Wine and Spirits Travel

My dad commuted from Eastern Long Island to Brooklyn for 15 years. He used to bring me a cheesecake from Junior’s original location every year for my birthday. I was about 12 when he started and it continued until he retired. He would then still make the trip to get me my favorite cake. After my dad passed away and I moved to the Champaign , my mom started sending one for my birthday, as well as any time I needed cheering-up (like when I had surgery). It’s now come full circle with over 40 years of Junior’s sharing my life. I was in Florida for the newly opened of Junior’s in Boca Raton .   Mom and I will shared Junior’s in a third state, with another milestone -- she’s leaving Florida and moving to Illinois, so we can once again live in the same place. Junior’s in Boca Raton looked just like the ones I was used to, with cheesecakes lining the shelves of the bakery area, red and white stripes everywhere, and walls full of nostalgia. Photos of famous

I’ve never been to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago . I confess I’m always the one that goes far away before near to see things.  I lived in New York over 40 years and I never went to the Statue of Liberty (I did take the Circle Line boat ride around it a few times). Two things brought me to finally plan a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo: the opening of the Patio at Café Brauer for the season, and a toddler who I knew would be mesmerized by her first experience with the animals. The drive to Chicago with a toddler was definitely different.  It had been a while since I had a little one on a long car drive and it was her first long car ride, but Brittany and Jessie, Andrea’s mom, helped keep her occupied from the front seat while I entertained her with phone videos.  We also put a few extra stops into the ride that was usually two hours straight. When we arrived at the zoo, I think I was the most excited. I love zoos and couldn’t believe I hadn’t been to t

It's hard to wake up anything but happy when you are at Disney World and the first view out your windows are the giraffes walking around Animal Kingdom. I was on a trip with a group of journalists to check out Disney's Golden Oak mansions, as well as what was new at the Magic Kingdom. Breakfast was at Jiko and it was a buffet like I had never seen. There was an omelet station that included treats like lobster and prepared dishes with delicacies such as ostrich eggs. The desserts were also delectable and we had a surprise guest – the big mouse himself came to greet us. After breakfast we headed to Disney’s Golden Oak community. This is the first opportunity for people to live right on the Disney property, something your family could certainly treasure. The mansions come in a variety of models. They are all truly luxurious and are priced at $1.6 to $8 million.  While the properties aren’t large (who wants to spend their time worrying about their lawns when liv