Wine and Spirits Travel

It was the final day in Elkhart Lake , Wisconsin, for my friend Lisa and I. The trip had been quite relaxing and it was going to be even more so on day three. We slept late in our suite at The Osthoff Resort . Their apartment-like setups had all the conveniences of home, even a kitchen to store and reheat the leftovers from all the great food we had been eating. For the final day, we went out for breakfast. Downtown Elkhart Lake is very walkable so we left the car. Off the Rail is a very popular local spot that’s only open for breakfast and lunch.  They serve specialty coffees, as well as beer and wine, and make all sorts of bakery goods and sandwich concoctions. Lisa chose a meat-filled breakfast casserole and a banana nut muffin, while I had the vegetable quiche and a chocolate chip muffin. It was all quite good. If we had more time to go back there, I definitely would try the Freight Train Sandwich: turkey, Havarti cheese, bacon, sprouts, onion, tom

Wisconsin is filled with many towns that have a charm all of their own. I find out Elkhart Lake definitely belongs toward the top of that list. My friend Lisa and I took an uneventful four-hour drive. Our first stop was at the Quit Qui Oc Golf Course , where we met Kathleen Eickoff, Director of Tourism for Elkhart Lake.   The golf course, a popular spot for the town, has a bar restaurant and we enjoyed chili and fish as we talked about the town we were about to meet. Kathleen explained how this spot, which is just about two and a half hours from Chicago , became a vacation destination in the late 1800s. This was mostly due to the addition of a railroad that would take people from the “big city." She also offered to set us up with snowshoeing, a popular sport at the golf course in the winter months. Neither Lisa or I had done it before and we were excited to give it a try the next day. When we pulled up to The Osthoff Resort , the biggest of three El

I’ve spent a lot of time in Florida, but one place I haven’t visited much was Daytona Beach . When the tourism board contacted me about doing a trip, it didn’t take a lot of convincing. The plans went quickly into action with my friend Betty coming along for her first trip exploration with me. We had a very early flight out of Bloomington, Illinois, but the next one would have gotten us into Daytona too late in the day so we went for it and planned a fairly light day ahead. We had also decided to make our first stop to get in the downtime mood by finding a Groupon for manicures and pedicures at Aadvanced Bodyworx .  It was definitely relaxing and we were ready to get the flip flops on! Just down the road from the spa was Woody’s BBQ . Judging by the lunchtime crowd, it seemed to be a popular local place. We weren’t disappointed. We ordered combination plates and the roast turkey, mac n cheese, and coleslaw were delicious.  The pulled pork loo

After an exciting week with our Share Istria group , my friend Lynn and I were off on our own to explore more of Croatia. Our first stop was in Rijeka and we had a great first day there. In the morning, we had another great and filling Croatia breakfast after a good night’s sleep at the Grand Hotel Bonavia in Rijeka.  Before we headed back on the road we also had a chance to spend a bit of time in the Grand Hotel Bonavia Wellness Centre. I was extremely impressed with this spa that was complimentary to all guests. It included a relaxation area with chromo therapy, themed aromatherapy showers, a Finish Sauna, a Turkish Sauna, and a spa area where they offered massages. By the time we left there we were very relaxed and we hit the road to Split. Alenka, our guide the previous day , had told us a lot about the beach town of Krk so we made a short detour to check it out. It was indeed filled with beaches and a quaint downtown area along the water with a ma

We had a perfectly relaxing day at Hotel Arista , enjoying the spa, food, and amenities.  It was time for the Midwest girls’ getaway with my friend Lynn to end, but not before we explored more of the hotel and Naperville, Illinois . I slept very well on the king bed in my spacious suite. It was a shame I only had it for one night. Lynn and I met with Barb Hocker of Hotel Arista at Lavazza Café, which was a short walk through the hotel to the City Gate Centre. We refueled with lattes, muffins, and yogurt, and talked about the hotel, which four diamond and a Preferred Hotel , as well as part of the Kiwi Collection. After we finished breakfast, we toured City Gate , which also included the Tap Inn Pub & Carvery. Barb also showed us the golf simulator and I got to take a swing at it. Lynn and I went back to our suites to freshen up for the rest of the day. Carmia Stanovich, Director of Sales for the Naperville Convention and Visitors Bureau , pick