Frank Hosek

Illinois

Journalist at Kankakee Daily Journal

Sometime traveler who embraces the journey and the written word.

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Articles

Finding Honky-Tonk Heaven:Nashville’s Robert’s Western World

2 weeks ago | goworldtravel.com | Frank Hosek

The afternoon sun back-lit the band with its white-hot glare. The postage-stamp-sized stage at Robert’s Western World is against the front windows. It barely contains the quartet with their stand-up fiddle, drum set, and guitars. I was entrenched on an aged chrome stool whose seat was leaking its foam stuffing out of a sizeable hole. A warm, humid breeze barely made its way through the open door to the rear of the narrow confines where we were seated.
Celebrating on San Antonio's River Walk: Food, History, and Pure Fiesta

3 weeks ago | goworldtravel.com | Frank Hosek

I’ve never understood the fascination with guacamole. I don’t hate it, just don’t love it. My dip of choice for tortilla chips tends more to salsa or bean. But on this day, at this moment, I was fascinated as our server dexterously created the green staple at our table. If you’ve not had the pleasure, tableside guac can be a thoroughly entertaining experience.
Arlington National Cemetery

1 month ago | goworldtravel.com | Frank Hosek

“Remove yourself from the path!” That statement whipped across the sidewalk leading to the plaza with all the forceful impact that a Drill Sergeant could muster. And it was directed at me!As we had exited the tram-bus, the driver had announced that the military guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was changing any moment.
Coastal Maine by Car: A Scenic Road Trip from Portland to Bar Harbor

1 month ago | goworldtravel.com | Frank Hosek

We were headed down east. Heading “down east,” as it’s known in Maine’s local dialect, means heading in a northeasterly fashion into the heart of Maine. Our final destination was to be Bar Harbor, but before we arrived there, we wanted to see Maine’s breathtaking coastline. The best way was to follow Route 1. Traveling Route 1 along Maine’s coast is arguably the East Coast’s most scenic drive. The layers of pictorial texture dictate a slower pace and deserve it.
Clinging to the Edge: Adventure and Serenity in Maine's Acadia National Park

Mar 23, 2025 | goworldtravel.com | Frank Hosek

I stood as close to Champlain Mountain’s granite cliffside in Acadia National Park as I could bodily squeeze myself. My left hand grasped the ancient iron rung embedded in its stony flank while my toes tried to grip the narrow trail through the soles of my shoes. Meanwhile, I fumbled for my camera with my right hand. While trying to take a picture one-handed without losing my handhold or the camera, I noticed the iron rungs at my feet, defining the very edge of the bluff.
Recharging in Punta Mita, Nayarit Mexico; A Serene Escape from Winter

Mar 13, 2025 | goworldtravel.com | Frank Hosek

The low-pitched basso notes echoed across the infinity pool, startling the somnolent guests from their torpor and into half-hearted action. Dressed in colorful guayabera shirts and sombreros, four gentlemen stood atop the second-floor balcony, enthusiastically blowing into their conch shells. The rich, strong sound noting the end of the warm, sun-kissed hours, their trumpeting announced the beginnings of another striking sunset as it began its slow descent into the blue Pacific.
Winter’s Wonderland: Exploring Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks

Feb 21, 2025 | goworldtravel.com | Frank Hosek

“Are You Alright?”Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure how to answer the inquiry, tinged with more than a little concern from my wife. I was deep into Starved Rock State Park’s French Canyon while she stood at the end of the trail further downstream. Typically, in the warmer months, once the fenced trail ends, the hiker, albeit awkwardly, can straddle the stream, inching your way through the vertical canyon walls which rise steeply on either side.
On the Trail of the Man in Black; A road-trip for Johnny Cash Fans

Jan 30, 2025 | daily-journal.com | Frank Hosek

Johnny Cash had a way of transfixing you, of stopping you in your tracks just to watch him, let alone listen to him, when he performed. The first time I saw him was on television. He had a weekly show in the late 1960’s. He would slowly prowl upon the stage, draped in his funereal black from head to toe which enhanced his dominating presence.
Chicago’s Griffin Museum of Science and Industry brightens spirits

Jan 2, 2025 | daily-journal.com | Frank Hosek

Shunning the crowded escalators, Kathy and I, slowly ascended the two stories worth of steps that arose from the subterranean entry. Approximately half-way up, a gold, multi-pointed star began to rise above the floor as if levitating. With each successive step, it became clear that the green hand that held aloft the gilded stellar body was an enormous Christmas Tree. As we finally clambered onto the rotunda’s floor, the feigned Christmas Fir rose four stories above our heads.
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum; Honoring the Edmund Fitzgerald

Nov 15, 2024 | daily-journal.com | Frank Hosek

We were standing 80 feet above the ground beneath a bright, sunlit sky peering across a great inland sea. Our guide pointed out the Walter J. McCarthy Jr., a thousand-foot Great Lakes freighter, as it sailed parallel to the shore. From atop the skeletal steel framework of the Whitefish Point Light, a Civil War relic that was built in 1861, the freighter looks surprisingly small against the vast waters of Lake Superior.