On our most recent trip to the Dells, we stayed at the Polynesian Resort. This is a nice hotel and very reasonably priced, especially during the week where you can get a room for under $100 per night. There are both indoor and outdoor water parks, pools & hot tubs. The water parks are oriented more toward little ones, as opposed to Kalahari or Wolf Lodge which have something for all ages. That said, Kalahari & Wolf Lodge are considerably more expensive, so if all you have are little kids, you can save a significant amount of money staying at the Polynesian. One nice feature is following check-out at 11 a.m., you are still welcome to use the water parks for the rest of the day.
The rooms are decent-sized, clean and all have a microwave, refrigerator and coffee maker. The fridge comes in handy for storing juice boxes, cold snacks & restaurant leftovers. Room service is pretty good. We ordered a pizza, fries & mini corn dogs for the kids. It arrived quickly.
The front desk service and food service at this hotel were excellent. The water parks were clean and fun, but if I have one criticism, it would be of the lifeguards. I understand they have a job to do, but they were extremely unfriendly to the point of hostility towards children and definitely need an attitude adjustment.
A tradition for breakfast (or dinner) is Paul Bunyan’s. This place has been around since my childhood. Get there early, the line is long, although it moves very quickly. They’ve been doing this for a long time and the crowd is managed efficiently. The menu is family style. First you are given a plate of yummy homemade donuts. Breakfast consists of eggs, sausage, ham, potatoes, pancakes, biscuits and gravy.
The “Original Wisconsin Ducks” tour is my favorite boat tour for this area. The scenery is beautiful. Check with the front desk at your hotel, as there are often discount coupons available up to 25% off for various local attractions. On that note, I would avoid “Passport to Savings.” I received a 25% coupon from our hotel, but every Passport to Savings kiosk I went to was unfortunately unattended. There are also jet boat tours, dinner cruises and sunset champagne cruises.
The Tanger Outlet Mall is worth a visit. I’ve gotten great deals at Banana Republic, Sketchers, Adidas, Bali and many more.
We had dinner at Buffalo Phil’s which is adjacent to the mall. The restaurant is slightly upscale while still being family friendly. I had the blackened catfish which was a little salty (and I’m a saltaholic), but still tasty. They have a decent wine list, reasonably priced, and good beer on tap, i.e., Stella Artois. Buffalo Phil’s is in the same building as Knucklehead’s, a place I can’t wait to go to when my kids are older. There’s a bowling alley, go carts, video games and more, plus this place is open year-round.
There are so many things to see and do in the Dells. It’s just over 3 hours by car from Chicago and a perfect short trip for those who live in the Midwest.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Craig's List Babysitters
Something off-topic from what I usually write about on this blog.
Nowadays, it’s hard to find a good babysitter. Word of mouth, if you’re lucky, a friend of the family – these resources are few and far between.
Usually if you call your church, they will have someone you can talk to. Some parishes even have a print-out they can fax to you. Unfortunately, very often the women on these lists are booked solid.
Through the recommendation of a friend from work, I utilized Craig’s List to find daycare. I was spoiled the first time around. I found a great babysitter who was loving and wonderful to my kids. Due to logistical problems related to school, I had to find someone else. Since I had a good experience with Craig’s List the first time around, I placed an ad again. Long story short, this time around, it was a complete nightmare.
I was really shook up. It dawned on me that it’s hard to see a person’s true character in an interview. It’s an interview – they’re on their best behavior and they want the job and they want the money. This is serious, because obviously, your child’s welfare is at stake.
That said, aside from the one bad apple, I have found other back-up sitters on Craig’s List who are truly devoted moms or non-moms who love kids and give your child the care you would give them if you were at home.
Lately there have been a few incidents on Craig’s where people were offended by certain ads. It was interesting reading the various posts and I came to realize that there really should be a forum of some sort for the moms and babysitters to communicate with each other. It makes it less likely for us to be misunderstood.
I broached the subject on Craig’s and got many positive responses from both moms and sitters who were interested in writing something for this blog to help both moms and sitters make the whole daycare experience better for everyone.
More to come.
