WINNER!
Congrats to Laura Waltz! You will be receiving a Lifeway gift card from Dani Pettrey. An email is on its way!
I am thrilled to welcome author Dani Pettrey to guest blog today and to be part of her Expedition: Still Life blog tour, which began Tuesday! Read about today's special location from Dani's recent release, Still Life, enter the giveaway on this page, and then be sure to click the special link to get your passport stamp. The tour happens each Tuesday and Thursday until May 1, when the winner will be announced via Rafflecopter. And now, grab a cup of your favorite brew and join me in welcoming Dani Pettrey!
Welcome to the Expedition: Still Life blog tour! Today we’re visiting Canton, a charming waterfront neighborhood founded in the late 19th century.
If you aren't familiar with this exciting blog tour, or the fabulous grand prize you can win by taking part in it, please visit Expedition: Still Life's main contest page for all the details.
Parker Mitchell, the crime scene investigation hero from my latest release, Still Life, lives in Canton. This Baltimore neighborhood includes a quaint village square full of restaurants, pubs, and unique gift shops.
Traditional Baltimore brick row homes with classic marble stoops and painted screens line the main thoroughfare of O’Donnell Street, where you’ll often see people running along the waterfront path or walking their dogs in the fresh harbor air. Boats bob in the two main marinas. While researching my book series, my husband and I spent a long weekend on a boat in one of Canton’s marinas.
Traditional Baltimore brick row homes with classic marble stoops and painted screens line the main thoroughfare of O’Donnell Street, where you’ll often see people running along the waterfront path or walking their dogs in the fresh harbor air. Boats bob in the two main marinas. While researching my book series, my husband and I spent a long weekend on a boat in one of Canton’s marinas.
The video below is an interview I filmed during that weekend of research.
Parker Mitchell lives off the beaten path in the heart of Canton’s industrial area in a renovated brick warehouse where his loft apartment resides on the top two floors. He loves listening to the rhythmic sound of a ship’s wake and the crabby scent of the harbor. Growing up less than an hour away in a small harbor front town, Canton is a perfect fit for him.
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Parker’s loft here.
I hope you enjoyed your insider’s peek at Parker’s neighborhood. This is the second stop on the Expedition: Still Life Tour. Be sure to collect your passport stamp to be entered to win the Grand Prize here.
Thanks so much to Linda for hosting me. To also be entered to win a LifeWay gift card, just answer the question below in the comments by midnight PDT April 30. (The randomly drawn winner will be announced on this post on May 1.) After answering the question, visit http://danipettrey.com/stilllife-contest/ to see all the other stops and giveaways on this tour.
Readers, click on the links below for my reviews of Still Life and the first book in Dani's Chesapeake Courage series, Cold Shot!
Cold Shot
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52 comments:
I grew up in Memphis, TN. My husband was a minister so we moved around some. My favorite town was Portageville, Missouri. It was a small town, great people and a great town for our children to live.
My favorite hometown spot is Brewbakers Pub (but formerly known as Winnsboro Bakery) located in Winnsboro, TX. My friends and I used to get coffee and pound cake in the mornings after band practice. They had the BEST cake! In a town of 3000 people, it was the only place to get coffee and hang out. I still love visiting it even after it changed ownership because it's quaint and still has the small town charm.
The zoo! I live in St. Louis and we have the best zoo!
We have many beautiful parks here in Cedar Rapids,Iowa.
Martha T.
CRPrairie1@imonmail(dot)com
My favorite hometown spot would have to be Okoboji Lake in Iowa. I loved being on the water. It was incredible to wake up and see how the sun shines on the lake. On Sundays there were sailboat races. It was a great place to grow up.
Thanks so much for hosting me, Linda!
Love hearing about all these hometown spots. I haven't been to any except the St. Louis Zoo and it is the best! Love it. My best friend lives in St. Louis so we visit a lot. Have to add the other locations to my 'must visit' list :)
I like being on the Tar River. Water sun..watching skiers, what's not to like.
I grew up in Michigan, so my favorite place to go was to Lake Michigan. That was over 30 minutes away, though. Now that we're in South Dakota, our favorite place is Falls Park in Sioux Falls. The city's namesake is very beautiful, and it's fun to climb on the rocks that surround the falls.
Coney Island - they have the best hot dogs in Fort Wayne
My hometown is Nashville, TN and I love the local and state parks around the area. Though it's difficult to name a fave, I think it would be Radnor Lake.
