‘Couple of Patels’ on traveling Illinois and beyond

// This is a machine generated transcript. Please report any transcription errors to will-help@illinois.edu.

[00:00:00]
Brian Mackey: It's the 21st show. I'm Brian Mackey. Spring has barely arrived, but I suspect many of us are already looking forward to summer and vacation plans. Are you planning to go anywhere this year? Where to? [How] are you getting there? Let us know at 800-222-9455. 800-222-9455. 

My guests for the rest of the hour today are experienced travelers. Jay and Himani Patel are Illinois-based content creators who highlight destinations across the 21st state and beyond. You can find them on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and other sites as [A] Couple of Patels. They join me now to talk about where you might want to go this summer. [Himani], Jay, welcome to the 21st Show.

[00:00:54]
Himani: Thanks for having us.

[00:00:56]
Brian Mackey: So before we get to some travel ideas, just tell us a little bit about yourself. What's your origin story as [an] internet [travelers]?

[00:01:05]
Himani: Sure. So I guess we both grew up traveling a lot, thanks to our parents, and then we started dating, and that just came natural to us, [is] going on these day trips and weekend trips whenever we get a chance. So I always shared [my] whatever [I'm] doing, where I'm traveling on my personal page, and [Jay] loved taking pictures in general. So that's when this idea came up. I was like, our friends and family always ask us like, how do you guys find these places, where should I go next? Then why don't we make a public page and start sharing to other people, because we figure a lot of other people would be interested in that as well. So yeah, that's how it began and the rest is [history].

[00:01:57]
Brian Mackey: So you've traveled across the country. How did you decide to settle in Chicago?

[00:02:02]
Himani: So Jay has always been in Chicago. He was born and brought up here. I, with my family, moved [to] Chicago, like moved [to] the U.S., [seven or] eight years ago. So both of our families are here, and that's how this is the only city we've always been.

[00:02:23]
Brian Mackey: Jay, what about you? What's your origin story for being a traveler?

[00:02:28]
Jay: Yeah, so I mean, I grew up in Chicago and I kind of grew up taking a lot of road trips. My parents were always busy, so we didn't travel much outside of the Midwest initially until the later years of my life. And, you know, I kind of grew up with [this] traveling by road trip to local destinations, a lot of outdoor travel. And, you know, when I met Himani, [she] was aligned with that and she was always wanting to do these kind of hikes and day trips and weekend trips. So it kind of really worked out in our favor.

[00:03:05]
Brian Mackey: So traveling is one thing. Traveling and thinking about making content about it is another. So Himani, maybe I'll start with you. How does having to make content affect how you travel?

[00:03:19]
Himani: It is sometimes work, but you just kind of have to — as I said, I always kind of shared on my personal social media [what am] I doing, [where I'm] traveling today, etc. So I think that [in] the beginning, it was kind of natural to us and [Jay's] always taking pictures and videos. So that whenever we get to a location we try to [like] shoot like five, 10 minutes and then we enjoy the rest of the time there.

[00:03:57]
Brian Mackey: You're not shooting the whole time, right? You're taking some time to —

[00:04:01]
Himani: Yeah, yeah.

[00:04:03]
Brian Mackey: Excellent. All right, well, let's talk about some destinations to check out this spring and summer, and let's start here in Illinois. What are some places you would recommend?

[00:04:13]
Himani: Sure. So I guess we have all probably heard of Rockford, but there's a town nearby Rockford called Oregon, and [we both] think that it's kind of underrated. So it's just two hours west from Chicago, but the town is home to three state parks: Castle Rock State Park, White Pines State Park and [Lowden] State Park. So a lot of hiking trails nearby, amazing views of the river, and again, there's a cute town, so you get to have the local experience as well. So Oregon would be our first [recommendation] that everyone should check it out this summer.

[00:05:02]
Brian Mackey: I was looking at your Castle Rock photos on Instagram. Pretty amazing. Was that a drone shot I saw there?

