Wine and Spirits Travel

I grew up in New York and Boston was a frequent vacation destination. I continued to go occasionally. It had been about 20 years since I had been there when I was recently given an opportunity to go back. Boston has too much for me to cover it all in one story. I will have more at a later date on some other areas to explore. You’ll find more than enough below to start planning a spring break or summer vacation through the cobblestone streets, famous architecture, and many sites in this city.   Must-See Sites Downtown It’s not often a baseball stadium is considered a historical site, but Fenway Park is in that category. You can see a lot of it from the outside. There is a tour to take you through off season or wait for a game to get the best good look.   Take a walk-through scenic Boston Common , the oldest park in the United States, or Boston Public Garden, which has been around since 1837. One of the things about Boston I enjoyed is the historic statues throughout the ...

It had been a couple of years since I visited AikmanWildlife Adventure in Arcola, Illinois, less than an hour from where I live. The first time, I was impressed and excited. I had never seen anything like this in a small town that’s basically in the middle of nowhere.   I had been anticipating having the same feeling when I returned recently, but I found it was even stronger as there was much more to experience as this adventure is like no other I’ve seen anywhere in the U.S. James Aikman, whose family owns Aikman Wildlife, met me inside the shop, which  is also home to some of the smaller creatures, like Jax the McCaw, a lemur,  an iquana, and a sloth (for which they are planning encounters.   The dream for a park like this came from James and he and his wife, Kelsey, purchased the former Rockhome Gardens property in 2015. It is fittingly run with mostly members of their large family. Just a walk around the property brings you next to free roaming peacocks,...

The first time I was in the TWA Terminal at JFK Airport in New York was when I was 11 years old. After years of taking road trips down south or cross country each year, we were taking our first flight. It was to Florida, and we were leaving out of this modern terminal on a jet plane. It looked just as I remembered when I arrived at the TWA Hotel in the same spot as the old terminal. I had left the Viana Hotel in Westbury to spend   24 hours here before my flight home to Champaign the next day.   From the moment I wheeled in on my scooter, I was transformed back into the 70s, with music from that period playing throughout the building, as well as photographs, memorabilia, and even cars. All was in bright colors, predominantly the TWA red.   Check-in to the TWA hotel was familiar at the counters previously used to check in to your flight. The ones that were not being used for that were spots for quick service food, forming a bit of a food hall with favorite New York c...

  Tis the season when we are searching for the perfect gifts we will be remembered for giving. There are no guarantees, but I always like to get something a bit out of the ordinary. I’ve received a lot of items lately. Some have been given to me and others I have bought myself. They wouldn’t be on the list if I didn’t really like them. The holiday gift ideas below are in no particular order, but I’ve linked to the best deal I found. (Maybe good enough to also pick up some for yourself.) I do receive a small commission on some of these.   1.          Lectrofan Anyone who has a Yorkie knows that they can hear a fly a half mile away! I had the bedroom noise under control during the summer with a hepa filter fan. I replaced that with the (quiet) humidifier. After a few nights of Teddy waking up with every outside sound, I received the Lectrofan. It has many white noise and fan options. I set it to duplicate the sound of the fan we had. I’m sleeping bet...