Wine and Spirits Travel

It was day three in Madison, Wisconsin , and my friend Roberta and I were getting ready to leave The Graduate Madison and heading to our next hotel, The Edgewater Resort. I had chosen to split the stay between the two accommodations because they are totally different. We certainly had enjoyed the college town atmosphere of The Graduate Madison . Before we left, we had breakfast in the lobby café, Portage Pi. Hand pies are the specialty here, and very popular with college students. Lots of locals show up just to eat here and get coffee and smoothies, while taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi and power hookups. I went for sweet, while Roberta preferred the savory. Both were good with our smoothies and coffees. It was one time I wasn’t anxious to turn in my keys as I loved the idea that Graduate Madison had made them look like student IDs, but it was time to head out. While in Madison , I was also covering a tennis tournament at the university. Roberta dro

My friend Roberta and I woke up early in our room at The Graduate Madison hotel. We both had full days in this Wisconsin capitol, even though it wasn’t all together. I loved our room at The Graduate. It’s got a dorm room look, but certainly upgraded from what I shared with two other women (only for a semester, then I decided to get my own apartment). The beds had cute pillows labeled, “Brat” and “Curd,” old-fashioned phones and notebooks, and even a unique clock. We had a light breakfast downstairs at the Portage Pi coffee shop before heading to the Henry Vilas Zoo . Not only is this zoo impressive, but there is no charge for admission or parking. I love the idea of exposing children to animals. As a small child, my grandmother used to take me all the time to the (then free) Bronx Zoo. I think that has a lot to do with my love of all types of creatures even today. This zoo is set up for the same experience with a Children’s Zoo that includes goat

It’s not often I get to combine both tennis and travel into one trip. I was happy when the opportunity came to do just that in Madison, Wisconsin . I had been to Madison only once before, and that was quite a long time ago for the Celebration of American Distilling . I only stayed for one night and didn’t get to see much of the city. This trip was scheduled for three nights: two at the Graduate Madison and one at The Edgewater . They are totally different accommodations and I was looking forward to seeing Madison from these completely different angles. My friend Roberta came along with me. Our first stop in the city was to check in at the Graduate Madison . I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t what we got. The Graduate brand has truly unique hotels. They are very welcoming with large open lobbies. They are also each uniquely remodeled to the (college) town they are located in. Although my first instinct was mo

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