Weathering this Midwest Winter

Connie Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin February 7, 2014March 20, 2014Illinois tourism, Indiana tourism, Iowa tourism, Kansas tourism, Kentucky tourism, Michigan tourism, Midwest Travel, Minnesota Tourism, Missouri tourism, Nebraska tourism, North Dakota tourism, Ohio tourism, South Dakota tourism, Wisconsin tourism 1 Comment

“I’m tired of this winter.” I’ve heard it over and over again for the past month. And I agree. It seems that every day, at least here in the Chicago area, we’ve been getting either more snow, making roads dangerous to navigate, or single-digit to sub-zero temperatures, so we can’t go out and enjoy snow activities. Of course, the obvious remedy is to go somewhere warm, and if you can do that, great. But for many, a vacation to a warm climate is impractical or even impossible. Besides, a week later, you’ll be back home in the snow and cold again. So aside from hibernating and counting the days until spring, here are a couple of ways to counter the cabin fever that has hit the Midwest hard:

Go to indoor events and attractions. On the days that are cold but the roads okay to drive on, go to a local museum that you haven’t been to in a long time. (Call first to make sure they haven’t closed due to the cold.) Or go to one of the many travel, RV, boat, auto, or home shows going on in cities all over the Midwest. You’ll find links to information on lots of them on the Midwest Festivals & Fairs page.

Plan your summer travel. Now is the time to plan your summer getaways. Get them on the calendar before your calendar fills up with other obligations. If you’re planning to go to a popular seasonal destination, you should make your accommodation reservations as soon as possible, too, for the best selection. Need help in deciding where to go? Turn to the convention and visitors bureaus of the states you are thinking about. On the Internet, search “[state name] tourism” to find the state’s official tourism site, which will have listings of attractions, accommodations, dining options, and events. You can order free hard copy travel guides for the states or regions you are considering for your getaways, too. I personally like to peruse the hard copy guides from the cozy comfort of a sofa and then use the Internet to get further details on places that interest me. To get you started, I’ve included links below to order tourism guides for the Midwest states.

Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio
South Dakota
Wisconsin

Just thinking about and planning your summer getaways will do wonders to counter the winter doldrums. Do you have other suggestions for cabin fever remedies? Answer in the Comments box below.

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Other attractions you may enjoy this winter:

Peoria Riverfront Museum: Interactive Exhibits, Planetarium and Giant Screen Theater

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, Springfield IL: Museum Meets Disney

Frank Lloyd Wright Dana-Thomas House: 12,000 Square Feet of Phenomenal

Visit Jelly Belly, Pleasant Prairie WI: Take the Tour, Taste the Candy

Tour Stone Hill Winery, Hermann, MO: Most Historic and Awarded Winery in the State

Peoria Riverfront Museum: Interactive Exhibits, Planetarium and Giant Screen Theater

Connie Attractions & Events, Illinois February 1, 2014February 23, 2017Illinois attractions, museum peoria il, museums in Illinois, museums in peoria il, Peoria IL museum, peoria il points of interest, peoria il theaters, Peoria Illinois, peoria museum, peoria museum theater, Peoria Riverfront, Peoria Riverfront Museum, peoria riverfront museum theater, peoria theaters, riverfront museum, riverfront museum peoria, riverfront museum peoria il, riverfront peoria, riverfront peoria il, theater peoria il, things to do in peoria il 1 Comment

We took our granddaughter to Peoria over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend mainly to see the top-notch East Peoria Festival of Lights. Looking for something to do during the day, we found the Peoria Riverfront Museum. The museum, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate, proved to be a great choice for both our granddaughter and us. With plenty of hands-on activities, the Dome Planetarium, and the Giant Screen Theater, you could spend hours in the museum. Read more

My Just Desserts, Alton IL: A Little Slice of Heaven

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois January 26, 2014December 28, 2017Alton Ilinois Restaurants, Alton Illinois, My Just Desserts 0 Comment

National Pie Day is behind us for another year, but who needs a special day to eat pie? My Just Desserts in Alton, Illinois, offers nine to thirteen different kinds of pies every day.

Ann Badasch started out selling antiques back when Alton boasted six blocks of antique shops. As the antiques business began declining about 25 years ago, Ann switched gears, opened My Just Desserts, and has been serving customers a little slice of heaven ever since.

