“The Smithsonian Guides to Historic America: The Plains States” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $19.95)
George Washington Carver’s mother disappeared after she and her infant son were kidnapped. George, however, landed in the care of Moses and Susan Carver. Their 1881 farmhouse still stands, near Diamond, not too far from Joplin, in the southwest corner of Missouri. A more detailed account of this, and other threads of history, are woven into this book, part of a 12-volume, region-by-region tapestry of an American past you can still travel to.
“Michigan’s Town & Country Inns” (University of Michigan Press, $16.95)
Otto Preminger came way up here, to Big Bay, Mich., to film “Anatomy of a Murder.” If you stay at the Big Bay Point Lighthouse just outside of the village, you might as well have a look at the Lumberjack Tavern, which was used in the movie. It is details such as these that Susan Newhof puts into her descriptions of more than 100 lodgings in this fourth edition.
“The Antique Atlas 1998: The Guide to Antiquing in America” (Rainy Day Publishing, $24.95)
Janie Eiklenborg’s great-grandmother owned the house that appears in the background of Grant Wood’s “American Gothic.” Now, Janie owns an antique store in Stillwater, Minn., named after the famous painting, but — and this is where things get complicated — there’s also an antique store by the same name in Eldon, Iowa, which is where the house-in-the-painting really is located. This phone-book-sized directory lists antique shops, some B&Bs and a few restaurants. (800-456-9326)
INTERNET
MapQuest (www.mapquest.com) The problem with maps — and life in general, for that matter — is that you have to know where you’re going before you can figure out how to get there. MapQuest works on the same principle: Tell it where you are and where you want to go, and it’ll come right back with maps and written directions, up to a point. It responded well when we keyed in our request to go from Chicago to Galena. We could zoom in and move around on the city map and get a weather report. But the thing stood dead in its tracks when we wanted door-to-door directions from 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611 (here at the Tribune) to 211 S. Bench St., Galena, Ill. 61036 (Galena/Jo Daviess County Historical Society). Maybe the moral of this story is that it’s good to have a target, so long as it’s not too tightly drawn — on maps or in life.
Amish Country, Northern Indiana(www.amishcountry.org/) Does anyone else out there think it’s kind of weird to look up — on the Internet, mind you — information about communities whose devotion to simplicity doesn’t even embrace motorized transportation? This site tells about audio cassette tours and fall foliage drives and lots of golf courses in the Elkhart-Goshen-Nappanee part of the state. The “Hot Deals” were outdated, but the recipes (Health Muffins sound tasty) will always be good.
MAGAZINES
1998 Great Vacation Drives, $4.95 (U.S. News & World Report)
For $225, you can spend the night in Frank Lloyd Wright’s tiny Seth Peterson Cottage, outside Baraboo, Wis. — but not till next century; ’tis booked through 1999. And then there’s Taliesin. You’ll read more about these and some of the architect’s other Midwestern designs in “Looking for Mr. Wright.” Another story travels to the Wilds, an animal park on a mission of mercy in Cumberland, Ohio. Find a state-by-state guide at the back of its 168 ad-free pages. On sale through Sept. 30.
VIDEO
“Packing With Jill”
It takes only 20 minutes for Jill McAlpine, owner of The Travel Bag in Carmel, Calif., to demonstrate how to pack — in just one suitcase — enough clothes for two people to be gone a week or one person to be gone two weeks. We’re just talking clothing and shoes here, no hair dryers, hiking boots, snorkel masks or shaving kits. For those who believe that packing tribulations ought to be grounds for divorce, think of this as a $19.95 marriage counselor. (408-626-5545)
NEWSLETTERS
Great Lakes Gazette (April/May, $3.50)
We’re not exactly sure that this is a newsletter, but we can’t really call it a magazine because it’s just black ink on ivory paper stock. But it packs some solid, if offbeat, information in 20 comic book-style pages. This installment offers a roundup of iron mine tours in the Upper Peninsula, takes a Mad Magazine approach to interpreting the wording often found in vacation advertisements and submits a quiz that helps determine “What Kind of Great Laker Are You?” (313-881-8859)
