Wine and Spirits Travel

I had never been to Milwaukee before. I didn’t make it there during my traveling years and I hadn’t been there in the seven years I’ve been living in the Midwest. When I received an invitation to cover one of the biggest music festivals in the world that happened to be in Milwaukee, it didn’t take me long to say, “Yes!” My friend Lisa, who was living in Green Bay at the time, met me in Milwaukee for a girls’ weekend. Margaret Casey of Visit Milwaukee picked us up at the Hilton for our first day of tasting and touring. Our first stop was at Indulgence Chocolatiers . I wish we had a place like this in Champaign. Julie, the owner of Indulgence, fell in love with the chocolate shops in Europe and decided to open one in Milwaukee . She creates a selection of chocolate truffles, barks, and bars. Then, she pairs them with your choice of white wine, red wine, beer, whiskey, or cheese. Everything sounded scrumptious and we finally settled on sharing chocolate &

It was our first full day in Los Cabos and my friend Lynn and I woke up early enough to see a beautiful sunrise from our balcony at the Hilton Los Cabos. We then went down for breakfast at El Meson, for yet another seaside view before our 9:00 am pickup for A Taste of Los Cabos Tour . When the Los Cabos Tourism Board asked if I was interested in activities, I immediately gravitated to that tour. I wanted to see as much of the area as possible and this seemed to offer the best selection. It was a good choice. Mauro, a biologist who used to work exclusively with dolphins, was our guide for the day. He also told us about the humpback whales that would soon be coming from the sea along Baja, California, Mexico , the second largest peninsula in the world at 1,000 miles. Our first stop was at the brand new shopping mall and port, Puerto Paraiso. It was here that we were to pick up our glass bottom boat tour.  We were warned that the water was a bit choppy and that

It’s no secret that I am a fan of Mexico. In recent years I have traveled to Riviera Maya and Mazatlan , but I have never been to Los Cabos. I was approached by a luxury resort to come visit Los Cabos . Since I had never been there, I was hesitant to just make the trip for a few days. Instead, I worked with the Los Cabos Tourism Board to arrange an entire week full of activities (and three different hotels in unique areas). I had an early morning flight to Dallas, with a long layover there before my trip to Mexico . I decided to use the delay to treat myself to a pedicure at XpresSpa. I’ve seen them in the airports many times and was ready to get back in the flip flop mood. I arrived in Los Cabos just after 4:00 pm and Leonardo from the Tourism Board picked us up and drove us the half hour to the Hilton Los Cabos , our first hotel.  My first thoughts were about how different this part of Mexico looked than any part I had previously been. There were quite a few high

I recently had an assignment that put me in San Diego for 10 days.  I was excited about visiting a place that has always been one of my favorites and I only got to see briefly before heading on my cruise is May . The assignment ended up taking much more time than I expected and I didn’t quite get to do, eat, drink and see as much as I would have liked to, but I still wanted to give a shoutout to some things I discovered and others that are on the top of my list for the next trip…. Accommodations. San Diego has hotels in every area (beach, city, and even a place called “Hotel Circle”), in every price range. I spent my time at the Hilton Mission Valley and would highly recommend it. It’s within ten miles of just about anywhere you’d like to go; the rooms are a decent size and recently renovated;  there’s Wi-Fi throughout the rooms and common areas; and the pool and Jacuzzi are as welcoming at the end of the day as the fitness center is at the beginning.  While I was at the

I try to take one big trip and one quick getaway each month. I often do the latter in Chicago, about two hours from my home. Even though I’ve been in the Midwest over two years now, I never have a problem finding something unique to do in the Windy City. I started my latest Chicago adventure with a Chef’s Table event by The Local Tourist.  My friend Theresa Carter does a wonderful job with these events, which include everything from seven course formal meals, to pizza and wine pairings -- like the one I attended at Red Flame Pizzeria .  This restaurant/wine bar has many wine selections are reasonable, wide ranged and many are available by the glass. The Chef’s Table event is a great way to network for business, or make new friends, while tasting food that Chicago’s Local Tourist will stand by.  At Red Flame we had a Brushetta Trio for a starter, followed by a selection of pizzas (including the veg HEAD, with wild mushrooms, spinach, roasted garlic, basil and extra virgin olive oil