[00:05:08]
Himani: It is.

[00:05:10]
Brian Mackey: Yeah, nice. Which one of you is the drone operator? 

Himani: That would be me. 

Brian Mackey: Yeah, OK. It's interesting. I'm a bit of a drone fan myself. All right, let's — where else? Let's do another one, maybe in central Illinois.

[00:05:27]
Himani: Yeah. So we [went] to actually southern Illinois last summer, and we were stunned by the beauty there. Again, three or four state parks, I believe. It's a national forest, so again, so many trails to hike, so many waterfalls. There's a place called Garden of the Gods, which is pretty impressive, cool rock formations there, and Ferne Clyffe State Park, Giant City State Park, they have pretty impressive waterfalls. And again, all these trails are very family friendly, so people can definitely take their kids, toddlers to these trails, and easy trails to the waterfalls. So southern Illinois is amazing. We would love to even go back anytime. So that's [that] kind of [place].

[00:06:25]
Brian Mackey: Yeah, I love thinking of Garden of the Gods. We have one of our stations [that] is in Carbondale, so I'm sure we have listeners down there who are well familiar with it. But it's interesting to see, you know, for people who it's new to, right, through like fresh eyes, right? And you look at the comments on your Instagram and everybody's like, whoa, didn't know that was here. What is the common thing that [you] are on a bunch of posts? Nobody tells you about, right? Nobody tells you about this, yeah. So yeah, go ahead, Jay.

[00:06:54]
Jay: Yeah, it's actually also like a wine country. That's something that we didn't know until we visited and we were unfortunately not able to go. It was a little colder, but, um, you know, it is also a wine country that you can visit out in the summers. So for people that are trying to get more of an outdoor experience, city experience, and kind of, you know, it's actually a very underrated place, I believe.

[00:07:17]
Brian Mackey: Yeah, it's interesting. I'm not a wine drinker myself. People I know who are, or are not — I probably shouldn't say this — they're not the hugest fans of Illinois wine, but I know that there is a big push to develop that industry, so maybe things are improving with regards to that. So let's talk about that with regard to these downstate destinations. You all are based up in Chicago. How do you convince people from areas like Chicago that there's enough to do in some of these smaller cities in, you know, central Illinois and southern Illinois?

[00:07:51]
Himani: Yeah, sure. I feel like people are always looking for things to do. It's just they don't know that they exist. And again, our — we always try to convince people that these are, you know, [they] can always take a day trip or a weekend trip. We both always had nine-to-fives, and if we can do it, you can too. And again, as I mentioned earlier, a lot of these trails in Illinois are very family friendly. You can always find a nearby town. We always share like where we stayed and all our recommendations for food, which makes it very easier for people to plan their trips as well.

[00:08:34]
Brian Mackey: All right. So let me remind listeners, if you're just joining us, it's the 21st show. We're talking with Jay and Himani Patel. They're known online as A Couple of Patels. From a base in Chicago, they make social media content about their travels across Illinois, the Midwest and beyond. As the weather warms up, we're talking about some destinations you might want to check out. So let's go beyond Illinois to the Midwest. What are some of your top spots to travel to in the Midwest?

[00:09:01]
Himani: Sure. One of our favorite region[s] in [the] Midwest, I would say, is southwest Michigan. Again, just a couple of hours' drive from Chicago, you get to [these] amazing beach towns. Just to name a few, New Buffalo, [Saugatuck], Saint Joseph. [These] are the [lakeside] towns I would mention there that, again, you get to the beach very easily. These are on the beach kind of [towns]. Also, they have state parks called like Warren Dunes, [Saugatuck] Dunes and Grand Mere State Park[s]. Like we all know about Indiana Dunes, but [probably] not a lot of people have heard of all these other dunes state parks that you can get to where you can, again, go [on] hikes, go to the beach, and again, [these] towns are very cute. You can find a lot of places to eat [and] stay. So yeah, southwest Michigan would be our top Midwest destination for summer.

