Whenever we had a spare moment during our month in Michigan, we were outside.

We strolled through a tulip farm in Holland, had a picnic on the beach at Saugatuck Dunes State Park, and sipped pinot noir along a wine trail near Buchanan, stopping by different wineries along the route.

We spent most of our time near the shores of Lake Michigan, so we had access to all the things I could want on a beach vacation — fresh seafood, lively boardwalks with all kinds of quirky shops, and pristine sand.

However, in my experience, the prices seemed lower than what I’m used to in many of the “beach destinations” along the coasts.

I already have a list of places I want to explore the next time we’re in Michigan, such as Traverse City, Sleeping Bear Dunes, and Mackinac Island, one of the few places in the US where cars are banned.

Seeing massive carvings of former presidents is impressive, but there’s so much more to South Dakota than Mount Rushmore.

For example, I loved spending time in Custer State Park, which I believe offers some of the best views in all of the Black Hills. During our visit, we saw coyotes, prairie dogs, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and hundreds of bison (one even licked our car!)

Less than two hours away, we were treated to an entirely different landscape in Badlands National Park, which is dominated by buttes and towering rock spires.

There are also tiny museums and fascinating sites tucked away in small towns, making the drive across the state even more entertaining.

We stopped at the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs — an active excavation site where the remains of over 60 mammoths have been unearthed. I was amazed by the sheer scale of that many skeletons found in one place, and it was definitely worth the stop.

I firmly believe that Vermont has some of the most picturesque small towns in the US. And although each one has its special charms, Stowe really stands out to me.

Between perusing the cute shops, riding the gondola to the top of Mt. Mansfield (Vermont’s highest peak), and grabbing a drink at the Von Trapp Brewery (started by Maria von Trapp’s son), I felt like I’d been sucked into a postcard.

I was also impressed by Vermont’s dairy game. In almost every town we visited, I saw a shop selling creative varieties of cheese.

My favorite usage of dairy, however, had to be at the Ben & Jerry’s Factory in Waterbury. The tour was fun, the ice cream was perfectly decadent, and I still chuckle about the hilariously poetic Flavor Graveyard, where retired varieties are memorialized.

We spent several days driving around West Virginia, checking out different hiking trails and marveling at the abandoned mills hidden on backroads.

There were certain moments that took my breath away, like visiting Sandstone Falls and the stunning 3,000-foot bridge in New River Gorge National Park.

However, after getting our fill of nature, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of other options to fit our interests. In general, the state is pretty rural, and a lot of the small towns seemed designed for locals, not tourists.

Although I think hikers, campers, and whitewater enthusiasts could enjoy a visit to the Mountain State, I’m content with what I saw on my trip.

I didn’t know much about Idaho before we visited, but we saw some incredibly memorable spots during our trip.

Craters of the Moon National Monument — filled with black ancient lava fields and hill-like cinder cones — is unlike any other natural preserve I’ve been to in the continental US. Seeing it covered in snow only added to its otherworldly quality.

We also visited the Basque Block in Boise, which is a section of town that is preserved and dedicated to the Basque people who emigrated from Spain to Idaho in the late 1800s. As we strolled, we read signs that were posted and learned about the area and the culture.

Although I’m sure there are more beautiful places to see around Idaho, when I return to this region in the future, I’ll probably focus my time in Montana and Wyoming.

This story was originally published on February 11, 2026, and most recently updated on June 12, 2026.

Established in 1830, the US Naval Observatory is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the US, where scientists collect astronomical data for accurate navigation, according to the official website of the Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command.

The movements of planets and stars are used to accurately provide positioning, navigation, and timing for the Navy and Department of Defense.

The home features six bedrooms, a dining room, a garden room, a study, and an attic.

Vice presidents used to live in their own homes until Congress devoted funds to refurbishing the home for vice presidential use in 1974, according to the White House.

President Gerald Ford’s vice president, Nelson Rockefeller, hosted events at the home but didn’t live there.

In 1977, Vice President Walter Mondale, who served under President Jimmy Carter, became the first vice president to live in the residence full-time.

Eleanor Mondale wrote in a 1998 issue of Swing magazine that the Secret Service was less than pleased when they found out she had reported a ghost sighting, rather than an intruder.

