Lakeside Plaza at Marriott Lincolnshire. (Photo by Jacobs)
You don’t have to be staying at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort north of Chicago to relax on its recently re-done Lakeside Plaza. You don’t even have to call its popular, reservation-only Three Embers Restaurant. Just go over there at sunset to sip a glass of Pluto’s Fury Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley or a house recommended Merlot and nibble on the restaurant’s Burrata appetizer around the Plaza’s fire pit or at its high-top double-sided, fire-lined bar.
There is usually live music on Tuesday and Wednesday evening but the resort will also be doing Bourbon & Bonfires a special dinner and drinks event Aug. 15, 2018 that pairs Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve with gourmet bites by Executive Chef Yo Chang. This event does need a reservation (Eventbrite).
Marriott Lincolnshire Resort is at 10 Marriott Drive off Milwaukee Avenue south of IL Hwy 22, Lincolnshire. For more information call 847-634-0100 and visit Three Embers food.
Views of city, Boardwalk and pond from The Patio at cafe Brauer. (Jacobs photo)
Not all the Lincoln Park Zoo sights are found through the main gate. South of that gate is the historic Prairie-School-style Café Brauer (2021 North Stockton). Go around behind the landmark building to discover the Patio.
Here you can sip the Patio Muscle made up of Two Brothers Vodka, Chambord, ginger beer and lime or a refreshing glass of Villa Sandi Proseco while resting the eyes on a pond, boardwalk and the Chicago skyline.
Resolve your after-work food craving with crispy calamari or tomato mozzarella pizza twists.
Reservations are suggested. Café Brauer is at 2021 N. Stockton, Chicago. For more information call (312) 507-9053 and visit The Patio.
A popular, fun trend among Chicago hotels is to open a roof-top bar. They offer good city views, interesting cocktails and are a place to meet after hours. However, one that takes on the sophisticated vibe of its globally-known hotel is the Z Bar that just opened at the Peninsula Chicago Hotel.
Z Bar at Peninsula Chicago (Photo by Neil John Burger)
Go up to the sixth floor to settle comfortably with a view of Michigan Avenue. Then study the drinks menu with an eye for something special designed by Cocktails & Culture Director Vlad Novikov.
Whether you choose a classic cocktail or one inspired by Novikov’s travels it will be an experience.
The same is true with the small-plates-food menu that includes the Daikon Frites with Chinese lap cheong, garlic and an unusual jam.
The Peninsula Chicago is at 108 E. Superior St., For more information call (312) 573-6888 and visit Z-bar.
A room on the Taliesin estate of Frank Lloyd Wright (Photos by Jodie Jacobs
A vacation that is not your same-old, same-old awaits 189 miles (about 3 hrs., 20 min.) northwest of Chicago.
It is Spring Green, WI where renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright built Taliesin, his primary home and studio on his family’s 800 acre estate on the Wisconsin River.
You can see his prairie-style home and the Visitor Center he designed from the road. Call 877-588-7900 or visit Taliesin tours to find out how to see the estate and make a reservation.
Down the road from Taliesin and about four miles south of Spring Green’s shopping area is the American Players Theatre which attracts actors, directors and choreographers from TV, film and regional theatres who need some stage time to go back to what they really love.
They put on classic plays from late spring to early fall. For the season’s schedule and tickets call 608-588-2361 and visit APT.
Spring Green is also home to The House on the Rock, a crazy-looking, built-into-a rocky-slope building. It contains an amazing collection of automated music machines and other stuff that fill three sections and needs three hours if doing the entire place. To find out more call 608-935-3639 and visit House on the Rock.
As the sun sets behind American Players Theatre the seats start to fill.
The town is surrounded by forests and farmland so visitors will be treated to true farm to table products that are not just a nod to today’s popular menu phrases.
There are lots of good-eating places including the small café at the Spring Green General Store which is a destination experience in itself. Go for breakfast before shopping in the store for gifts and clothing or touring local sights or go for lunch between shopping at Arcadia Books and the town’s galleries and boutiques.
For dinner try The Old Feed Mill, a restored 1857 stone mill with good food and views. 608-795-4909.
Rooms at the resort overlook some great golf holes. The Springs Course’s 18 holes were designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and the North Nine designed by Roger Packard and Andy North, North Nine.
