Wine and Spirits Travel

Last year I had a great trip up to Boyne Highlands with my brother, youngest niece and nephew.  While we were there, we heard a lot of great things about its sister resort, Boyne Mountain . It didn’t take much convincing when I was offered a trip to go check it out for myself. I brought along friends Brittany, Angela, and Kylie for a girls/family getaway at this Michigan resort. The adventure began on Thursday morning as we headed up for the eight-hour drive to Boyne Falls . Boyne Mountain Resort has many different accommodations. We would be staying in the three bedroom, two bath Salzburg Suite, a duplex with a full living room and kitchen. We arrived early evening and checked in quickly. After we unpacked our groceries and got changed, we headed straight to the Avalanche Bay Indoor Waterpark . It is located in the Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa building we were staying in. The waterpark was a lot of fun and we enjoyed a few hours of sliding a

My friend Roberta and I woke up in our beautiful room at The Edgewater Resort & Spa in Madison, Wisconsin . I had been there on a “combo” trip – covering a college tennis tournament and checking out the city. It was our final day. The first thing on the agenda was tour of the hotel with Jessica Arendas, Marketing and Public Relations Manager of The Edgewater . I had actually been to this hotel before. It was 2010 and I was there for the Celebration of American Distilling . Since that time, The Edgewater had gone through a dramatic renovation. I didn’t recognize the place – except it’s lakefront location – and I was looking forward to checking out more of it. We met Jessica in the lobby and I remarked immediately how much I loved the spiral staircase and lighting fixtures. It only got better from there. The resort had taken on an understated elegance, enough so that you felt like you were staying someplace special, but not too much that you didn’t

It was day three in Madison, Wisconsin , and my friend Roberta and I were getting ready to leave The Graduate Madison and heading to our next hotel, The Edgewater Resort. I had chosen to split the stay between the two accommodations because they are totally different. We certainly had enjoyed the college town atmosphere of The Graduate Madison . Before we left, we had breakfast in the lobby café, Portage Pi. Hand pies are the specialty here, and very popular with college students. Lots of locals show up just to eat here and get coffee and smoothies, while taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi and power hookups. I went for sweet, while Roberta preferred the savory. Both were good with our smoothies and coffees. It was one time I wasn’t anxious to turn in my keys as I loved the idea that Graduate Madison had made them look like student IDs, but it was time to head out. While in Madison , I was also covering a tennis tournament at the university. Roberta dro

My friend Roberta and I woke up early in our room at The Graduate Madison hotel. We both had full days in this Wisconsin capitol, even though it wasn’t all together. I loved our room at The Graduate. It’s got a dorm room look, but certainly upgraded from what I shared with two other women (only for a semester, then I decided to get my own apartment). The beds had cute pillows labeled, “Brat” and “Curd,” old-fashioned phones and notebooks, and even a unique clock. We had a light breakfast downstairs at the Portage Pi coffee shop before heading to the Henry Vilas Zoo . Not only is this zoo impressive, but there is no charge for admission or parking. I love the idea of exposing children to animals. As a small child, my grandmother used to take me all the time to the (then free) Bronx Zoo. I think that has a lot to do with my love of all types of creatures even today. This zoo is set up for the same experience with a Children’s Zoo that includes goat