“I was so scared, I fainted,” she wrote, Deseret News reported. “Upon coming to, I phoned the Secret Service Command Post. I whispered that there was a man in my room and hung up. Minutes later, two agents busted into the room, guns drawn. When I told them the ‘man’ was actually a ghost, they requested that I NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!”

Money for maintaining the home, as well as for additions or renovations, comes from private funds or donations to the Vice President’s Residence Foundation, which was founded in 1991.

They enlisted interior designer Frank Babb Randolph to help with the transformation.

Interior designer Victoria Hagan worked with the Bidens to add touches such as green wallpaper to the library and “daffodil yellow” walls in the living room.

“I love to go in that room and sit on the couch and grade papers or have meetings,” Jill Biden told The Washington Post in 2017. “Often, they put a round table in there and we would have dinner or lunch.”

George H.W. Bush installed a quarter-mile jogging track at the residence, and he liked it so much that he continued running there even after he became president.

Biden told reporters in 2010 that “no one can say a negative thing about Dan Quayle” because he added the pool to the vice president’s residence.

“He’s my favorite vice president,” Biden said. “And my granddaughters love it.”

The commemorative plaque reads “Joe loves Jill. Valentine’s Day 2010.”

The garden also features a bronze sculpture of the Bidens’ dog Champ, who died at age 13.

Karen Pence previously kept bees at the Indiana governor’s residence, unveiling a hive there in 2014. The hive she added to the vice presidential residence in 2017 held 20,000 bees.

“All types of pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, birds, and bats, are critical to providing our nation’s food, fiber, fuel, and medicine,” Pence said at the unveiling.

In November 2021, the second couple put a white mezuzah — a small scroll of Hebrew text from the Torah in a decorative case — on the right side of the doorway of their residence.

When they affixed the object, which marks the space as sacred and holy, Emhoff’s parents came to the ceremony, Harris told Vanity Fair.

“My mother-in-law, Barbara, is very pleased and proud of her son,” she said. 

“For years to come, this pomegranate tree will stand here, spreading its roots and growing stronger to remind future vice presidents of the United States, their families, and all who pass through these grounds not only of the horror of October 7, but of the strength and endurance of the Jewish people,” Harris said in her speech before planting the tree. “It will remind us all not to abandon the goal of peace, dignity, and security for all, and it will remind us all to always have faith.”

When loud blasts and construction noises were heard at Number One Observatory Circle in 2002, neighbors complained and received letters that read, “Due to its sensitive nature in support of national security and homeland defense, project-specific information is classified and cannot be released.”

The letter sparked rumors that a secure bunker was being built after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

A spokesperson for the US Navy told the BBC in 2002 that the construction was “an infrastructure and utility upgrade.”

Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift reported in 2009 that Biden revealed the existence of the bunker at an annual Gridiron Club dinner, but Biden’s spokeswoman told Fox News that his comments were not reported accurately.

“What the vice president described in his comments was not — as some press reports have suggested — an underground facility, but rather, an upstairs workspace in the residence, which he understood was frequently used by Vice President Cheney and his aides,” the spokeswoman said. “That workspace was converted into an upstairs guestroom when the Bidens moved into the residence. There was no disclosure of classified information.”

Presidents can’t just walk out of the White House whenever they want. At One Observatory Circle, though, vice presidents have more space and privacy to live normal lives.

At a CNN town hall in 2021, Biden likened the White House to a “gilded cage.”

“The vice president’s residence was totally different,” he said. “You’re on 80 acres, overlooking the rest of the city. And you can walk out, and there’s a swimming pool. You can walk off a porch in the summer and jump in a pool, and go into work. You can ride a bicycle around and never leave the property and work out. But the White House is very different.”

Harris welcomed Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar to the residence for a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in 2023.

The Vances are the first vice presidential family to live at the residence with children since the Gore family in 1993.

They also hosted Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin and his wife, Mary O’Shea, for a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in 2026.

Designed by Carolina Coops, the structure was designed to match the architecture of the Naval Observatory. It was not built with taxpayer funds, a source familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

The chicks will supply the vice president’s residence with fresh eggs. Vance joked during a 2024 campaign trail visit to a grocery store that his young children “actually eat about 14 eggs every single morning.”