| Out and About... |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 |
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on the Spirit
of Peoria
We 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. |
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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... |
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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... |
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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) |
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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) |
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Fall in the
Midwest |
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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... |
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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) |
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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... |
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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. |
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Winemaker Dinners at Harvest
Restaurant (Pheasant Run Resort)
Rutherford Hill
Chalk Hill
Sonoma Cutrer |
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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.
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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. |
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