Out & About // Donna Travels Coast to Coast

Frankenmuth, Michigan Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Jamie Furbush, welcomes Donna Duperron

As you read this column, I am actually out of the office exploring the United States on a three week road trip, an opportunity of a lifetime.

My husband and I left Torrance on July 20th and headed for our first destination, Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We were provided a special up close and personal view of everything the Black Hills has to offer by an extraordinary tour guide. It was evident that tourism was the number one business and that the towns we visited in this area depend on visitors for their livelihood.

As we traveled through South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois, it was easy to see that corn, soy beans and agricultural are very important to these states. Going through Ohio and Indiana, we took several back roads and experienced beautiful country. We also saw several buildings that were boarded up. These buildings once served as the infrastructure of a small town.

After visiting the University of Notre Dame in which we visited the church, viewed the golden dome, sat by Reflection Lake and lit a candle at the grotto, we headed for Frankenmuth, Michigan. In Frankenmuth, I had the opportunity to meet the President and CEO of their Chamber of Commerce. We shared stories, experiences and economic trends affecting each of our cities.

Leaving Frankenmuth, we traveled to Niagara Falls, the oldest National Park in the United States.
The next two cities we visited had so much going on. In Boston, it seemed as though the entire city was under construction. In fact, our trolley tour guide encouraged anyone with skills in the building trades to move to Boston. He said there would be work for ten years.

An intriguing city, Plymouth, Massachusetts is gearing up for their 200 year celebration of 1620. The Mayflower has been taken to Connecticut for repairs and the city is going through major renovation.
The past two days have been spent in New Jersey and New York. As with as all the other places mentioned, these two cities are a first for me and my husband. Last night we walked down to Times Square, this morning we went to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. Tomorrow we take a boat tour around Ellis Island and Lady Liberty.

We are leaving this area on Friday for our last stops; Gettysburg, Washington DC, Nashville, Memphis and Fayetteville, Arkansas.

All in all, at the completion of our trip on August 13th, we will have visited 25 different states. Among the things that I find fascinating are; the movement of goods across the United States is amazing, there are trucks everywhere and construction on roads and in cities is at a very high level.

Looking forward to seeing you upon my return. Meanwhile, enjoy some photos from our trip across this beautiful country!