Wine and Spirits Travel

My friend Lisa and I had enjoyed our first day at the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, but day two was filled with more fun – and food. We were up early for a great yoga class at Osthoff’s AspiraSpa . It was the perfect start to the day. I was starving by the time we got to breakfast at Otto’s Restaurant, but there was plenty to eat there. I had a fruit smoothie and German Potato Pancakes, while Lisa loved the eggs benedict. We were both excited to try snowshoeing for the first time and we headed over to Quit Qui Oc Golf Course . Todd Montaba, the owner, helped us both with the equipment and showed us the map of the trails we could take. Since it was our first time out, we didn’t go that far, but it was a lot of fun and a sport I’m sure I’ll try again. On the way back to the Osthoff Resort , we passed Road America. Road Racing started in Elkhart Lake in 1950 with an open race circuit here. The Road America location is still a big attraction, as internat

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

It was day two of my girls’ getaway in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. I had brought two friends on this trip, Cortney and Amy, and we were having a blast. I let them sleep in at Maxwell Mansion and I met with Karen Arthur, Lake Geneva's Convention & Visitor's Bureau Marketing & Communications Manager, for breakfast at Simple Café. It was a bright and friendly spot with an inviting menu. We talked about everything there was to see in Lake Geneva and I knew this trip would only be the first of many. It was also probably going to be the first of more trips to Simple as their Pumpkin Pancakes were delicious. I went straight from breakfast back to the Lunt-Fontanne Project Center for a tour of the Ten Chimneys estate that had once belonged to the acting duo of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Maggie and Richard, dressed as Dolcet and the Shadow, were my guides. I received a private tour because I was working on a Midwest Living Magazine story, but publi

It wasn’t long after I moved to the Midwest before I started hearing about Lake Geneva. I honestly didn’t know much about the Wisconsin town before this, but when I met with a representative of their Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) at the Chicago Travel Show , I knew that I had to put it on my trip list. Finding a friend to come along was an easy task. In fact, my friends Cortney and Amy were both begging to come. I checked with the Lake Geneva CVB who was making all the arrangements, and they agreed that it sounded like the makings of a great girls’ getaway. They weren’t wrong. The drive to Lake Geneva only took a few hours. We arrived at Maxwell Mansion 1856 late afternoon and were immediately taken with the property. Chicago Surgeon Dr. Philip Maxwell built this property for him and his wife to move into in 1856. It joined the list of Lake Geneva properties that had become vacation homes for the wealthy in Chicago. Among those who have stayed at Maxwe