Wine and Spirits Travel

My brother, Mark, and I both agreed we wanted to enjoy a good Kentucky barbecue meal in Louisville before we got started on the day at Bourbon & Beyond. I went online and searched for reviews. One place kept coming up: Shack in the Back . It was clear we picked the right place when we saw the crowd at 11:00 am on a  Saturday morning. It was even clearer when we tasted the food. I had a brisket sandwich, with a side of mashed potatoes and a side of corn. Mark went all out with the Sampler. It included brisket, pulled pork, ribs, and wings. He chose the mac and cheese and the green beans to go with it. We didn’t make it through all the food, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying. We had to get to the festival as I had interviews to do and music to watch. My first appointment was at Eastern Light Distilling. I was intrigued with this company and even more so after meeting with the owners.    Eastern Light is not “a” bourbon company. It is a group that is locally...

After all the problems with hotels the day before, we were settled into the Tru Hilton in Louisville and getting ready for a busy day at Bourbon & Beyond. I had made appointments between all the music. I was looking forward to it all. My brother, Mark, suggested lunch at Waffle House. He said it was on his bucket list. I hadn’t been in years and I’m never one to turn down waffles. It was actually very good, with big portions and reasonable prices.   We had no problem parking in the handicapped area and made it onto the grounds in time to pick up coffee in the press tent and watch Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, followed by Bruce Hornsby. It was a good way to start this bright day. We then headed to the Big Bourbon Tent. We arrived a little early for our appointment with Tyler Rothenberg of Chicken Cock Bourbon and enjoyed the bluegrass while we waited. Tyler set us up with the two cocktails made especially for Bourbon & Beyond :    Wildflower in Paris - C...

The first year of Bourbon & Beyond  in Louisville, Kentucky, had been wonderful, albeit ridiculously hot. The music, food, and bourbon were fantastic, and I was able to do many interviews for stories. When I left Bourbon & Beyond the second year, it was in a muddy mess. The torrential rains in the hours before the end of day three left the long trip to the parking lot in my walker extremely difficult. Had I been in a wheelchair then, I would have been one of the people stuck for hours in the mud. With the memories of 2018, followed by the event being skipped because of COVID, I didn’t think I’d return. Then my brother, Mark, brought it up.   Mark lives in California and we don’t get a lot of time together so it gave me a pause. Then, there was a lineup filled with performers I really wanted to see, such as Sting, Dave Matthews, Beck, Melissa Etheridge, and Larkin Poe , whom I had interviewed at the first Bourbon & Beyond. My first step was to contact the media ...

 The first Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction was delayed because of the pandemic. When they rescheduled, I was ready to go experience this exciting night – and spend some time checking out the city of Joliet. I took my friend Lisa along. It had been quite a while since we had traveled together, but we certainly had a lot of trips behind us. Our first stop was at a place I’ve never been to in any city, a prison. We spent about two hours on a private tour exploring one of the most famous in the country. Old Joliet Prison , which was featured in the Blues Brothers movie.     Given the importance of keeping a lot of the historical artifacts, the accessibility to every building wasn’t available to me. I still felt I got to see a lot from the outside in my scooter. I let Lisa do the deeper exploring and picture taking. It was even more interesting to hear about how important these structures were to the development of the prison system in the state, and on...

Ravinia is one of the most unique music presentations in the world. I am a huge fan of the music festival and can’t believe I just discovered it a few years ago. The Ravinia Festival has been running all summer long for over 50 years. Located in Highland Park, Illinois, it’s always presented top performers from around the world, with genres that cover all the bases. Unlike other music festivals, Ravinia is non-profit and runs on sponsorships and gifts. Last year  I did a story on the ZZ Top concert  I had seen at Ravinia the previous year, along with a preview of the upcoming season. I also included it in a number of my CI Living segments. I had planned on doing the same thing this year, but, this year, as we all know, life is quite different.  During the Ravinia Festival in 2019, I had the pleasure of seeing Nickelback perform, with Buckcherry opening for them. I have always been an unapologetic Nickelback fan. They have produced some of my...

I had passed the Acme Hotel Company on a previous trip to Chicago and it looked really interesting, even from the outside. I was excited when they invited me to visit with my friends. From the moment we stepped inside I know we were someplace fun. The check-in at Acme Hotel Company was quick and I boarded the elevator to our suite with my friends. It was filled with music albums from a lot of my favorite artists. We had the one-bedroom suite, and it was spacious enough for a family or group of friends, with a large pullout couch in the living room and two queen beds in the bedroom. The music theme continued into the room, where we had our own guitar in the living room!  We also had modern art out the window and in the room, including a Rolling Stones’ style kiss on our mirror. An Amazon Echo , with Alexa waiting to play our favorite music or tell the staff if we needed anything.  We even had a DIY cocktail kit so we could mix our own drinks ...