Wine and Spirits Travel

  (This story was originally published in Cocktails and Joints)   Destination weddings can take away a lot of the hassle – and cost – from the bride and groom, but it’s difficult to plan when your guests don’t want to leave the U.S.   You can still find some exciting places to head out of town for your nuptials without anyone needing to make a trip to the passport office. In fact, you may find some of these places offer unique scenery you won’t get on an island. Geyserville, California Geyserville, California Between the Mayacamas Mountains and the vineyards, the backdrop for your ceremony will be amazing at the Geyserville Inn . This Sonoma accommodation is laid back and attentive at the same time. It’s family owned and there’s only one wedding at a time. Guests can stay right at the Inn in one of the well-appointed 41 rooms or suites. You should also consider the rehearsal dinner or next day brunch at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery . It may be in the heart of ...

It was our final day in Memphis , but we decided to leave in the evening so we’d have a full day to enjoy it. Angela, Kylie, Brittany, and I woke up around 8:00.  We were staying in Big Cypress Lodge , within the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid, and could hear the rustling of those getting the store ready below us. We dressed and went downstairs for breakfast at Uncle Buck’s Fish Bowl.   This nautical-themed restaurant has a saltwater aquarium as well as a 13-land bowling alley that gives the feeling of actually bowling underwater. There wasn’t enough free time on our schedule for bowling, but we did enjoy the egg sandwiches and pancakes before our tour. It’s hard to even begin to explain everything within this massive 535,000 square foot pyramid that houses Bass Pro Shops and Big Cypress Lodge, which itself has 103 rooms and suites. We began the tour walking through the common areas of the lodge and saw one of the suites (the rest were all ful...

My trip to Memphis with my friends was a very full one, and we were enjoying it all. On day three, we were up bright and early to pack up and check out of the Madison Hotel . We had enjoyed our stay, but we’d be checking into Big Cypress Lodge in the afternoon for a completely different atmosphere. My breakfast stop with Brittany, Angela, and Kylie had a very familiar name, Frost Bake Shop . Ironically, it was not a relative and not anyone’s name (it’s owned by the Kloos family), it was a play on words for “frosting.” Although the bakery was a bit out of the city, I had received a tip that it was well worth the trip and it certainly was. Frost Bake Shop provides cheesecakes to William Sonoma and also makes cupcakes, pies, and other baked goods that are loved all over Memphis . We were able to sample all types of goodies, including their top sellers – Gooey Butter Cookies and the Memphis Cream Cupcake. I didn’t leave without also tasting the delicious ...

We had a full schedule for day two in Memphis and we were up early at the Madison Hotel to get started. I headed downstairs with my friends Angela, Kylie, and Brittany to the Eighty3 Restaurant in the hotel for breakfast.  The menu had many choices, but we all focused on one – the Elvis Waffles. It’s no secret that Elvis Presley liked peanut butter and bananas, especially not in his hometown of Memphis Eighty3 had the waffles bearing his name done to perfection, with a whipped peanut butter and marshmallow sauce, fresh sliced bananas, and Applewood bacon. After we ate all we possibly could we drove to Memphis’ most famous attraction, Graceland . The former home of Elvis Presley is more like a city than an estate. The “King” made quite a home for himself and his former wife, Priscilla Presley, and daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, have definitely maintained it as quite the attraction. Now, this is the place I make a confession… I was never an E...