[00:10:06]
Brian Mackey: I do love summer in Michigan. I went to a Boy Scout camp there as well as [YMCA] camp when I was a kid. So what, what — Jay, let me come back to you. What places have surprised you most on your travels, right? Exceeded your expectations?

[00:10:21]
Jay: I would say honestly, I grew up going to Michigan a lot, but Michigan is still something that, every time we go back to a new coastal town, it just reminds us a lot about vacation. It doesn't really seem like, outside, it doesn't seem like you're in the Midwest per se. You know, we went to Traverse City a few years back. It's just a very different Midwest experience, I feel like. So I would say it keeps surprising me every time we check out a new city on the coastal side of Michigan.

[00:10:58]
Brian Mackey: Himani, when you're traveling, how do you decide whether to drive or fly, especially given how expensive everything has gotten in recent years and I guess in recent weeks with gas?

[00:11:11]
Himani: Yeah, I guess Jay loves to drive. So if it's like less than eight hours, [around] eight hours, we are driving. That's our [limit] I guess. We have [driven] more than eight hours to be honest. We have gone all the way to South Dakota and also to New York by car. So, as I said, Jay loves driving, so we mostly drive if we can.

[00:11:40]
Brian Mackey: Jay, what do you drive? What are the best road trip vehicles in your view?

[00:11:44]
Jay: I would not say our vehicle is the best road trip vehicle, but we drive a small BMW, so it's — I would recommend an SUV for longer road trips. I think one thing I could give as advice for road trips is definitely nighttime driving is a little dangerous in the Midwest with the deer[s]. So that is something to always watch out for, you know, I would highly recommend trying to get to a destination before sunset. That's usually when the deer[s] are crossing over. So that's just one of the tips that, you know, we've kind of learned as we've taken a lot of road trips.

[00:12:21]
Brian Mackey: Yeah, deer, they're — I once heard someone say that they're basically like large squirrels from an evolutionary perspective, but they can do a lot of damage to your car. So I guess we're coming to the end of our time together. Where are you going next? What's your next big trip?

[00:12:45]
Himani: Go ahead.

[00:12:46]
Jay: Yeah, so I think our next big trip is going to be probably maybe going back to southern Illinois actually. Like I said, we didn't really get time to check out the wine country, and there was a lot of spots around the river, so the southern Illinois part is really touching that Missouri [forest] line, and there's just plenty of things to still see there. So I think that might be our next road trip.

[00:13:18]
Brian Mackey: All right. You can find Jay and Himani Patel, A Couple of Patels, at Instagram and TikTok and other social media sites. Thanks so much for sharing your travels with us today here on the 21st show.

[00:13:32]
Jay: Yeah, thank you so much for having us.

[00:13:34]
Himani: Yeah.

[00:14:07]
Brian Mackey: That is it for us today and this week. Coming up Monday, Canada geese are a fact of life in many parts of Illinois, but the creatures can be a safety risk and a danger to public health. As spring brings friskier geese, we'll talk with the creator of a device that aims to get rid of them in a humane way and how it's been working for the parks department in one Illinois city. Plus, who are the landscapers who mow our lawns, trim our trees and rake our leaves? Many of them, especially in the Midwest, are Mexican immigrants. Sergio Lemus writes about his experience with that work and the stories and struggles of those who come to America seeking a better life. His book is called [Los Jardineros]. 

The 21st Show is produced by Christine Hatfield and Jose Zepeda. Our digital producer is Kulsoom Kahn. Technical direction and engineering comes from Jason Croft and Steve Morck. Reginald Hardwick is our news director. If you like the show, I hope you'll consider following us on YouTube, Apple or Spotify, or wherever you listen. You can find links to our podcast at our website, 21stshow.org. The 21st Show is a production of Illinois Public Media. I'm Brian Mackey. Thanks for listening. We'll talk with you again on Monday.