Food, Discovery, and Wakeboarding in Rockford

The Go Rockford Convention & Visitors Bureau set me up with a full schedule of things to do in Rockford. Fortunately, I had Brittany and Amanda to help me out.

One of the facts we were learning about Rockford is about the large Norwegian and Swedish population that came here. There was a direct link from Ellis Island to Rockford, Illinois, because of the industry here and many of those immigrants established  themselves and remained in the area.

 

Our breakfast was at The Norwegian, known for authentic food, homemade jams, and even their own mocha sauce (delicious in a mocha latte). They also have a stage for music. 

We had our first taste of Æbleskiver, Danish pancake balls. They were quite good, as was the omelet and steak & eggs.

 

After breakfast we drove to Riverfront Museum Campus. We started at the Discover Center Museum. It’s a great family outing as the exhibits appeal to all ages. 

There are also plenty of hands-on activities to keep kids busy, such as a two-story maze and rope climbing.

The Discover Center Museum also honors Astronaut Janice Voss, a Rockford native, and has learning experiences about hospitals and agriculture.

I set Brittany and Amanda to explore the Burpee Museum of Natural History. They are most known for their dinosaur exhibits, some of which were created by skeletons found by the museum’s own researchers.

Rockford’s Museum Campus also has an Art Museum, but we didn’t have time to go there.

Our next stop was the most anticipated of the day: West Rock Wake Park. I had never heard of wake boarding in Central Illinois and this place has it organized for all ages and skills.

The activity is best described as a combination of water skiing, surfing, and ziplining, as you are holding on to a rope as you balance on a board in the water. 

According to my companions, it is easier than it sounds, and I have to agree with their assessment since they were up riding within a short time of their lessons.

Both loved it and definitely want to do it again.  After taking lessons and mastering the ability to stand up on your own, you can by a season pass at West Rock Wake Park and come as often as you’d like. You do not need to buy any equipment as passholders can use the boards, vests, and helmets at the park.

I was impressed with the attention to those with special needs here, as told to me by a mother who  brings her autistic son regularly for lessons. She said he has thrived since the regular wakeboarding.

After showers and rest time back at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, we had dinner at Lino’s. The family-owned restaurant, which has been in Rockford over 40 years, gave us an amazing, authentic Italian meal, something I don’t get a lot of in the Midwest (unless I cook it).

We started with a liter of their house Chablis and Lino's salad, which included Italian sausage, along with garlic bread. Brittany and Amanda raved over the Shrimp Dejonghe Appetizer, followed by spaghetti and meatballs and chicken parmigiana. I thought the lasagna was wonderful.

It was another full and fun day in Rockford, and we were looking forward to another one coming up.  

Ready for Rockford

I was looking for someplace not too far to go for a last-minute trip. I had never been to Rockford, Illinois, and a quick look at the tourism website showed me there was a lot to do there.

After getting in touch with Andrea Cook, the CVB’s Associate Director of Marketing & Communications, I found out there was more than I ever imagined.

Andrea put together a great itinerary for Brittany, Amanda, and me. It had the right amount of adventure for them and accessible and enjoyable things for me. We also had a big selection of restaurants to try out together.

Our home for the weekend was the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center.  The location was central to the places we were visiting, and our room was big for a standard hotel room.

We had lunch at Mary’s Market Café & Bakery. The description is in the name as there was plenty to chose from. Everything there was made from scratch, including a variety of breads, and used mostly local ingredients.

The sandwiches were very good and Brittany raved about her fish tacos. I really enjoyed the Watermelon Cucumber Mint Fruit Refresher with my turkey sandwich. We had some chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

One of the things that surprised me about Rockford is all the parks and beaches they have. We couldn’t possibly go to all of them. A stop at the 3,000-acre Rock Cut State Park satisfied a kayaking urge for my friends, and Brittany even saved a little girl’s plastic unicorn boat while on one of the lakes.

After a break at the hotel and a chance to change, we took a walk through the Downtown City Market, which is open Fridays, from June 5th through September 25. The market has some hot food, but also products from nearby vendors such as Raines Honey Farm, Rockford Art Deli, and Bear Moon Soap.

We then went a few blocks to the very popular restaurant, Octane InterLounge, which has been in Rockford for 20 years. This would be the first of many Cheap Trick related stops in Rockford, the place the band got started.

Robin Zander’s son, Ian, worked here for a while. They are also well-known for the Budokon Burger. I concur that the concoction of a beef burger with pineapple, roasted onion, and white cheddar, with teriyaki aioli, was delicious.

We also loved the Pork Dumpling appetizer, which we paired with some of their specialty cocktails, including the Espresso Martini and Ginger Pineapple.

Brittany and Amanda liked their flank steak and seafood pasta choices too.

When it came time for dessert, the choices made it tough, so we decided to get three different ones and share.

The Chocolate Crepe Cake, Nutella Peanut Butter Bao, and Chocolate Nachos (Do you note a theme?!) were all fantastic.

We were pretty tired and had a very full day coming up, so we headed right back to the Radisson Hotel in Rockford for a good night’s sleep.

Amusement Park Fun and Special Cocktails in Branson

It was the last full day in Branson for Marsha, Brittany, Amanda, and I. We had a full day of fun planned, as well as a very special nighttime celebration.

We were up and out of the Radisson Hotel Branson early to head to Silver Dollar City, one of Branson’s most popular attractions.

I expected an amusement park, but I also got a period attraction that reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg.

Silver Dollar City has as many depictions of historical sites as rides, including period costumes and vehicles, an old school house, animals, walkways that looked like streets from long ago, woodworkers, a glassware maker, a pottery store, and other shops that had a lot more than your typical theme park souvenirs.

