Nancy standing next to hay bale reindeer sculpture with googly eyes at Jim Bird's Hay Bale Art in Forkland Alabama

Jim Bird’s Hay Bale Art: A Harvest Host Adventure

We came for the giant Tin Man and stayed for the hay art at Jim Bird’s Hay Bale Art. Jim Bird’s Hay Bale Art in Forkland, Alabama is home to a towering 35-foot Tin Man and dozens of hay bale sculptures — but we’ll be honest, we came for the metal guy. We stayed at …

The Cowfish in Raleigh: Visiting the TANKED Aquarium Restaurant

Why We Visited The Cowfish in Raleigh We went to The Cowfish in Raleigh, North Carolina—a sushi-burger restaurant, mostly because of the tank. The main tank was built by the crew from TANKED – that reality show where Wayde King and Brett Raymer made completely over-the-top custom fish tanks for people. This one is shaped …

World’s Largest Spinach Can: The Mystery in Alma, Arkansas

World’s Largest Spinach Can: The Mystery in Alma, Arkansas I love a good roadside attraction hunt. You know the drill – you see something listed online as “World’s Largest Whatever,” you add it to your bucket list, you make the pilgrimage. Usually, you find it. Take some photos. Rate the experience. Move on. But the …

Popeye’s Garden in Alma, Arkansas: A Charming Roadside Stop

We rolled into Alma, Arkansas, in 2022 on a mission: find the World’s Largest Spinach Can. We’d seen it listed on roadside attraction sites, added it to our bucket list, and made the trek. (Truth be told, Zach’s parents live near Alma, so we were there to visit them!) Except when we got there, we …

Homemade raspberry Zingers coated in pink coconut

Copycat Hostess Zingers – Homemade Raspberry Coconut Snack Cakes

We were craving Hostess Raspberry Zingers, so we decided to make copycat versions at home instead. This week’s CopyCaturday experiment takes on the iconic pink coconut snack cake — and let me tell you, it was a journey. Homemade raspberry-filled sponge cakes with coconut coating that taste better than store-bought Hostess Zingers This batch of …

Side-by-side comparison of the Chief Bemidji Statue in Bemidji, Minnesota: a 1962 postcard on the left and a 2024 photograph on the right, showing over sixty years of the statue’s history

Vintage Postcard Recreation: Chief Bemidji Then & Now

The Postcard Time Machine Project Begins So here’s how this whole vintage postcard recreation project started. In July 2024, Zach and I visited Bemidji, Minnesota, for UniCon ’24—the last one that’ll be held in the US. We stopped at a lakeside park to photograph the Chief Bemidji statue, one of many stops we made exploring …

Vintage arcade games including Pac-Man, NBA Jam, and Galaga at Flashback Pizza & Milkshakes in Rogers, Arkansas

Flashback Pizza and Milkshakes: Bucket List Item #1 in Rogers, Arkansas

We’re ’80s kids. So when Flashback Pizza and Milkshakes in Rogers, Arkansas popped up in our feed, it hit every nostalgic nerve we had. Retro decor, arcade games, pizza, milkshakes—everything that made being a kid in the ’80s and ’90s feel like the best era to grow up in. We did some digging, realized it …

World’s Largest BB Gun: Daisy Airgun Museum in Rogers, Arkansas

The Giant Red Ryder That Started It All 📍 Location: 202 W Walnut St, Rogers, AR 72756 We had a VA appointment in Fayetteville, and since we were already up that way, we drove a little further north to Rogers. We were actually in town to check out Flashback Pizza (bucket list item #1 – …

Map of United States showing 2026 road trip bucket list route with orange location pins marking 12 destinations plus 3 wishes across multiple states

2026 Road Trip Bucket List Across America

Why does this year need a fancy title like “2026 Road Trip Bucket List”? Let’s be real – somewhere along the way, Zach and I lost our mojo. We’ve been rolling through the same triangle route (Florida, Arkansas, Michigan, repeat) for years now, and lately it’s felt more like we’re just… existing on the road …