-Kim H in GA
Green Dragon in Ephrata, PA. It's a huge farmers market/flea market with local growers, merchants, and craftsmen. It's a great place to walk around with all kinds of stuff for sale.
I loved Cold Shot and Still Life! Can't wait for the next one!
I live in Santa Cruz, California, and we have both redwoods and beaches! It's hard to choose a favorite.
Cedar Rapids, IA. We love the Farmer's Market that is held in downtown during the summer.
My husband and I grew up in Michigan so the lakes are favorites for us, but I would have to say that my absolute favorite hometown spot would be the Ft. Gratiot Lighthouse because that is where my husband proposed to me. This tour is so much fun and I really enjoyed Dani's interview.
I have lived in the same small town in Upstate SC my entire life and we don't have any "spots" to go to.
During my teenage years, we lived in Alabama. I have always loved the mountains.
My very good friend, M.A., used to live in one of those Canton row homes.
I love the mountains of East Tennessee. My parents retired there; my dad grew up there and they live on the homestead I visited my entire life. Peaceful, quiet. Just beautiful.
denise
Not my hometown,but went there few times since I was a child. The city of MARSEILLE (France). The sun, the beach and the smell of the Méditerranée sea...Gorgeous. My favorire spot= Le Prado. It's a big beach in Marseille. Sand, sea, churros with chocolate, beach volley...It is amazing!
LUMEN.
Loving learning about all these wonderful hometowns and favorite vacation spots. Marseille sound amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, everyone :)
My favorite hometown spot would be the Santa Cruz boardwalk. It was one of favorite places to go while I lived in California.
My hometown is Franklin, TN. I love that we're close to Nashville with a small-town feel and lots of history.
My favorite hometown spot is in northern Utah where I live now. It's a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains.
I love just hanging out at my church. There's always something going on.
I live in a teeny tiny town with honestly nothing here. We live about 4 miles outside of the next town over (the town where I went to high school) and I love the park by the high school. It's just one block of grass, trees, monuments and benches, but I enjoy sitting on a bench reading on a nice day.
The botanical garden in Guyana. I loved the flowers and the quiet spots. It was so peaceful and beautiful.
My favorite hometown spot was actually the library! We went a lot when I was a kid and would always borrow books, do the summer reading program, the bingo nights, volunteered at their book sales, and I even worked there as a student helper for a while as a teen. The library staff became familiar with my family and we have good friendships with them today. It's not an especially unique place, but it is a place that holds lots of wonderful memories for me.
Oh that is hard picking a favorite hometown spot. I guess it would have to be this awesome park we have here that the kids enjoy. They get to run around playing and I get some fresh air. Win, win!
In my husband's hometown of International Falls, I love Rainy Lake.
In my husband's hometown of International Falls, I love Rainy Lake.
My favorite hometown spot would have to be the creek where all us neighborhood kids played for hours each day. The boys actually let us girls join in the fun swinging across the narrow lane full of water on the vines that grew there (my mother would have been so upset had she known that at the time!) We let our imaginations run wild and had trails in the woods back to our houses. No indoor TV days for us...we played outside until dark, when our mom's would step out on the porches and yell as loud as they could to bring us back in for the night. A much slower paced time that I truly miss today...but good times that have bound us in friendships together over the last 40 years!
We've got a Canton in Ohio, but it is nothing like this! My favorite localish place is Cleveland where they've got cool stuff to do.
Wow, that's a cool question! My hometown is a small little place called Clinton, IL. I don't live there any more, but I do have fond memories of growing up in the small town community. We could walk anywhere, we knew all our neighbors, and it was a safe place to be. We were near family, and they have the BEST pizza place in the whole world. (Sorento's)
I grew up in a small, coastal town in Texas. I was raised on fresh shrimp straight from the Gulf.
My favorite hometown spot is Whalon Lake ... it's just 5 minutes from our house and makes a wonderful 5K exercise walk every day. There are lots of herons, red-winged black birds, water otters, and other wild life. I love the outdoors :-)
I grew up in the countryside, and now live in a small village with a well-developed surrounding area. We have a big enough chain grocery store and pharmacy -- but otherwise, our choices are eating establishments. We are sure blessed to have so many of them available too! My favorite is a fairly new place started by a local chef who moved back to our area on purpose to treat us to great food. He smokes all the meats on-premise and makes us so hungry when we smell all these delicious preps being done!! All of the food is super delicious and shows his creativity in preparing tasty food. A close second for me is a little diner just a few doors away from the BBQ place. They serve all homemade food and use a lot of their grandma's recipes. Yum! Yum! I just tried the baklava tonight. Yes! Also, I love the local coffee shop as they make the Best cinnamon rolls and have lots of flavorful coffees and coffee drinks. There are several other place. Who knew a small village could support so many "restaurants" and pizzarias??? We sure don't have to drive far (some are in walking distance) to find good food when we want to eat out.
