Destinations – Page 19 – Travel Smart With Jodie

Three reasons to go to Navy Pier second weekend of August

Board a Tall Ship and sail on a schooner or watch an America’s Cup style race and see amazing Cirque aerial acts at Navy Pier

Imagine boarding a square rig warship like the one Commander Oliver Hazard Perry sailed when winning the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.

Board Pride of Baltimore II seen here when it arrives at Navy Pier in Chicago

Or, picture seeing exciting jockeying for position among boats from five countries in Match Races.

Add in a chance to watch amazing Cirque acrobatics on a 1.5 mile pier that once housed World War I regiments and World War II troops from several countries.

The events happen the second weekend in August at Chicago’s Navy Pier, a historic site that is also home to popular restaurants, a large Ferris wheel and other entertainment venues.

Tall Ships

Six tall ships from as far as Baltimore, Erie and Newport Beach and as close as South Haven and Chicago are sailing to Navy Pier for Taste of Tall Ships Aug. 11-14, 2011.

Board or sail out onto Lake Michigan on a Tall Ship the second weekend of August

Two of them – Perry’s Flagship Niagara and the topsail schooner Pride of Baltimore II, will be available for boarding.

Friends Good Will, a square topsail sloop with a South Haven, Mich. port and Lynx, a square topsail schooner from Newport Beach, Calif., plus Chicago-based gaff schooners Windy and Red Witch will take passengers out onto Lake Michigan.

Boarding prices are $9 adults, $6 children. A combo ticket of boarding and three Navy Pier rides are $16 adults and $13 children. Boarding hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Aug. 11-13 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 14.

Sail away prices and times vary according to ship and length of sail. Sail-away tickets are also available on “Windy” in combination with boarding “Flagship Niagara” or “Pride of Baltimore II.” More ticket information

Chicago Match Race

At the east end of Navy Pier bleachers will be set up for free viewing of the Chicago Grade 2 Match Race. The competition is America’s Cup style racing to give 10 internationally ranked sailing teams match race practice. Qualifying rounds are Aug. 12 followed by semi-finals Aug. 13 and finals on Aug. 14.

Cirque Shanghai Extreme

Cirque Shanghai Extreme is at the Pier’s Pepsi® Skyline Stage® now until Sept. 5 . Go to the show to see trapeze artists, aerial acts, motorcycle daredevils and Kung Fu sword fight displays.

More than a mile of attractions has made Navy Pier a top visitor destination in Chicago and Illinois

About Navy Pier

Navy Pier was part of famed city planner Daniel Burnham’s 1909 “Master Plan of Chicago.” The 1.5 mile pier was built from 1914 to 1916. Originally called the Municipal Pier, it was renamed Navy Pier in 1927 in tribute to World War I Navy personnel. World War II military pilots trained at the pier as did sailors and technicians. After the war, the University of Illinois had a branch at the pier until 1965. However, the Pier was also designed to include entertainment venues.

Today, visitors can go to a Shakespearean theater, dine at famed Harry Caray’s or Billy Goat Tavern and browse a free stained glass window museum.

Getting there

Navy Pier is at Lake Michigan at the east end of both Illinois Street and Grand Avenue. Parking is available however CTA buses do go there from the Ogilvie Transportation Center (Metra) and Union Station.

Photos are courtesy of Navy Pier

Tour goes by Dark Knight and other filmed in Chicago sites

Chicago Film Tour falls in the best kept secret category

Stand on the sidewalk at Wacker Drive at the Chicago River west of Michigan Avenue. It looks fine, now. But mid-summer 2010 the area was a battle zone.

Wacker Drive looked like a battle zone during the filming of Transformers 3. Photo shot for Hotel 71 by Jim Kennedy

Wacker Drive, backed by the Wrigley Building, Marina City and the Tribune Tower, was a prime filming location for Paramount Pictures’ Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Released mid-summer 2011, the film stars Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Josh Duhamel. Guests of Hotel 71 which borders the other side of the river had front window seats of the action.

Below where you are standing is lower Wacker Drive – scene of Batman’s race to rescue a high level Gotham official. Chicago was Gotham in the Dark Knight released in 2008. Bruce Wayne’s bedroom was shot in Hotel 71.

