Wine and Spirits Travel

I've been to many Chicago hotels, but  StayPineapple is one of my best discoveries in years. I love pineapple and was very intrigued about a hotel built around the fruit. When I heard they were very dog friendly, I knew I had to go. I brought my friend Kim and my Yorkie Teddy along to enjoy the fun for a quick trip. Even though Teddy is a service dog and is welcome everywhere, I try to take him to pet friendly places so he gets the dog perks. We received welcome drinks (Sauvignon Blanc for me and pineapple beer for Kim), pineapple shaped cookies, pineapple water, and, of course, dog biscuits for Teddy, as soon as we arrived at the hotel. My corner suite was perfect, with a king bed in the large bedroom, and a couch, chair, and second television in the living room. Kim had the room next door to herself. We had a beautiful view from the window.  Teddy had a bed set up for him and bowls for water and food next to it. In his goodie bag was also a yellow container wit...

Like most of the world, I haven’t taken any big trips the last few years. Getting on an airplane or a cruise ship has not seemed like a good idea for someone who is immunocompromised. An opportunity came up that made me rethink this. American Queen Voyages is not your usual cruise line. The majority of their cruises are wholly within the United States (a few stop in Canada). Their ships are all small and they have four riverboats with wide open areas so you are not ever waiting on lines for food or disembarking with thousands of people. I was offered a cruise that was entirely in the Midwest, so if there were any health issues, I could be home within a few hours drive. I have to confess that it was also nice to not have to worry about tropical storms and rough waters as we would only be on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The ship I was heading to is the America Queen, christened by godmother Priscilla Presley in 1995, and refurbished 12 years later. It’s the largest of th...

It was a very comfortable night at the Hyatt Centric the Loop in Chicago . We were able to take our time in the morning and I was excited to find out my friend and fellow writer, Kristine Hansen, was in town. We met for breakfast at Cochon Valent Brasserie, just downstairs from the hotel. Their blueberry pancakes were loaded with fruit and as delicious as everything always is there. My Joan picked something up to eat and relaxed in the room. and we met up to head over to the Art Institute of Chicago . I have been to the Art Institute many times. I try to check out all of their special exhibits as well as some of the smaller ones. The exhibition that brought me here this time was Manet and Modern Beauty.  Edouard Manet was a late 19 th century painter known for what was a modern style at the time. He especially flourished when painting women. The collection, the first of its kind in 50 years, was well worth a trip, but we decided to spend some time looking around. I stopped...

No matter how many times I go to Chicago, the minute I see the skyline there is an excitement that runs through my veins. I know I’ll always have a fun time in the Windy City. This trip was for a 24-hour getaway with my friend Joan. We had the perfect mixture of food, activity, and chill time. We started with lunch at Cantina Laredo . It had been years since I had been there and it was even more welcoming than I remembered, with our seats in front of a gas fireplace. The waiter brought us tortilla chips and immediately suggested some of their famous margaritas with the current month’s guacamole. It was as delicious as it sounded, with cotija cheese and tomato, for a combination of sweet and a bit spicy. I sipped one of their fruitful Pineapple Infused Ritas, a mixture of pineapple infused Avion Reposado Tequila and Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur. Joan had the current margarita special, which was Jalapeno. Although we were starting to get full from devouring every bit of the gua...

Honestly, there is no shortage of apps out there to help you earn cash. Some of them have been around for years and, yes, you can get money from them. The problem is that “earn” is the key word. Most of them make you work hard to get a little money back. There are rebate forms to fill out, receipts to worry about, codes to remember, or cookies to clog up on your computer.   Dosh is different. While you can definitely get some great deals on shopping, vacations, restaurants, and activities by clicking through on one of the fantastic offers on the Dosh app , you don’t have to work to earn money with this app. You can receive cash back with Dosh by just living your life, spending money on things you always do. With Dosh, you simply and safely link your credit and debit cards to the application. Then, every time you use it at a place that works with Dosh , money is automatically deposited in your account! No need to remember which places give you money and which don’t...

I had been to Memphis, Tennessee , once before for a brief trip. I didn’t get to see much. When I had the opportunity to go back and spend four days, I couldn’t wait. It’s only about a five-hour drive to Memphis from here.  I left early with my friends Angela, Kylie, and Brittany for jam-packed girls getaway. They hadn’t spent much time in Memphis either and we were all anxious to arrive. The one thing that became abundantly clear to me when looking at the itinerary is the vast difference between Memphis and Nashville, though the two cities are not that far apart. The difference is in the music that was started: country for Nashville; rock, soul, and blues in Memphis! . We would be dividing our stay between two hotels and our first was the Madison Hotel . The Madison Memphis is a beautiful modern hotel that we enjoyed exploring, but the definite highlight for us at the Madison were the elevators. We had fun during the rides checking out all the album cov...