The resort features indoor pools including a lap pool and an outdoor pool. For more information call 608-588-7000 and visit The House on the Rock.
The Route 66 sign at Adams Street could be a starting point for a Mother Road trip. It is across Michigan Avenue from the Art Institute of Chicago. (Photos by Jodie Jacobs
The summer of 2018 is a great time to travel the Mother Road, or as songwriter Bobby Troup wrote in 1946, “Get Your Kicks on Route 66.” The National Trust For Historic Preservation has a motorcade that, as Troup wrote, “winds from Chicago to LA, more than two thousand miles all the way.”
The “Preserve Route 66” motorcade invites travelers to meet up at a variety of good Route 66 sights and destinations. The first segment is Chicago to Springfield that is the first week of July. The Missouri segment is July 6-10.
You can catch up with the group, join them at any date that suits your schedule or use their schedule of stops as a guide for your own trip. Their meetups are free and open to the public.
Since Springfield, IL is on the list, here are some recommendations of places to stay and things to do in the capital city of “The Land of Lincoln.” St.Louis is next with where to stay, eat and go.
But first, if coming from Chicago, go downtown to where it supposedly begins. The route historically starts in Grant Park near Jackson boulevard, east of Michigan Avenue.
However, the sign for it can be found across Michigan Avenue opposite the front entrance to the Art Institute of Chicago. In Illinois I-55 (known in Chicago as the Stevenson Expressway) basically follows historic Route 66. Illinois has posted Route 66 signs along the popular old road. Tip: Chicago to Springfield is about 197 miles so plan on it taking about 3 ½ hours. Police do patrol the highway.
In Springfield
The city has enough fascinating Lincoln spots from the Lincoln Museum and his home, to the Old State Capitol building and the current Capitol building, to fill two days so look for a place to stay that makes it a fun vacation.
Where to stay – The Springfield Visitors and Convention Bureau is a great resource for places to stay, eat and see. If you like historic inns and B&B’s consider The Inn at 835. An early 1900’s former apartment house, the Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Two places close to the action are The President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and the State House Inn. Tip – Wear comfortable shoes and bring the sunscreen. This is a walking town.
An option for people who like a pool and sauna break after a day of sightseeing is to stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, a conference-style facility on the Dirksen Parkway at the edge of town near I-55.
Unpacked and ready to go – Springfield is about Lincoln, about state government, about historic homes and about Route 66.
Visitors like to pose with Lincoln’s family at the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield
Lincoln – Renew your acquaintance with the 16th President at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. You will be in for a remarkable two hours. Plan to spend at least that amount of time to see the movies and the exhibits that peel away the myths from the man and the times.
While downtown Springfield, walk over to the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office, where he worked above Seth Tinsley’s dry goods store, and to the Old Capitol across the road where he served as a representative and gave his “house divided” speech. Also visit his and Mary Todd Lincoln’s home.
Then drive north of downtown to the Lincoln Tomb where he, his wife and three of their four children are buried. If time allows, drive north 20 minutes on IL Hwy 97 to New Salem, a wonderful village recreated with the timbered homes and stores that existed when a young Abe Lincoln worked there.
State government – Tour the Old Capitol, Illinois’ fifth statehouse (but first in Springfield) to see where bills were debated and state laws passed from 1839 to 1876. The building was reconstructed in the 1960’s. The impressive dome of the State Capitol, 361 feet above ground can be seen from miles away. But go inside to see where legislation has been argued and passed from 1888 to today in the House and Senate chambers on the third floor.
Historic homes – Unless you are a Frank Lloyd Wright maven you might not know that one of the best examples of his work is the Dana Thomas House in Springfield. It still has all of its original art glass and much of its original furnishings.
Also put the Vachel Lindsay Home on the itinerary. Built in the late 1840’s, the house was home to Mary Todd Lincoln’s sister Ann. Vachel Lindsay’s parents bought the house in 1878. It was the poet’s home until his death in 1931.
However, car enthusiasts really into what is the Mother Road of historic routes come for the town’s annual International Route 66 Mother Road Festival in September. This year’s festival is Sept. 21-23. That is when hundreds of vintage vehicles from street rods to motorcycles will roll into town and live music fills Springfield’s downtown streets.