Indeed, downtown Chicago is rife with Dark Knight movie locations. The city was also used in the 2005 release of Batman Begins.

A car flies out of Marina Towers' parking garage (left) in The Hunter and Trump Tower (far right) is in Dark Knight

Transformers 3, Dark Knight and Batman Begins are only a few of the many movies and TV segments filmed in Chicago.

Avid movie buffs might track down all the sites of their favorite Chicago locations such as The Blues Brothers or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

However, there is a not widely known way to get the info and go by many of the sites. Arguably in the category of best kept secrets is Chicago Film Tour owned by movie buff John Brinkman.

From Wrigley Field on the north side to Chinatown on the south with several places in between, Chicago Film Tour does a two-hour loop that passes locations used in more than 80 movies filmed in the city.

A buyout left Brinkman ready for a career move a few years ago. “I remembered a Sound of Music tour I took with my father in Austria. I loved it,” he said.

Wrigley Field is the back drop of Ferris Bueler's Day Off and other films shot in Chicago

But instead of concentrating on one movie made in Chicago, Brinkman thought visitors and residents would enjoy seeing and hearing about all the movies with Chicago sights except a full tour could easily take a day.

“I had to narrow it down. I drove around the city and mapped out a route,” he said.

Brinkman does do private tours and some all day tours that include lunch. For his regular two-hour public tours, he has knowledgeable guides. All tours include film clips and interesting tidbits that might not be known except by movie aficionados and critics.

The name "Essanay," a film studio that used Charlie Chaplin, can still be seen on Argyle in Chicago

On a recent trip, the bus turned down Argyle, a narrow residential street in the Uptown neighborhood where it paused in front of St. Augustine College.

“Essanay” was emblazoned over a doorway. It is an amalgamation of Spoor and Anderson for George K. Spoor and Gilbert M. Anderson.

The building and back lot stretching from 1333 to 1345 had housed Essanay Film Manufacturing Company whose most famous star was Charlie Chaplin. The silent movie legend had filmed “His New Job” in Chicago with Ben Turpin for Essanay.

After the tour HollywoodChicago.com movie critic Patrick McDonald, the guide for that day’s bus tour, said he enjoyed sharing movie knowledge with riders and introducing them to places they might not know.

“You can see where Essanay Studios was. It’s living history. Imagine rolling up to the place where the Great Chaplin walked through and did a film,” McDonald said. (Chaplin filmed “His New Job” in Chicago with Ben Turpin.)

Today, the Biograph houses live theater but movies and television remember it as a move theater where the FBI tracked down bank robber John Dillinger

Chicago Film Tour Details: Tickets $30 a person. Pick-up is Clark Street in front of the Rock ‘n’ Roll McDonalds between Ohio and Ontario Streets. Because the bus only seats 36 people and most trips are sold out, reservations are highly recommended.

(All photos by Jodie Jacobs except Terminator 3 location shot)

Make the next vacation a culinary experience

A vacation in the Elkhart Lake area of Wisconsin can combine a scenic getaway with cooking classes

Imagine preparing 19^th century basic but delicious dishes over an open hearth fire and on a wood-burning stove in an 1860’s inn. Or at the opposite end of the culinary spectrum, learn slicing and sautéing ala French Classic cuisine in a gleaming, up-to-date cooking school.

Ingrediants for an old-fashioned hearty meal are laid out at Wade House, ready for peeling, dicing, mixing and cooking

Both experiences are in and near Elkhart Lake, a Wisconsin resort town north of Milwaukee.

The experience might start with checking in at the Osthoff Resort, a lakeside property that looks as if it were welcoming guests since Victorian times but was built mid 1990’s. Plan to stay a while. All rooms are suites with balconies, fireplaces and full kitchens.

Staying at the Osthoff means merely walking downstairs to L’ecole de la Maison, a culinary school operated by Chef Scott Baker.

Combine a cooking class at L'ecole de la Maison with a vacation in Elkhart Lake, Wisc.

During a recent class, students learned how to make, among other things, Cocquilles St. Jacques and Crepes Suzettes.

