Wine and Spirits Travel

When I planned my trip to Rockford , I heard from quite a few people that I must have breakfast at The Stockholm. I was a bit disappointed when it wasn’t on our (very full) schedule, but a twist of fate brought us there anyway.  The first stop of the day on the Rockford itinerary for Brittany, Amanda, and I was the Anderson Japanese Gardens. We were to have brunch there and then explore.  Since they were also having an event that day, there was no brunch. That opened up our chance to go to The Stockholm. This restaurant is on the Cheap Trick Trail because of the Rick Nielsen connection. He’s a part-owner and full lover of this restaurant.  The menu is huge, reminding me of a New York diner, but Swedish specialties where you would see Greek ones. Due to the breakfast mix-up, we were starving by the time we sat down. I ordered a Swedish Coffee Cake for us to share while we waited.  It was as scrumptious as it looked and certainly whet our appetite for the rest. I alwa

The Go Rockford Convention & Visitors Bureau set me up with a full schedule of things to do in Rockford. Fortunately, I had Brittany and Amanda to help me out. One of the facts we were learning about Rockford is about the large Norwegian and Swedish population that came here. There was a direct link from Ellis Island to Rockford, Illinois, because of the industry here and many of those immigrants established   themselves and remained in the area.   Our breakfast was at The Norwegian , known for authentic food, homemade jams, and even their own mocha sauce (delicious in a mocha latte). They also have a stage for music.  We had our first taste of Æbleskiver, Danish pancake balls. They were quite good, as was the omelet and steak & eggs.   After breakfast we drove to Riverfront Museum Campus . We started at the Discover Center Museum. It’s a great family outing as the exhibits appeal to all ages.  There are also plenty of hands-on activities to keep kid

I was looking for someplace not too far to go for a last-minute trip. I had never been to Rockford, Illinois, and a quick look at the tourism website showed me there was a lot to do there. After getting in touch with Andrea Cook, the CVB’s Associate Director of Marketing & Communications, I found out there was more than I ever imagined. Andrea put together a great itinerary for Brittany, Amanda, and me. It had the right amount of adventure for them and accessible and enjoyable things for me. We also had a big selection of restaurants to try out together. Our home for the weekend was the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center.   The location was central to the places we were visiting, and our room was big for a standard hotel room. We had lunch at Mary’s Market Café & Bakery . The description is in the name as there was plenty to chose from. Everything there was made from scratch, including a variety of breads, and used mostly local ingredients. The sa