The atmosphere of an antique store still exists in the restaurant, located in a building over 160 years old, with creaking hardwood floors, quilts for sale hanging on the walls, vintage mismatched tables and chairs, beverages served in Mason jars.

The food, though, is what people come for. My Just Desserts is open for lunch seven days a week, serving soups, salads and sandwiches. The half-pound Chicken Salad sandwich is so popular that the kitchen workers debone about 100 chickens a week, all done by hand.

With few exceptions, like the Chicken Salad and Tollhouse Brownies, the menu changes every day. Ann’s 150 pie recipes are rotated weekly, so with nine to thirteen varieties offered at a time, you’ll be surprised with new pie selections with every visit. I chose Lemon Truffle and enjoyed the tang of lemon offset by sweet creaminess and a light flaky crust. Among the other pies available the day I was there were Caramel Apple, Radically Cherry, and Peaches and Cream. Where does Ann get all of her recipes? “Customers,” said Ann. “I exchange a lot of pie recipes with my customers.”

Because of the constantly changing menu, there are no printed menus. Instead, the day’s offerings are written on chalkboards throughout the restaurant. When a dish or a pie is gone, it is erased from the boards. A tip that was given to me: Order your pie when you order your meal to avoid disappointment if the pie your taste buds were set on is erased from the board before you finish your lunch.

My Just Desserts, located at 31 E Broadway, Alton IL, is open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Check the web site’s Events section for special events like “Dinner with Mr. Lincoln’s Friends,” a four course meal from “Lincoln’s Table” to celebrate Abe Lincoln’s birthday, with entertainment provided by Alton Little Theater Costumed Actors.

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Lagomarcino’s Ice Cream Parlor & Confectionery, Quad Cities: A Nostalgic Treat

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois, Iowa January 22, 2014May 16, 2017Davenport ice cream shops, Ice cream parlor in Davenport, Lagomarcino's, Lagomarcino's Davenport, Lagomarcino's ice craem parlor, Quad Cities, Quad Cities ice cream parlor, Quad Cities Restaurants 0 Comment

When you walk into Lagomarcino’s in Moline, Illinois, you feel like you’ve taken a step back in time. Many of the furnishings in the ice cream parlor and candy store are originals from when the store opened in the early 20^th century. The furnishings are the only things that are original. The third generation of the founding family keeps recipes as original as possible in this old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Read more

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, Springfield IL: Museum Meets Disney

Connie Attractions & Events, Illinois January 20, 2014April 2, 2018Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, Illinois attractions, Lincoln Museum, Springfield, Springfield IL attractions, Springfield Lincoln attractions, Things to do in Springfield IL 4 Comments

I had heard that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum was “really awesome,” but I thought, “How awesome can a museum be?” I knew there were some really neat Lincoln artifacts and exhibits, and for years museums have been making exhibits more interactive with use of “please touch” buttons to activate audio, and more recently, touch screen computers. So although I knew the Lincoln museum would be a pleasant experience, my level of anticipation wasn’t set all that high. Was I ever wrong! The first time I visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum I was astonished at the awesome use of special effects. It turns out that one of the museum’s designers was a former Disney animatronics engineer. Read more

Robert Wadlow, World’s Tallest Man

Connie Attractions & Events, Illinois January 9, 2014January 4, 2016Alton Illinois, Alton Museum of History and Art, guinness world records tallest man, how tall is robert wadlow, Illinois attractions, robert p wadlow, robert pershing wadlow, robert pershing wadlow biography, robert pershing wadlow shoe size, robert persing wadlow, robert wadlow, robert wadlow as a child, robert wadlow biography, robert wadlow death, robert wadlow disease, robert wadlow enfant, robert wadlow facts, robert wadlow hand size, robert wadlow hands, robert wadlow height, robert wadlow jr, robert wadlow museum, robert wadlow shoe, robert wadlow shoe size, robert wadlow shoes, Robert Wadlow Statue, robert wadlow tallest man, robertwadlow, tallest in world, tallest man guinness world records, tallest man robert wadlow, the longest man on earth, the tallest man on, the world tallest, wadlow robert, world tall, worlds tallest boy 0 Comment

At 8’11.1″, Robert Wadlow was the tallest man who ever lived, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. At birth he weighed a normal eight pounds, but due to a pituitary gland disorder, he grew quickly. By the time he was eight years old, he was over six feet tall. Read more