The school offers more than a dozen choices ranging from Italian Pastas and Sauces and Summer Soups and Stocks to European Brunch and French Classic.

A one-day L’ecole de la Maison course typically costs $185. The Osthoff Resort, 101 Osthoff Avenue, Elkhart Lake WI 53020, 800-876-3399

However, Elkhart Lake is also about a 15 minute drive to the Wade House, a historic Wisconsin stagecoach inn that has Hearthside dinners and breakfasts where visitors who have signed up ahead of time can learn to cook old-fashioned, hearty meals using century-old style cooking tools and methods.

Costumed guides and cooks welcome visitors to Wisconsin's historic Wade House

A recent lunch hear consisted of squash soup, red cabbage with apples, mashed turnips, pork loin roast, bread pudding, cranberry bread and cider cake. A class is $45 a person.

Breakfasts will be offered July through September. Dinner-style lunches will be available Oct. 22 and 29 and November 12.

Tour Wade House before or after the meal. The upstairs still has its small rooms for overnight guests and the rooms used by the inn’s family. Call 920-526-3271 for more information.

Wade House, PO Box 34, W7824 Center Street, Greenbush, WI 53026

See Elkhart Lake

Also visit culinary vacations

Spring equals Tulip Time

Anytime is a good time to visit Holland, Mich. but for glorious spring blooms go during Tulip Time

Third in spring blooms combined with a great destination series is Holland Michigan

It is Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan.

Anytime, is a good time to visit Holland, Mich. where an authentic Dutch windmill grinds stone ground flour, fine-crafted beer is on tap and visitors can see wooden shoes and Dutch-style pottery made from scratch.

However, the town is ready for its closeup the first two week of May. In 2011, its famed Tulip Time festival stretches from May 7 through May 14.

Gorgeous yellow and red tulips line the streets, and black, purple, crimson, white and pink tulips fill Windmill Island. Dutch dancing brings crowds to downtown parks and parades are almost every day. Come for a parade May 11 or May 12 but parade lovers will want to stay for the Grand Finale, May 14.

To avoid the crowds and more easily snag a hotel and restaurant reservation, go the first week in May because the tulips are already showing off their glorious blooms.

Where to stay

The Haworth Inn and Conference Center on the Hope College Campus fills fast because it is within walking distance of the historic downtown and TulipTime activities. Breakfast comes with the room and apples, coffee and tea are always out on a table. Haworth Inn, 225 College Avenue Holland, Mich. 49423 (800-903-9142).

The Leed certified, contemporary styled CityFlats Hotel with its popular CityVu Bistro, is also downtown at 61 East 7th Street, Holland, Mich. 49423, (866-609-2489).

Holiday Inn Express, Best Western and Hampton Inn are east of downtown Holland near US Highway 31. Click Holland Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) for accommodation availability. The city’s CVB website also lists B&Bs, camp sites and other accommodation choices.

What to see

If interested in events check Tulip Time but don’t worry if they aren’t convenient. The town has many attractions including DeZwann, an authentic, brought-over from Holland windmill, on Windmill Island at7^th Street and Lincoln Avenue, (888-535-5792). It has the only Dutch Mill Society’s certified miller outside of the Netherlands. Walk Windmill Island’s canals, gardens and shops.

Try to catch the Dutch Trade Fair, May 7-8. And browse shops on the town’s historic 8^th Street, its main street.

Before leaving, be sure to stop at the DeKlomp Wooden Shoe & Delft Factory east of downtown near the highway. You can watch shoes being carved and talk with artists working on the only authentic Delftware made in the US.

See artists make Delftware and wooden shoes

Where to eat

Even if staying at an inn that serves a free breakfast, go over to Alpenrose Restaurant at 4 E. 8^th Street, (616.393.2111) to ooh at its European ambiance over breakfast or a mid afternoon break.

Stop at New Holland Brewing at 66 E. 8^th Street, )616-355-6422) for good pizza, sandwiches and beer.

Now throw some clothes and the camera into the car and go.

(Photos by Jodie Jacobs)

Spring blooms and great city equal a vacation destination

Spring is perfect for a vacation minus the crowds

Second in series on Spring vacation destinations is Chicago and the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Warm weather welcomed visitors to Chicago even though the calendar said it was only the second weekend in April.

