Marcia Frost

  I am a New Yorker, who didn’t move to the Midwest until my late 40s. I have never regretted the decision. It’s much more affordable here and I prefer the lifestyle. After years of living near the ocean, I’m also more than happy to enjoy beautiful Great Lakes, with no hurricanes, sharks, jellyfish, or Nor’easters.  What I do miss a lot about New York is family and friends. It’s also nice to check out what there is to offer in the big city and my former home of Long Island. I decided to arrange a trip that would encompass all of this: time with loved ones and discovering some of New York I didn’t know before. For the latter, I worked with the ILoveNY team to create an itinerary. The trip did not start off well. American Airlines cancelled my flight from Champaign to Chicago. I didn’t want to delay the trip a day so I had someone take me to Chicago so I could still catch my flight to LaGuardia. Unfortunately, he was late picking me up and I missed my flight! This was made wo...

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...

I covered Bourbon & Beyond two years in a row. It was by far the best music festival I had ever been to. Unfortunately, before the final day, there was a major rainstorm that continued for hours, and I had trouble getting my wheelchair through the mud. I was concerned about it happening again, and Covid put it off the festival that next year anyway. Then, this summer, I found out about a most amazing lineup, in a venue that is very accessible, the Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center.   It’s all aligned, and I am looking forward to Louisville, Kentucky, next month. Below is a summary of this fantastic event. There are still tickets left if you’d like to come along. Just visit the Bourbon & Beyond website for details . Headlining for Bourbon & Beyond this year is Sting, but he is far from the only top name. Among the list of 100 artists are: Beck Dave Matthews Band Zach Bryan Maren Morris The Beach Boys Melissa Etheridge Matchbox 20...

  I’ve done a CI Living TV segment , three stories, and nine blogs on my Princess cruise and there are a few more articles to come, but I wanted to put together a summary for all of those thinking about going on a cruise to Alaska. Here’s a breakdown of my opinions: The Ship I have always preferred small ships and my previous two cruises on American Cruise Lines and Seabourn were just that. Alaska didn’t work out with those, and I was anxious to give Princess a try. A mega ship was out of the question, but the Royal Princess, a mid-sized ship with about 3,500 guests, seemed doable. It turned out to be just that. The ship was spread out enough that I never felt crowded, and we didn’t really wait for much (except at the Gelato Shop where there was always a big line). The only times I wished I was on a smaller boat was when we were waiting a long time for an elevator. The embarkation and debarkation went better than any of the other large ships I have been on. The Cabin We had c...