Nowadays, it’s hard to find a good babysitter. Word of mouth, if you’re lucky, a friend of the family – these resources are few and far between.
Usually if you call your church, they will have someone you can talk to. Some parishes even have a print-out they can fax to you. Unfortunately, very often the women on these lists are booked solid.
Through the recommendation of a friend from work, I utilized Craig’s List to find daycare. I was spoiled the first time around. I found a great babysitter who was loving and wonderful to my kids. Due to logistical problems related to school, I had to find someone else. Since I had a good experience with Craig’s List the first time around, I placed an ad again. Long story short, this time around, it was a complete nightmare.
I was really shook up. It dawned on me that it’s hard to see a person’s true character in an interview. It’s an interview – they’re on their best behavior and they want the job and they want the money. This is serious, because obviously, your child’s welfare is at stake.
That said, aside from the one bad apple, I have found other back-up sitters on Craig’s List who are truly devoted moms or non-moms who love kids and give your child the care you would give them if you were at home.
Lately there have been a few incidents on Craig’s where people were offended by certain ads. It was interesting reading the various posts and I came to realize that there really should be a forum of some sort for the moms and babysitters to communicate with each other. It makes it less likely for us to be misunderstood.
I broached the subject on Craig’s and got many positive responses from both moms and sitters who were interested in writing something for this blog to help both moms and sitters make the whole daycare experience better for everyone.
More to come.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Indian Lakes
Spent a pleasant weekend at the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort. The golf course view is worth paying a few extra bucks, it’s a great view. Our room was ready when we arrived. Within 10 minutes of arriving in our room, the crib was delivered. Shortly after that, guest services called to make sure we got the crib and that everything was fine. Nice touch. The coffee for the in-room coffee maker was Lavazza brand and the toiletries were by Crabtree & Evelyn. I am very fond of Hilton quality.
Ordered room service a few times, all good. The appetizer combo is typical, but tasty, with buffalo wings, potato skins and mini cheeseburgers. The spinach-artichoke dip was just right. The kids enjoyed the chicken fingers meal, which came with both fries and a bowl of fresh fruit. The cheesesteak sandwich came with caramelized onions and a spicy chipotle sauce. I liked the grilled chicken sandwich with avocado, onion & tomato.
We were there for Party in Parrot-dise. My husband is a big Jimmy Buffett fan. There were events starting Friday afternoon through late Saturday night. Nice, fun crowd.
The Cave is a little bar in the lobby atrium area. Small, very cute, dark, an old-fashioned tiki bar. Good drink specials.
Had breakfast on Saturday as well as Sunday brunch at the Master’s Clubhouse. The breakfast buffet was excellent with usual stuff like eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, etc., but also lox and assorted cheeses including Gouda. The Sunday brunch was even better. There was an omelet station, a carving station with roast beef perfectly cooked, prime rib hash (delicious), tortilla-crusted tilapia with a slight lime flavor, and a to-die-for dessert table with several flavors of cheesecake, banana cream pie, tiramisu, fruit tarts and a chocolate fountain. The prices were very reasonable and the service was impeccable.
Sunday morning, I hit the pool area. The only criticism I have is that the hot tub was lukewarm. There were also adults and children diving in the pool, even though there were clear signs stating not to. There was a hotel employee watching this who did nothing.
My husband played golf on Sunday morning and loved the course. It’s one of the best in the area. There is also a spa on site called Spa Vargas which will have to wait until my next weekend trip to Indian Lakes. There are activities for children in the summer months. I recommend this resort if your family loves good food, fun, spas and golf.
www.indianlakesresort.com
www.chicagoparrotheads.com
Ordered room service a few times, all good. The appetizer combo is typical, but tasty, with buffalo wings, potato skins and mini cheeseburgers. The spinach-artichoke dip was just right. The kids enjoyed the chicken fingers meal, which came with both fries and a bowl of fresh fruit. The cheesesteak sandwich came with caramelized onions and a spicy chipotle sauce. I liked the grilled chicken sandwich with avocado, onion & tomato.
We were there for Party in Parrot-dise. My husband is a big Jimmy Buffett fan. There were events starting Friday afternoon through late Saturday night. Nice, fun crowd.