Couples were downing salads and sandwiches on the Park Grill patio at the edge of Millennium Park.

Visitors head up the paths in Millennium Park to see its Frank Gehry sculptured roof of the Pritztker Pavilion and Cloud Gate. Photo by Jodie Jacobs

Youngsters were dashing up the park’s steps for a closer look at Cloud Gate, known as The Bean and the wild Frank Gehry sculptural roof of the Pritzker Pavilion

About 20 miles north, visitors kept pouring into the Chicago Botanic Garden by bike, SUV and on foot.

Spring had finally come to Chicago.

April and May are fine times to make Chicago a vacation destination. Paths along Lake

Michigan are not yet crammed with beach-goers. The Magnificent Mile of North Michigan Avenue isn’t jammed with shoppers and lookers. The theater and symphony seasons are still in full swing. Museums don’t have lines out the door.

Spring has come to Chicago and the Chicago Botanic Garden. Photo by Jodie Jacobs

And about a half hour drive north, colorful blossoms line the Chicago Botanic Garden entrance, paths and surprise visitors around every corner.

Where to stay:

As a convention city, Chicago is blessed with more than 100,000 hotel rooms so finding one that meets budget, style and location specifications is usually easy.

Hotels with special stay and play packages usually list their current deals at

Parking in Chicago is pricy so look for a package that includes parking.

A recent check of hotel deals listed W Chicago Lakeshore which is convenient to Navy Pier, the Amalfi Hotel which is convenient to North Michigan Avenue shopping and the Hyatt Regency which is near Millennium Park.

What to do:

Check the Chicago Symphony Orchestra schedule. Symphony Center is across Michigan Avenue from Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago.

There is always something special to see at the Art Institute of Chicago. Photo by Jodie Jacobs

See “Kings, Queens and Courtiers: Art in Early Renaissance France” at the Art Institute of Chicago through May 30, 2011.

The exhibit ends with a work by Leonardo da Vinci and his studio.

While there, be sure to explore the galleries either side of the special exhibit’s Regenstein hallways to see fine Whistlers and works of other famed artists.

Also take the elevator from the modern wing upstairs to the rooftop patio. Visitors can snap a great view of Millennium Park and the skyhline even if they aren’t eating in the adjacent restaurant.

The Art Institute's rooftop patio is a great place to look down onto Millennium Park and take in the skyline. Photo by Jodie Jacobs

Go over to the Merchandise Mart on the Chicago River, a few blocks west of Michigan Avenue. The main floor has showrooms open to the public with great home decorating ideas. If at the Mart April 29 through May 2 see Art Chicago, an international fair that showcases contemporary and modern works.

Take a Chicago River Architectural Tour. Spring is the start of the boat tour season and Chicago is known as an architectural destination. Several organizations and companies offer good tours.

Drive north to Glencoe on I94 to Lake Cook Road and turn east for half a mile to the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Spring blooms such as Dutch Crocus, surprise walkers around every curve and path at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Photo by Jodie Jacobs

Spring is a fun time to explore its paths. Just about every turn uncovers another bulb opening or another plot of color. Take paths through the Japanese Islands and other islands to watch birds returning north and see trees beginning to bloom.

Stop in the Circle Garden to see colorful foxglove set against artistic fountain sprays and see what’s blooming in the English Garden and in the vegetable gardens.

Even though the weather is fine for walking outdoors, save time to visit the greenhouses to see cute topiaries and find out what is blooming indoors.

Add the Garden to a Chicago vacation.

Combine spring blooms with an interesting destination

Fort Worth is a town where a cattle drive, fine art and a nearby botanic garden add up to a fun and different vacation

First in the Spring blooms vacation destination series is Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth Texas is a fun "Western" town. Photo from Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau

Think cattle drive. Think arts festival and art museums. Think acres of roses, poppies, irises and azaleas. Yes, these wildly disparate attractions can fit into a single vacation – if the vacation is in Fort Worth, Texas.

This Southwestern city has a twice daily cattle drive in its Stockyards National Historic District.

