Wine and Spirits Travel

I’ve wanted to visit St. Louis Union Station since it was remodeled a few years ago and the attractions were added. I had heard nothing but good things about it. When I was invited to cover a Yellowcard concert in the Gateway city, I decided it was the perfect time. Brittany and I went straight from the concert to the Hilton at St. Louis Union Station , a Curio Collection Hotel. I was impressed the moment we walked into the lobby, with the high ceilings and light show that magnified all the art. I could only compare it to the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. We were exhausted and went right to sleep. In the morning, we had breakfast at Station Grille, one of the hotel’s restaurants. It was quite a meal, starting with freshly made pastries. Brittany had Chicken & Waffles. I ordered the Egg, Avocado & Quinoa, which was covered lightly with a balsamic dressing, and I loved it. After breakfast, we met up with our friend `Amanda and headed over to the other side of the hotel

  Since I’ve been traveling in a wheelchair or mobility scooter the last few years, I have not gone many places alone. I decided to go for it when I was invited to spend a day – and night – at Navy Pier in Chicago. I have been to Navy Pier many times, but was never able to stay there until Sable, a Curio Collection Hotel by Hilton , was built. I always wondered why there wasn’t a hotel there, and after spending time scooting my way around the property and the pier, I can attest that it’s a fun and unique experience. The hotel is at the end of the pier and the entrance is right next to one of the parking lots. It was easy to park my van and take my scooter right into the modern lobby. Once inside you’ll be surprised at just how big it is, with a Kisbi Coffee and the Lirica Restaurant close to the entrance. It did take me a little while to figure out how to get to the elevator to my room, but once inside, I found my biggest draw to this hotel – the windows. Every room has floo

When I planned my trip to Rockford , I heard from quite a few people that I must have breakfast at The Stockholm. I was a bit disappointed when it wasn’t on our (very full) schedule, but a twist of fate brought us there anyway.  The first stop of the day on the Rockford itinerary for Brittany, Amanda, and I was the Anderson Japanese Gardens. We were to have brunch there and then explore.  Since they were also having an event that day, there was no brunch. That opened up our chance to go to The Stockholm. This restaurant is on the Cheap Trick Trail because of the Rick Nielsen connection. He’s a part-owner and full lover of this restaurant.  The menu is huge, reminding me of a New York diner, but Swedish specialties where you would see Greek ones. Due to the breakfast mix-up, we were starving by the time we sat down. I ordered a Swedish Coffee Cake for us to share while we waited.  It was as scrumptious as it looked and certainly whet our appetite for the rest. I alwa

Brittany and I were heading to Chicago for a quick getaway. We had an early morning adventure with the team at Shedd Aquarium so decided to stay over the night before. I had never stayed at the Fairmont Chicago before and was excited when they decided to host me. It is a luxurious hotel in an ideal location, overlooking Millennium Park and Lake Michigan. As someone with allergies, I also loved the idea of their “Pure Room,” which are hypoallergenic, using sanitizing technologies to improve the air quality. Our room was great, and we enjoyed dinner and cocktails at The Bar, the hotel’s lounge. In the morning, we headed to the Kayak Chicago location. It was a beautiful day for a trip on the Chicago River and I was a bit jealous that I was not longer able to do anything like that. I did get to watch and photograph, as Brittany learned about the Kayak for Conservation program through the Shedd Aquarium. This was just introduced in 2018 and is rapidly exp

After a big, complimentary breakfast at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Hannibal, Missouri , Brittany, Amanda, and I got ready for a jam-packed day. There was quite a bit to do in the city made famous by Mark Twain , who was known in his hometown under his real name, Samuel Clemens. We had seen some of Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home & Museum the previous day and went back to visit some of the buildings we missed. It was interesting to see Becky Thatcher’s House, the Huckleberry Finn House, and J.M. Clemens Justice of the Peace Office.  Becky and Huck Finn were popular characters in the Mark Twain series , but J.M. Clemens was the actual name of Samuel Clemens father. One of my favorite exhibits within the Boyhood Home buildings was something I’d love for every child to see. It was called “Growing Up to Fast.” Using the examples of Becky, Tom, Huck, and Jim, all growing up in different levels of income, it example

After major spine surgery in January, I had hardly left my house. Travel in general has been cut down the last few years because of my health, but now I needed to once again take another step down. When I felt I finally could go somewhere, I was careful to pick a place that’s very accessible and would allow me lots of rest and breaks.  With Brittany taking pictures, and Amanda accompanying her on active activities, it was a perfect mix. The two were very helpful to me with my medical scooter. I thought I had all the plans in place for this first trip of the year (even though half the year was over). Then, less than a week before we were to go, I received an email that the place had overbooked, and they couldn’t accommodate us. It is a place I hope to visit someday so I’m not going to go into details, but I was ready to finally get out a little and I didn’t have much time to plan. The wonderful team at Visit Missouri and their PR