The Cave is a little bar in the lobby atrium area. Small, very cute, dark, an old-fashioned tiki bar. Good drink specials.
Had breakfast on Saturday as well as Sunday brunch at the Master’s Clubhouse. The breakfast buffet was excellent with usual stuff like eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, etc., but also lox and assorted cheeses including Gouda. The Sunday brunch was even better. There was an omelet station, a carving station with roast beef perfectly cooked, prime rib hash (delicious), tortilla-crusted tilapia with a slight lime flavor, and a to-die-for dessert table with several flavors of cheesecake, banana cream pie, tiramisu, fruit tarts and a chocolate fountain. The prices were very reasonable and the service was impeccable.
Sunday morning, I hit the pool area. The only criticism I have is that the hot tub was lukewarm. There were also adults and children diving in the pool, even though there were clear signs stating not to. There was a hotel employee watching this who did nothing.
My husband played golf on Sunday morning and loved the course. It’s one of the best in the area. There is also a spa on site called Spa Vargas which will have to wait until my next weekend trip to Indian Lakes. There are activities for children in the summer months. I recommend this resort if your family loves good food, fun, spas and golf.
www.indianlakesresort.com
www.chicagoparrotheads.com
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Marche
Marche is one of my favorite restaurants in the West Loop. It is also the most authentic French brasserie I have been to outside of Paris.
The décor is colorful with open umbrellas hanging from the ceiling. There are red plush couches in the bar area. The bathroom is pretty.
The menu: Fabulous French onion soup, salmon, steak frites, and croquet madame. Save room for dessert: Try the crème brulee, tarte tatin or the plat du trois chocolats, which is flourless chocolate cake, a chocolate pots du crème and chocolate mousse, decadent.
The wine list is excellent. Every item on the menu comes with a suggested pairing. They also have daily specials that never disappoint.
Their website is www.marche-chicago.com
The décor is colorful with open umbrellas hanging from the ceiling. There are red plush couches in the bar area. The bathroom is pretty.
The menu: Fabulous French onion soup, salmon, steak frites, and croquet madame. Save room for dessert: Try the crème brulee, tarte tatin or the plat du trois chocolats, which is flourless chocolate cake, a chocolate pots du crème and chocolate mousse, decadent.
The wine list is excellent. Every item on the menu comes with a suggested pairing. They also have daily specials that never disappoint.
Their website is www.marche-chicago.com
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tours in Key West
A must on every vacation I take is a city tour, usually on a double decker bus. In Key West, we chose to take the Conch Train Tour. It's a Jeep dressed up to look like a tank engine and it pulls the cars behind it. My sons are obsessed with Thomas the Train, so they loved it.
The Spanish called Key West "Cayo Hueso," which literally means "bone key." When the Spanish arrived, the area was littered with bones from Native American battles. The tour goes by the Little White House, where Truman used to stay, Hemingway's house, where you can still see the descendants of Hemingway's six-toed cats. Notable architecture is pointed out, specifically the Gingerbread Houses. These homes have an overlay of latticework on their porches. Some of the latticework is in the shape of gingerbread men, others show a symbol of the profession of the house's original owner.
Mallory Square is the area for boat tours. We took a glass-bottomed boat tour. This was beautiful. You get to see the third-largest coral reef in the world, lots of yellow-tailed snapper and the occasional barracuda. I recommend taking the tour that ends at sunset. The sunset in Key West is hard to describe, it's like the water swallows up the sun. The tour includes a champagne toast at sunset.
Whenever I am on vacation, I try to go on a ghost tour. I love ghost tours. Ghost tours give you a taste of the history of a city. The tour I took begins at the Concha Hotel, which is alleged to be haunted. A young man was trying to help his waiter friend clean up so they could get to a New Year's Eve party. He pressed a button to open the elevator doors, not realizing you had to push another button to actually call the elevator. He plunged down the shaft to his death. Apparently at certain times you can hear phantom dishes crashing. There was a tragic tale of a man who killed his wife and children. There's a theater built on the site, but the tenants never stay for long due to the supernatural activity. Our tour guide told us a story of a time when she had a particularly obnoxious child on her tour. The group was about a block away from the theater and the kid pointed at the building and said, "there's seven children over there and they're sad." She hadn't even started to tell the story yet. There's also typical ghost tour stories of lost love and voodoo. After the tour, go for a drink in the Concha Hotel's bar, it's lovely.