If you time the trip to coincide with the annual Fort Worth Arts Festival, this year April 14-17, you catch the city’s downtown “happening” of juried fine art show, street performers and concerts that fill nine blocks of downtown Main Street.

Even if the festival date doesn’t work, still put art on the agenda because the Amon Carter and Kimball Museums are worth the short drive over to the Fort Worth Cultural District.

Amon Carter is known for its collections of iconic Western artists Frederick Remington and Charles Russell. Its current special exhibition , Hudson River School: Nature and the American vision, goes through June19. on Carter 3501 Camp Bowie Boulevard Fort Worth, TX 76107 (817) 738-1933

Go for the Art Festival or the Amon Carter Museum's Remingtons and Russells, , Fort Worth is an arts destination. Fort Worth CVB photo

The Kimball Art Museum has a small but choice collection ranging from European to African art but also brings major exhibits to town. Coming are Picasso and Braque May 29-Aug. 21, 2011 and Caravaggio and his followers in Rome, Oct. 16, 2011-Jan. 8, 2012

Kimbell Art Museum 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd. Fort Worth, TX 76107 (817) 332-8451

To walk through a sea of color, save time for a half-day excursion to Clark Gardens Botanical Park, about 40 minutes west of Fort Worth off US Highway 180. Begun as an extensive private garden by Max and Billie Clark in 1972, 143 acres were opened to the public in 2000.

Celebrate spring amongst the roses at Clark Gardens Botanical Park west of Fort Worth. Photo by Jodie Jacobs

Spring is prime time at Clark Gardens. Gorgeous double ruffle pink poppies and azaleas are blooming now to mid April. Roses and irises will be at their peak mid April to early May.

Clark Gardens Botanical Park, 567 Maddux Road, Weatherford, Texas, 76088, 940-682-4856.

If you go: Fort Worth has a wide choice of accommodations from hotels to B&Bs and luxury to budget.

For a top full-service downtown hotel check out the Fort Worth Omni.

More suggestions of places to stay and things to do at FortWorth.com

Four Tips to Cure Cabin Fever

Take a stay vacation or plan a party to cure cabin fever

You’re not alone if you have a mega fever – cabin fever that is. Just as all that snow melted from the last blizzard and the weather seem to be turning the seasonal corner, either another blast of icy cold or the white stuff has us hurrying back indoors.

Take a stay vacation or plan now to visit somewhere interesting, like Chicago, this summer

Here are four doable prescriptions to ease cabin fever.

Green isn’t just the color of lawns and leaves when the weather finally cooperates. It also comes with an Irish accent and a lively, musical lilt. Plan now to host a fun St. Patrick’s Day party or talk with friends about getting together at an Irish pub that will have a dance group or live music. Begin planning now to have something to look forward to a few weeks away.

Take a stay-vacation where you only have to travel to a nearby B&B, resort or downtown hotel. Many places are offering good deals before the Spring Break and Easter rush. Choose a place with a spa or one that is near a fine restaurant or live theater to make the getaway even more special. Need an excuse? Isn’t it a half birthday or anniversary of something?

Start planning your summer vacation. Look on line for a range of accommodations, things to do and transportation options. By starting now you should have more lodging and price choices. And you start to feel more connected to the places you hope to go instead of house bound by snow and cold.

Remember the 2011 blizzards will be conversation items for years to come. So, gather your photos and memories, put them in a scrapbook and close the book on this winter.

Combine an art class with travel to do more than just look

Bring home more than a souvenir from a trip. Take a class in something you always wanted to try.

Travel does not have to be the old if it is Monday this must be Madrid scenario. Arguably the best way to see an area is to remain unpacked for more than a day. Even better, do something special while there.

There is nothing wrong with renting a cottage or condo in your destination of choice for a week. But when you need an excuse to take off time or some extra incentive to visit a region, look for classes to take.

The second of a series on combining a class with travel looks at two travel destinations where visitors can take art classes.