My favorite hometown spot is my own backyard. I like the peace and quiet of our woods.
My favorite hometown spot is Kingsport, Tennessee because that is where my family is and where God has put me!
My hometown is so small there aren't a lot of spots to rave about. I'm going with our teeny tiny library since it takes me anywhere in the world I desire to go.
Arletta
TWELVE MILES
I've been married for 29.5 years but I only live 12 miles from my parents' home. We moved there my last day of 2nd Grade which was 51 years ago this June 3. The 12 miles separating these two homes encompass a lot of where I've lived my life - the homes of cherished aunts, uncles & cousins, the Church where I felt God's call on my life, that same Church were I married the man of my dreams, my Elementary School where my teachers taught me what it meant to "fall in love" with a book, the Barn where we kept our horses when I was in Elementary School, the Reservoir where I went waterskiing 5-7 days a week for years, the favorite restaurants my family enjoys, the grocery stores where I've made 1,000,000 trips & spent $$$$$, the Lower & Upper Elementary Schools where my 2 children spent some of the happiest years of their lives, another Church family where we were when our children were born, etc.. As you can see, these 12 miles have been monumental in my life!
TWELVE MILES
I've been married for 29.5 years but I only live 12 miles from my parents' home. We moved there my last day of 2nd Grade which was 51 years ago this June 3. The 12 miles separating these two homes encompass a lot of where I've lived my life - the homes of cherished aunts, uncles & cousins, the Church where I felt God's call on my life, that same Church were I married the man of my dreams, my Elementary School where my teachers taught me what it meant to "fall in love" with a book, the Barn where we kept our horses when I was in Elementary School, the Reservoir where I went waterskiing 5-7 days a week for years, the favorite restaurants my family enjoys, the grocery stores where I've made 1,000,000 trips & spent $$$$$, the Lower & Upper Elementary Schools where my 2 children spent some of the happiest years of their lives, another Church family where we were when our children were born, etc.. As you can see, these 12 miles have been monumental in my life!
I live in a tiny community in south GA (one caution light), but it is a very historic area. We have a small park that commemorates the capture site of Jefferson Davis at the end of the Civil War, and our area was also designated as a resettlement area (with one and two mule farms) by the WPA during the Depression. The families here are still extremely close, and everyone looks out for each other. Therefore, I'd have to say that my favorite spot is the community center where we all gather for meetings/events to spend time together. It is actually the old lunchroom of the school my father attended as a little boy, and it's the only part still standing. It may not be fancy, but it's the heart of our community.
My favorite hometown spot my small rural town is the library. It's a grand Greek revival stone building from the 1890s with octagonal domed rooms. I spend many hours each week there.
My favorite hometown spot is the park. Growing up playing softball and the yearly festival in the park makes it a spot full of great memories and love to spend time there with my nieces and nephews.
My grandma's old house with push button light switches and pocket doors.
My Favorite Hometown Spot was our whole downtown We used to hang out down there during the day we'd go to Thrift Drugs and Woolworths and at night we'd CRUISE around the circle with whoever we could get to drive us around. those were definitely the good old days when we didn't have to worry about the stuff we have to worry about today in this day and age. I would never let my children do what I used to do it's just not safe anymore.
Thanks for sharing this on your blog Linda.
I grew up in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, a small prairie town with not too much to see! My favourite spot is the ice cream shop, Scoops, because they to this day they serve the best ice cream I've ever had. I have many good memories from my adolescent years walking to scoops with friends and family!
City parks I can just walk in them for hours. The one by the river has the most to see but its the peace and quiet I enjoy.
My favorite hometown spot is downtown New Albany, MS. It's small, quaint, and has some great little shops. Thanks for the giveaway! :)
My favorite hometown spot is our local library because it has internet access, excellent resources, as well as fun social programs for all ages.
I grew up in a small suburban town outside Chicago! Well, it USED to be small...now it's becoming one of the bigger suburbs! My favorite spot was always our little library. Since the town has grown so much, they are trying to tear it down and build a bigger one. I'm hoping not, because of all the good memories there! But, yeah, that's my fave hometown spot. :)
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