The Spanish called Key West "Cayo Hueso," which literally means "bone key." When the Spanish arrived, the area was littered with bones from Native American battles. The tour goes by the Little White House, where Truman used to stay, Hemingway's house, where you can still see the descendants of Hemingway's six-toed cats. Notable architecture is pointed out, specifically the Gingerbread Houses. These homes have an overlay of latticework on their porches. Some of the latticework is in the shape of gingerbread men, others show a symbol of the profession of the house's original owner.
Mallory Square is the area for boat tours. We took a glass-bottomed boat tour. This was beautiful. You get to see the third-largest coral reef in the world, lots of yellow-tailed snapper and the occasional barracuda. I recommend taking the tour that ends at sunset. The sunset in Key West is hard to describe, it's like the water swallows up the sun. The tour includes a champagne toast at sunset.
Whenever I am on vacation, I try to go on a ghost tour. I love ghost tours. Ghost tours give you a taste of the history of a city. The tour I took begins at the Concha Hotel, which is alleged to be haunted. A young man was trying to help his waiter friend clean up so they could get to a New Year's Eve party. He pressed a button to open the elevator doors, not realizing you had to push another button to actually call the elevator. He plunged down the shaft to his death. Apparently at certain times you can hear phantom dishes crashing. There was a tragic tale of a man who killed his wife and children. There's a theater built on the site, but the tenants never stay for long due to the supernatural activity. Our tour guide told us a story of a time when she had a particularly obnoxious child on her tour. The group was about a block away from the theater and the kid pointed at the building and said, "there's seven children over there and they're sad." She hadn't even started to tell the story yet. There's also typical ghost tour stories of lost love and voodoo. After the tour, go for a drink in the Concha Hotel's bar, it's lovely.
Staying & Dining in Key West
Key West. Not traditionally for families, but there are things to keep the kids amused.
It's much cheaper to fly into Miami and drive down to Key West. I will say, however, the drive is tedious. For anyone who has seen the movie "True Lies," there's a scene that takes place on the Seven Mile Bridge. The bridge is very cool. You can see the remains of what was the railway bridge. That bridge was destroyed by a hurricane in the 1930s. It's scenic if you drive during the day, but our flight got in late and the drive was brutal; we didn't get to our hotel until 2 a.m. The kids held up surprisingly well.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Roosevelt. It's a very nice hotel. The room was clean, comfortable and we had a view of the pool. There's a restaurant adjacent to the hotel called In Kahoots, good place for breakfast. There's a shuttle depot next door to the hotel that will take you downtown. I would be interested in staying at the Concha Hotel next time I travel to Key West. It's a lovely hotel and right in the heart of everything. It's said that Tennessee Williams wrote his first draft of "Streetcar Named Desire" at the Concha.
There are conch shells for sale everywhere. Immigrants from the Bahamas in the 1800s were called "Conchs," and the term is still used to describe locals. There are "Conch Republic" souvenirs reminiscent of the mock "secession" of Key West back in 1982. Be careful buying jewelry. I found some cute jewelry only to see "Made in China" on the tag. I prefer buying local.
The main area downtown is Duval Street. This is where you'll find most of the shops, restaurants and bars. Local specialties include conch, yellow snapper and "pink shrimp," a local shrimp that is very sweet, tastes more like lobster. Of course, on every dessert menu, there is Key Lime Pie. In the downtown area, we had lunch at Red Fish Blue Fish, very good seafood and kid-friendly. We also had lunch at Crabby Dick's, very good. Dine outside, it's on the second floor and there's great people-watching below. The original Margaritaville, made famous by Jimmy Buffett is on Duval. Very touristy. There was a long wait for a table, but we sat at the bar and ordered off the menu from there. For late night dining, Jack Flats has very good food. There's also Sloppy Joe's, made famous by Hemingway. Portions of his original manuscript for "To Have and Have Not" were found at Sloppy Joe's. It's rumoured that the owner of Sloppy Joe's was the model for Freddy in "To Have and Have Not." Although there is a bar called "Sloppy Joe's" on Duval, the original site is around the corner and called "Captain Tony's.