Pottery is nice to buy from an expert such as John Dietrich whose shop and studio with wife Diane McNeil is in Ellison Bay on Wiscon's Door County. But besides finding the perfect piece to take home it is also nice to take a class to better understand the craft

Maine

If you have a yearning to visit the fishing villages, forests and coast of Maine, look into Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. No prior craft knowledge needed unless you are seeking an advanced class. You can take a one week summer workshop here in fibers, clay, metals, wood, glass and even blacksmithing.

The only problem is that you might be distracted by the scenery. Haystack overlooks the Atlantic Ocean on Deer Isle. Indeed, just driving there from the Bangor Airport or Boston if doing New England this trip, is about following back country roads to Deer Isle.

But you are not there yet. You skip across the Eggemoggin Reach and tiny islands to reach the school. Haystack’s scenic location gives new meaning to the phrase “tucked away.”

Classes are Monday through Friday and the studios are open 24/7 so students don’t have to stop work on their projects when the instruction for the day is done. Students stay and eat on campus during their workshop period.

Because Haystack is on the middle of Maine’s coast, about 70 miles from Bangor, 160 miles from Portland and 250 miles from Boston, taking a class here can be bookended with a weekend near any of those towns.

The state is all about water: 5,000 miles of coast, 6,000 lakes, 32,000 miles of rivers. So enjoy its scenery and, of course, lobster. The yummy seafood is about half the price you pay at home.

A good resource is the Maine Office of Tourism.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, 89 Haystack School Drive, Deer Isle, Maine 04627, 207-348-2306

The Peninsula School of Art holds workshops year round that are a good escuse to visit Door County

Wisconsin

Door County, Wisconsin, a peninsula that juts like a thumb into Lake Michigan from the southern edge of Green Bay, is known as a vacation destination.

The county is also known as a haven for sculptors, painters, photographers and ceramicists. It is also a good place to go gallery hopping and take a class at the Peninsula School of Art.

Workshops run anywhere from one day to a semester. Best plan to combine a class and a travel stay is to look at the offerings during your vacation time. Classes range from ceramics, jewelry and metal arts to painting and photography for all skill levels.

The school does not have a campus but The Door, as the peninsula is popularly known, has a wide choice from cottages and condos to inns and B and B’s.

The art school is conveniently situated in Fish Creek which is dotted with interesting shops and places to stay. When not in class, explore the Peninsula’s winding roads through woods and farmlands.

Green Bay, the waterway, not the town, borders Door County on its northwest. Lake Michigan laps up to the southeast shoreline or underside of the thumb.

The closest major airport is Green Bay but guests also fly into Milwaukee.

More information at Door County, Wisconsin.

Peninsula School of Art, 3900 County F, Fish Creek, Wisc. 54212, 920-868-3455

Fun trips and classes go together like ham and cheese in a Croque Monsieur

Combine a scenic getaway with an interesting class

New Year 2011 stretches ahead ready for your imprint. It’s time to drop a few fun things into the calendar that give you something to look forward to as a break in your routine.

Not sure how? First, think fun getaway. Secondly, think interesting class.

You don’t have to be a chef wannabe to take a cooking class or an aspiring artist or photographer to attend an art school or crafts camp. Not only will you meet and learn from experts, you will get to know another region. A Travel Smart with Jodie series on places to combine a fun class and trip begins today.

First in the series is all about cooking (coming up wine, photography, art). Here are two of many places where the scenery is fine and the cuisine is yummy.

Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls

The rustic look of the Inn at Cedar Falls signifies relaxation and an appreciation of organic foods but the kitchen dishes out fine cuisine

Stay at the inn or at nearby lodging to explore the forests and rock formations of Southern Ohio’s famed Hocking Hills State Parks while taking a cooking class at the inn’s renowned kitchen.

Combination cooking and stay

Overnight guests will prepare dinner under the guidance of Chef Anthony Schulz in “Weekend CookInn Classes,” Jan. 21-22, March 18-19 or Sept. 16-17. The price of $485-$649 person (depends on single or shared room) covers wine and dessert on Friday, dinner preparation on Saturday. Reservations are limited to eight people.

Stay in the Hocking Hills but take a cooking class at the inn

Chef Anthony Schulz welcomes guests eager to learn some trade secrets at CookInn classes

Chef Anthony Schulz shows how to make easy but impressive dishes at his “Summer Entertaining Foods CookInn Class,” June 29 and how to do perfect meal endings at “Summer Desserts CookInn Class,” Aug. 2. Each class is $55 and includes lunch and recipes.

Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls, 21190 State Route 374, Logan, Ohio 43138, 800-653-2557 (1-800-65-FALLS)

Hocking Hills information and lodging

Culinary Institute of America

Although the CIA is justly famous for training tomorrow’s top chefs, anyone can the take the school’s “Enthusiasts” classes. They are offered in three places: at the home site in Hyde Park, NY, at a longtime popular second branch in St. Helena, CA near the top of the Napa Valley, and at the institution’s newest site in San Antonio, Texas.

Classes have such enticing names as “CIA Favorites,” “Gourmet Meals in Minutes,” “Indian Feast” and “Spain and the World Table.”

Reservations must be made well in advance of a class because word has gotten out that these are a chance to go into CIA’s kitchens and learn some excellent culinary tips.

Combining a cooking experience with a trip to Napa Valley for a class may sound like a perfect weekend getaway, but really needs some advance planning.

“CIA Favorites” featuring recipes and dishes from The Culinary Institute of America Cookbook, currently has a waiting list for the class at Greystone in St. Helena on Feb. 5 but has openings for that Greystone class on June 11.

The $250 tuition for the class covers hands-on-cooking, demonstrations, tips, plating techniques, a CIA logo apron and cookbook.

If scheduling a CIA Enthusiats class doesn’t fit into the calendar you still can get the Culinary Institute of America Cookbook: Favorite recipes for the home chef, (Lebhar-Friedman Books, September 2008)

CIA Enthusiasts courses at Graystone, 2555 Main Stree, St. Helena, CA 94574

Napa information and lodging

The choosing and care of your holiday tree

Start a family holiday tree choosing tradition and find out how to care for your tree

Probably you are not looking for a tree quite as large as the 70 foot blue spruce that was donated by a McHenry County, Illinois family to Chicago as the city’s tree in Daley Plaza.

A 70 foot blue spruce from McHenry County now stands tall in Chicago's Daley Plaza

However, if you live in the Chicago area chances are there is a tree with your family’s name on it out in McHenry County. That is where corn and farm stands bump up against orchards and plant nurseries and a USDA report listed the county’s growers as harvesting more trees than elsewhere in the state.

At McHenry’s Richardson Farm in Spring Grove you can do more than merely search for the perfect tree. You can turn it into an experience.

Ride out to the trees and have fun finding just the right one. Cut yours down and hitch a ride back to have it shaken, baled and receive twine to tie it to your car. Oh, and be sure to have a donut and cup of hot chocolate or coffee before you leave.

Start a family tradition of finding and cutting the perferct tree

“Coming here is a family tradition,” says Carol Richardson who explained that families return there every year for their tree. “It’s the entire experience: going out in the wagon, choosing a tree, looking around for a wreath and sipping hot cocoa.”

However, before choosing be sure the tree will be happy in your household and look its best when most important.

Here are a few guidelines from Carol Richardson and from the farm’s website:

Before you head out, take a look at the photos and tree descriptions

Some trees have a longer life after cut than others. If set on getting a tree with a short cut life such as a Balsam fir or Norway spruce wait until a couple of weeks before Christmas to cut it. Also, ask or look for signs that recommend trees that last from Thanksgiving through Christmas.
After bringing your tree home make a fresh straight-across cut (not diagonal) about ½ inches from the original cut and immediately put the tree into water (warm is better the first time than cold.)
A water reservoir stand is best for the tree’s life but it still should be periodically checked so you keep the water level up. Some houses are drier than others which changes water evaporation time. Also trees drink water at different speeds. You can slow evaporation by placing the tree away from direct sunlight or a heating vent.
More guidelines

Richardson Farm, 9407 Richardson Road, Spring Grove, IL 60081 815-675-9729 For more tree farm locations see McHenry County or call McHenry County Convention & Visitors Bureau toll-free at 888-363-6177.

(Chicago tree photo courtesty of City of Chicago and trees at Richardson Farm courtesy of Richardson Farm)