Your complete Internet guide to dining, shopping and fun things to do in Northern Illinois!     
 

 

 

 


5 Tips Toward Dining Out for Less
In these days of high energy prices and higher grocery costs, you may wonder if there are any ways to make the cost of dining out a bit more affordable...

 

 

 


Tips for Grocery Store Savings
I got into the very bad habit of making daily trips to the store to shop for dinner.  Keep in mind that this was almost solely a function of my inability to plan ahead.  Even before 2008 turned into a disaster and prices started to escalate, my wife helped me to change all of that...

Out and About...
near the Wisconsin Dells: The Seth Peterson Cottage on Mirror Lake
Our selected destination was a small, one-bedroom cottage of 880 square feet in size, located on a hilltop overlooking the placid waters of Mirror Lake, in a remote area of the State Park there.  We were there to enjoy a Fall Color Boat Tour and Reception at the Seth Peterson cottage, hosted by Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy, Inc.
Studebaker in Amana, IA in Eastern Iowa: Amana Colonies, Cedar Rock and Cedar Falls
The drive was an easy one with a surprisingly small quantity of traffic for a Friday morning and we were in Iowa City in just over three hours.   A bit west and north of Iowa City, we arrived at our first destination: the Amana Colonies.
The view from inside the Cave at Indian Lakes Resort (Bloomingdale)
...the feel is as comfortable as a resort can have.  Its 300-plus oversized guest rooms -- all offering either a view of the indoor atrium, the surrounding landscape or the golf course -- are well-appointed and very comfortable; situated on 260 acres, the resort itself is the largest in the Chicago area.  Of particular note, the resort has undergone a multi-million dollar facelift and conversion to a Hilton brand resort over the last year and a half.
Tasting bourbon straight from the barrel

in Northern Kentucky on the Bourbon Trail
It's the Water (Part 1)
Go Climb a Rock (Part 2)
Whisky for My Horses...(Part 3)
Musket Balls & the Mark of a Maker (Part 4)
History of Bourbon
Making Straight Bourbon Whisky

Get out of town

Marshall Memorial Plaza on the Spirit of Peoria
W
e arrived in Peoria just after noon (on a Saturday) and easily found the waterfront where the Spirit of Peoria was docked.  By the way, Peoria is a great destination with plenty of positive attributes: it is a college town with plenty of dining opportunities and exciting things to do, it seems to be in the process of serious renovation, it is very clean, and everyone we met was extremely friendly and helpful.
The Capitol Building in Springfield, IL from the observation car in Springfield, Illinois
My parents were always of the opinion that our family should see our own country before we traveled outside of it to see the wonders of say, the Eiffel Tower in Paris or perhaps the Pyramids of Egypt.
 On numerous occasions, they (well, my father anyway) tried in vain to get my sister and I to pile in the car and go to places right here in Illinois... places like Springfield, for instance.  Fools that we were...
Inside the Grand Hall in St. Louis for an Anniversary
It all started because of an upcoming anniversary and we knew that we wouldn't have all that much time to go someplace far away.  I have been known to drive long distances for great dinners and other special affairs, but this time, I would let someone else do the driving...  We had both been wanting for some time to take advantage of the low fare offerings from Amtrak between Chicago and St. Louis, and the combination seemed too good to take a pass on...
Resident bison at Fermilab at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Batavia)
I remember when the lab was first being built, back in the late '60's.  Since the 6,800-acre parcel of land spanning parts of the two counties was under the control of the Federal Government and John Q. Public was generally not allowed on-site, the perception was that a lot of top-secret and dangerous stuff was probably taking place there.  Little knowledge of the real purpose of the lab seemed to be available, and a lot of folks were just plain suspicious...(9/07)
Garfield Farm Inn & Museum at Garfield Farm Museum
For anyone living in the Midwest, late summer is always a great time of the year.  Sure, the sun has begun its annual migration to the south and the days are getting progressively shorter and the number of swimming pool days is decreasing rapidly, but the vegetables that we have planted and fertilized and watered and tended for the last three months are finally ripening...(8/07)
Fall in the Midwest
Chiropractic: Helping Us to Heal Ourselves
Part I:  My first meeting/appointment with Dr. Dave left me with with an incredibly good impression - he was one of the first doctors who actually took time (not the usual 40-minute wait followed by a 5-minute appointment) to explain to me his diagnosis after reviewing my described history of the pain and looking closely at some X-Rays he took of my neck and shoulder area...

Part II: Originating in China more than 2000 years ago, acupuncture is quite possibly one of the oldest and most commonly used medical procedures in the world.  Both acupuncture and acupressure describe procedures that involve the stimulation of certain anatomical points on the body using a variety of techniques...

Farmer's Markets: Fresh Fruit & Veggies for the Fox Valley
I will shamelessly admit that I was unaware until this past weekend, when I discovered three of the local markets available on a weekly basis that are all open to the public from June through October. Each is available on a different day, so it is easy to attend one or more...(08/06)
Wine with Dinner??
For those of you who have had the pleasure of attending one of the wine dinners offered at Harvest Restaurant at Pheasant Run -- or at another fine area restaurant -- this article may seem a bit silly, since I presume that you are probably used to occasionally enjoying a marvelous bottle of wine with your dinner -- a wine that perhaps may even be a bit  expensive...  But for the rest of us...
New Year's Day Brunch in the Ballroom New Year's Eve at Pheasant Run Resort & Spa
I have always celebrated New Year’s Eve, sometimes in “style” and sometimes not, but I have almost always enjoyed the celebration and the passing of one year into the next.  And one of the things that I have always tried to do is to make every New Year’s Eve different but very special in terms of the way in which I celebrated it. 
Executive Chef Joseph Yurisich Winemaker Dinners at Harvest Restaurant (Pheasant Run Resort)
Rutherford Hill
Chalk Hill
Sonoma Cutrer
The Fabyan Forest Preserve and Villa Museum
Along with much of the other rich history that resides within and just beyond the borders of Geneva, Illinois, is the story of Colonel George Fabyan.  Interestingly, there is a great deal written about him, but my guess is that much of it – other than the name of the heavily-traveled thoroughfare that runs along the southern flank of Geneva – is not well known.
Keeping the Tree Green
Lights begin to line the rooftops, city work crews begin to hang decorations on the street lights and lamp posts, and most of the time the local sidewalks and shops are filled with smiling faces - oftentimes despite the biting cold of the approaching winter solstice.  And my favorite thing to do is to light a fire in the fireplace and anticipate the taste of that first eggnog as the smoke and embers curl their way up the chimney.