Great River Road Wine Trail, plus a Brewery

I had previously told you about the little mini-vacation my husband and I took going trout-fishing into the National Eagle Center and this was also part of that mini vacation to celebrate his birthday. We visited 4 places that made wine, cider, or beer. The above collages of some of the things we tried at each of the four places.

 This is Villa Bellezza. It is in Pepin Wisconsin. We had no idea what to expect from this place when we drove to it because the ad was very basic in the Guidebook and did not have pictures of the facility. But when we got there we were surprised to see that it was just gorgeous and looked like a mini Napa right in Wisconsin. Who knew? I will have more pictures of the grounds of this place in a wordless Wednesday post on Save Green Being Green in July. There was a wedding going on in the reception hall but we could walk around the grounds and see what they had their including a fountain and big Plaza area separate buildings for wine making and a lot of vines as well as a tasting room and they were in the process of construction of a restaurant on site. It is a pretty neat place. We did the wine sampling for $5 that includes your choice of three wines. And you also get to sample the wine of the month for free.

Next we drove about a half hour to go to Maiden Rock Winery & Cidery. One of the owners who was on site distributing free samples. They sell their own cider and wine as well as wines from other Midwest wineries. They also have a little gift shop there as well. The wine and cider tasting they offer for free includes five different samples. Since we were there we only wanted to try the things they made because we could try wines from other wineries at their location if we wanted to. We ended up buying a few bottles at this place.

This is just a picture of where they do the brewing at Maiden Rock. It is right off of The Tasting Room.

Next up was the Red Wing Brewery. We needed to get some food in our stomachs and the Red Wing Brewery is also a restaurant as well as growing their own beer and root beer. My husband tried a couple of the beers and I had the root beer. They were okay not spectacular, but what we really enjoyed was there homemade pizza that they use brewer's yeast in the crust. This is definitely something to check out if you are in Red Wing Minnesota.

Lastly as we were making our lop and starting to head back for home we went to Cannon River Winery. This place actually stays open quite late compared to all of the rest so we were able to go here and buy a sweet red as an after-dinner drink. Here we bought a bottle and had it while we were there. We have been to Cannon River Winery a couple times before and have done the same thing so we didn't feel the need to do it again. It was quite busy when we were there with a wedding upstairs and lots of groups of people enjoying wine on the main level. This is in Cannon Falls Minnesota

Rice Lake State Park in Owatonna, Minnesota

A couple weeks we decided to spend the afternoon out at Rice Lake State Park, which is just outside Owatonna, Minnesota. It is not a huge state park, but has manageable trails for hiking with kids and ample opportunities to observe a variety of different kinds of water fowl. They do have a couple of displays up that tell what typical water fowl visit Rice Lake and how to tell the difference between males and females. I am not really a bird person, maybe when I get older, but I can see why people find bird fascinating.

There were plenty of spring wild flowers in bloom. We were hoping to spot some morels while we were here, but were not lucky.

They do have an old school playground here that the kids like. So many playgrounds are big colorful plastic things, that these old ones are a bit more interesting.

They do have camping here - some campsites even overlook the lake, but we only came for the day. We have a State Park sticker on our vehicle (actually, we bought 2 so we have them on a vehicle at home and at the cabin) so we can just drive in for no additional fee, but otherwise it's only $5 for a vehicle admission.

They have quite a few canoes to rent here and 2 kayaks. We have been canoeing here a couple times and it is best to go in the spring or early summer, but late summer and into fall the reeds are too thick that it is hard to get out there.

This is not a deep lake, I think they say it is 3 feet deep across the whole thing. So there is no swimming here. But there is only one property on the lake besides state park, so it is very quiet and you will enjoy the serenity. In the winter they have groomed cross country skiing trails here and year round there are hiking club trails here.

The National Eagle Center and Trout Fishing

My husband recently had a milestone birthday and to celebrate the kids went to the In-laws and we had a weekend to ourselves. Today I am going to share with you a couple of things we did on the east side of Minnesota. Next week I will share with you the three wineries and one brewery that we went to on the east side of Minnesota and west side of Wisconsin. We also did those that same weekend.

The first thing we did was actually go trout fishing for a while at a designated trout stream just outside of Zumbro Falls. This was actually the first time we have ever gone stream trout fishing. Just so you know, you do need a trout stamp on your fishing license in the state of Minnesota, which we have. The stream was incredibly clear and we could see a lot of these tiny baby trout swimming around down the stream. However, I didn't catch anything. Maybe next time. It was a beautiful stream to fish in and see the beginning of Spring.

We also went to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha Minnesota. It is wonderfully affordable attraction that is a nonprofit organization. If you do go to this, make sure you plan enough time so you can watch the show, that is really the highlight of the center. We went there in the spring obviously but they said if we were to come back in the winter there are as many as ten times as many Eagles that call this stretch of the Mississippi River their winter home that fly self to Minnesota from Alaska and Canada. We want to take the kids back there sometime in the winter so we can see all of the Eagles there. It was still pretty amazing to see the half-dozen we did flying overhead as we were crossing the bridge from Minnesota to Wisconsin.

They do have their own resident eagles that no longer able to be in the wild because they no longer can fly because of injuries. They have them in a room and you can see them and only be about six feet away from them. It is pretty neat to be up that close to them. We have also seen and Eagle at the Zollman Zoo in Byron. At the National Eagle Center they had two bald eagles and one golden eagle that were for viewing. They brought in another bald eagle for the class presentation. Plus they mentioned a few other eagles that they must have housed somewhere else in the facility. The building is beautiful and they have a fountain that wasn't on but I can only imagine looks gorgeous once it is running. The national Eagle Center overlooks the Mississippi River which is an awesome site.