It's much cheaper to fly into Miami and drive down to Key West. I will say, however, the drive is tedious. For anyone who has seen the movie "True Lies," there's a scene that takes place on the Seven Mile Bridge. The bridge is very cool. You can see the remains of what was the railway bridge. That bridge was destroyed by a hurricane in the 1930s. It's scenic if you drive during the day, but our flight got in late and the drive was brutal; we didn't get to our hotel until 2 a.m. The kids held up surprisingly well.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Roosevelt. It's a very nice hotel. The room was clean, comfortable and we had a view of the pool. There's a restaurant adjacent to the hotel called In Kahoots, good place for breakfast. There's a shuttle depot next door to the hotel that will take you downtown. I would be interested in staying at the Concha Hotel next time I travel to Key West. It's a lovely hotel and right in the heart of everything. It's said that Tennessee Williams wrote his first draft of "Streetcar Named Desire" at the Concha.
There are conch shells for sale everywhere. Immigrants from the Bahamas in the 1800s were called "Conchs," and the term is still used to describe locals. There are "Conch Republic" souvenirs reminiscent of the mock "secession" of Key West back in 1982. Be careful buying jewelry. I found some cute jewelry only to see "Made in China" on the tag. I prefer buying local.
The main area downtown is Duval Street. This is where you'll find most of the shops, restaurants and bars. Local specialties include conch, yellow snapper and "pink shrimp," a local shrimp that is very sweet, tastes more like lobster. Of course, on every dessert menu, there is Key Lime Pie. In the downtown area, we had lunch at Red Fish Blue Fish, very good seafood and kid-friendly. We also had lunch at Crabby Dick's, very good. Dine outside, it's on the second floor and there's great people-watching below. The original Margaritaville, made famous by Jimmy Buffett is on Duval. Very touristy. There was a long wait for a table, but we sat at the bar and ordered off the menu from there. For late night dining, Jack Flats has very good food. There's also Sloppy Joe's, made famous by Hemingway. Portions of his original manuscript for "To Have and Have Not" were found at Sloppy Joe's. It's rumoured that the owner of Sloppy Joe's was the model for Freddy in "To Have and Have Not." Although there is a bar called "Sloppy Joe's" on Duval, the original site is around the corner and called "Captain Tony's.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Los Angeles
I stayed at a Howard Johnson’s on Santa Monica Boulevard. This is in the heart of Boys Town. We had a plumbing issue & they were pretty slow coming up to fix it. The toilet was overflowing, water everywhere. Granted, it happened in the middle of the night. They had a hard time getting in touch with a plumber.
Sunset Boulevard is an interesting strip of mainly bars. It’s great people-watching. We went to Johnny Depp’s place, the Viper Room two nights in a row. The main bar was pretty loud but we managed to get into the VIP room, which was nice and very laid back. The Whiskey-A-Go-Go is an L.A. classic. We saw Robbie Krieger and Ray Manzarek (formerly of the Doors, if you don’t know) perform there with a Jim Morrison impersonator.
The Universal Studios tour is fantastic no matter how old you are. It’s a road trip from LA, but not that far. The shark from Jaws jumps out at you, the New York subway train cars rattle from an earthquake, it’s awesome.
Sunset Boulevard is an interesting strip of mainly bars. It’s great people-watching. We went to Johnny Depp’s place, the Viper Room two nights in a row. The main bar was pretty loud but we managed to get into the VIP room, which was nice and very laid back. The Whiskey-A-Go-Go is an L.A. classic. We saw Robbie Krieger and Ray Manzarek (formerly of the Doors, if you don’t know) perform there with a Jim Morrison impersonator.
The Universal Studios tour is fantastic no matter how old you are. It’s a road trip from LA, but not that far. The shark from Jaws jumps out at you, the New York subway train cars rattle from an earthquake, it’s awesome.
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