used site.

• Arc’teryx ReGear — Arc’teryx makes high quality goods with a price tag to match, which makes the used clothing such a great deal

• Eddie Bauer (Re)Adventure — You can rent from this site or make a purchase. (I scored a very cozy 3-in-1 ski jacket for $66!) [EDITED TO NOTE: Eddie Bauer has sadly discontinued this program. Fingers crossed they will bring it back.]

• The North Face Renewed – The same North Face stuff you love elsewhere, but at a fraction of the price.

• GearTrade — A marketplace of many brands and a frustrating search portal. But the deals are good, and it’s worth scouring the site to find what you need.

• ThredUp — This thrift site for women and children’s clothing isn’t dedicated to outdoor gear, but I’ve found a lot of great active wear. If you haven’t shopped ThredUp before, here’s $10 off your first purchase.

• Outdoors Geek — A site for rental camping gear that also sells gently used goods.

Know any others? Let me know in the comments!

My ultimate California bucket list

December 19, 2022

I confess it’s taken me years to pull together my ultimate California bucket list — but that’s probably because there’s so much to do in the Golden State!

I’ve been chipping away at items ever since I moved here in 2005. Some things I did immediately (road trip along State Route 1), some fell off the list entirely (appear as a contestant on The Price is Right), and many I’d still like to do (bike the Golden Gate Bridge, hike in Yosemite, and so on). This post is a compilation of my top 50.

Keep in mind, this list is in no particular order. Also since I live in Southern California, it’s heavy on items in this part of the state.

What else would you add?