The Roasterie Air-Roasted Coffee Factory Tour in Kansas City

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The Roasterie Air Roasted Coffee factory tour was one of those Hidden Gem Vines that I had planned for our group of four on our girls weekend to Kansas City. This is in Kansas City Missouri. The tour is free to do and you can make a reservation for the tour on their website. I recommend making a reservation if you are hoping to do this as they do fill up and ours was pretty close to full.

The tour and question-and-answer period at the end are about an hour long total. At the end of the tour your guide will demonstrate a method of making coffee and answer any additional questions you may have. Everyone has the opportunity to sample a very small taste of the brewed coffee he just made. They also have a coffee shop on site was seeing both outdoors and indoors.

It is a very nice looking building on the inside and the outside. It appears they have the facilities to host some private events there as well. We each bought several bags of coffee and walked away with so much more knowledge about coffee, The Roasting method they use as well as the method they use for decaffeinated coffee and how to brew coffee as well as the shelf life of coffee then we ever thought we would know.

Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Garden in Kansas

Coming from Minnesota in mid April to the Kansas City region of Missouri and Kansas brings the treat of seeing a lot more green on the trees on the ground and colorful flowers.

We went to the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Garden as part of our fifth annual girls weekend. We had never been here before and this was actually the first time I can claim to have been to Kansas because our other trips here have kept us in Kansas City Missouri.

We are just hanging around with Monet. He is a pretty nice fella. Obviously, it is just a statue, and one of many statues within the Botanical Garden.

This is one of the displays in the train garden. The train garden is one of the big specialty gardens they have there. This is the larger of the display but the other one has a train that will run under the sidewalk you are walking on and you can see it below. There is also a Big Caboose there and a ticket station for kids to play in. There is also another area near this that allow kids to be Hands-On and play in the dirt.

Like I mentioned before it was a treat to see these flowers in full bloom. When I returned home from the trip, which was just a few days ago, I see that my tulips may be ready to open at the end of the week or sooner.

These two sculptures are called Dancer I and Dancer II. I just thought they were beautiful and looked so graceful.

I thought it was interesting to see the root structure of this tree along side the creek. You can see how low the creek is right now. They must really need water. Although when I drove by the river that run through our small town, it is looking pretty low as well.

They have a very handy visitors guide to help guide you through the gardens and on the handful of wood trim trails. We went on one of them along the creek but because we were wearing ballet flats and sandals we didn't walk all of them. Admission is only $3 for an adult which is quite a deal.

I just love this fairy garden made into a lot. It gives me an idea of something that would be fun to do with my daughter up at the cabin.

Hotel Palomar Chicago

I am not sure I will always share my thoughts about a hotel on here, usually just attractions we visit, but occasionally I will share about a hotel especially if we stay at one that is really worth telling about and the Hotel Palomar in Chicago is just that.

Hotel Palomar is a Kimpton boutique hotel. There are Palomars in other cities and other Kimpton's in Chicago, but what you need to know, there is really where the similarities lie as they are all individual and unique boutique hotels. This was the 3rd Kimpton we have stayed in (also Vero Beach, FL and River Place in Portland, OR) and we hope to stay in more of them. We have been very happy with this hotel company.

Anyways, I wanted to point out a few special things about Hotel Palomar. First of all, we had told them we would be celebrating our son's birthday while we were there so they set out all the snacks & drinks you see pictured above for all of us to enjoy (wine for mom and dad), plus they had little gift bags with items (like a small beach ball) to occupy the kids.

On another night, the delivered milk and cookies to the kids, which was really awesome. We stayed here 3 nights and were very happy.

The pool is lit up blue at night and off from the pool is an outdoor terrace with lots of seating and the wonderful nightline sky view you see pictured above.

Also, every evening they have a FREE wine hour from 5-6pm (every Kimpton does this but will vary with what they include) that included wine, lemonade and flat bread pizza. The picture above is of my son sitting there eating a snack and lemonade from the wine hour.

You should check out the other Kimpton Hotels where ever you are traveling and sign up for their Karma Rewards, which gets you free wifi, a birthday coupon, $10 raid-the-bar credit plus more just at the beginning level and then if you stay enough nights/places/stays, over time you will earn free nights.

Review: Harlem Globetrotters at Target Center in Minneapolis plus 25% OFF CODE

This is my son's first time experiencing a Harlem Globetrotters game. My husband and I both had attended games in our youth. We received complimentary tickets in order to complete a review of the Harlem Globetrotters game. No monetary compensation was received. All thoughts, opinions, and photographs are my own.

I think seeing a Harlem Globetrotters game is something that everyone should experience at least once. When I first saw them I was in high school and it was fun to watch but as a parent I had even more fun watching my kindergarten-age son be amazed and entertained by the game.

Given his younger age, he had an inclination to believe that everything that was happening was real and not just a show. He is very interested in going to see another game when they come back some time. Also, it is also AWESOME to see they have a female player on the team now.

While we were at the game, I bought him a basketball so he could go get signatures from some of the players. The basketball was $25, which is good to know for parents who are trying to know how much they have to spend. We saw the game at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Parking was accessible by the Skyway for $10. Both of these costs were out of my own pocket.

It was quite chaotic trying to get signatures so he ended up only getting two signatures. But he was happy with getting two, from Iceman and Torch. He will probably always remember their names since I was able to be close to them and get a signature.

It was cute to watch him continually add the points and watch the scoreboard and hoping they would win. The Harlem Globetrotters have a bunch of teams that travel all over so chances are you will be able to find a game near you soon. They might not be the same players who came to Minneapolis but you will get the same quality of show that we did which is highly entertaining. The entire show lasted about 2 hours. There was a halftime intermission that gave the opportunity for people to go buy basketballs or concessions.

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