The park also has lots of shows, such as “Mean Murphy Rides Again” at the Saloon, McHaffie’s Homestead, and the Silver Dollar City Street Troupe. They also have seasonal shows in the fall and Christmas shows in December.

Unlike most amusement parks, Silver Dollar City is open through January 1^st each year, and then re-opens in March. 

You can also purchase a triple ticket during the summer to include admission to Whitewater Water Park and the Showboat Branson Belle  (which we had done a few days before) dinner cruise at a discount rate.

We started with breakfast at Eva & Delilah’s Bakery. It was hard to choose free the pastries, breads, brownies, cookies, Danishes, and cupcakes.

We ended up with a cinnamon roll and sticky bun to share, and some fresh coffee to go with them.

There is no shortage of food at Silver Dollar City, from sit-down and buffet restaurants to stands for funnel cakes, sidewinder fries, tater twists, ice cream, candy, and fudge.

Marsha and I wondered around exploring while Brittany and Amanda hit the rides: 

The Giant Barn Swing, Thunderation Wooden Roller Coaster (called “the world’s most daring wood coaster” since it has three upside down twists), Firefall, and the Firespotter Roller Coaster.

We all did the train ride at Silver Dollar City, which stops for a comedy skit along the way, and the Fire in the Hole ride.

We were all very hungry and decided to go to Molly’s Mill Restaurant for the buffet luncheon. It was good and quite filling, with fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, a salad bar, a pasta bar, and more.

It was a very hot day and we were ready to go over to Whitewater Water Park. Marsha and I again took the relaxing route, spending time on the Lazy River before enjoying one of the many lounge chairs in the sun with an afternoon ice cream treat.

Brittany and Amanda went through the Pipeline Plunge, Surf’s Up Wave Pool, Kalani Towers, and Kapaui Plummet.

We headed back to the Radisson Hotel Branson in the evening. We had a late night planned and all napped for a while before dressing up.

The plan was to head to Crazy Craig’s Cheeky Monkey Bar at 10:00 and have dinner, and be there at midnight for a 21^st birthday toast to Brittney.

Unfortunately, there was a bit of a mix-up with the PR rep as far as the Missouri laws were concerned. No one under 21 was allowed in the bar between 10 and midnight.

Another wrench in our plans was the fact that Branson is just not a late-night dinner town. The only place we found open for the birthday dinner was the International House of Pancakes!

We actually had fun with breakfast for dinner at IHOP and made it back to the Cheeky Monkey at 11:45.

While Brittany waited outside the door with Amanda (who had turned 21 a few weeks before), Marsha and I got the drinks ready and talked to Craig, the bar’s owner. 

He told us about his journey as a farm boy from Nebraska to Washington, DC, Panama, Costa Rica, and more, including where the monkey came from (you can read the whole story on the back of the menu in the picture).

At exactly 12:01 am, Craig personally escorted Brittany into the bar for her first official cocktails.

I picked the Cheeky Monkey Bar because of the fun atmosphere and interesting cocktails. It seemed as if every one of them made it to the birthday girl at our table! Including these:

Cheeky Monkey

Cruzan Mango, Guava, banana, and Coconut rums with a splash of tropical juices.

A Monkey’s Uncle

Svedka Raspberry Vodka, Svedka Mango Pineapple Vodka, Cranberry Juice, sour mix, and a splash of Sprite.

Grass Monkey

Cruzan Coconut rum, Deykuper Melon Liqueur, pineapple juice, sour mix, and a Cruzan 151 floater.

We closed down the bar at 2:00 am and headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep. We had some more birthday celebrating to do for the last day of our trip in Branson, Missouri. 

My First Trip to Branson, Missouri

Branson, Missouri has been on my list of places to visit in the Midwest for years. Since it was a bit of a drive (about seven hours) and there is a ton to see and do there, I wanted to make sure there was enough time.

I planned the time and the crew for a perfect five days girls’ getaway, that would end with an extra-special birthday.

Brittany has traveled with me many times, but this was my friend Marsha’s first adventure with us. Marsha and I had actually met on social media when I saw we had mutual friends and a very similar name.

She’s Marsha Lynne and I’m Marcia Lynn. As we became closer, our friends started referring to us as ML1 and ML2. So, this was the first of many trips for ML^.

We picked up Amanda in Alton, Illinois, and decided our lunch stop was going to be our favorite barbecue place in Missouri, SuperSmokers in Eureka.

Their BBQ Nachos, corn chips topped with brisket, chicken, pulled pork, tomatoes, cheese, and baked beans, are not to be matched anywhere.

We over-ordered as usual and took the leftovers to go as we hit the road to Branson.

The trip went smoothly and we checked into our hotel for the next four nights, the Radisson Hotel Branson. It’s a very large hotel and has a lobby welcoming families and groups with seating areas and plenty of information available on everything to do in the area.

We had two adjoining rooms with two beds each (the Radisson is very accommodating to families). We also had refrigerators in the rooms which were perfect for drinks and leftovers.

The hotel is in the center of this resort town, filled with restaurants, hotels, and attractions. It was just a few minutes from our first activity, the Legends in Concert show.

I had only been to one other Legends in Concert show before (on a cruise ship) and this was much better than I expected.

Marsha and I had some fun posing with the Blues Brothers statues inside before grabbing some popcorn and settling into the very large Dick Clark Theater.

Dancers welcomed us first, followed by the impersonators. Each had a chance to do multiple songs.

The Brooks and Dunn singers started were first, looking like the originals and finishing with a wonderful tribute to Vets, with the American Flag in the background.

The Blues Brothers performers were not only right on, but they encouraged audience participation, making for a very funny performance.

Elvis didn’t look much like the Mr. Presley, but he certainly sounded and danced like him.

The Michael Jackson impersonator was a perfect choice in every way, including when it was time to moon walk.

I was disappointed when the Celine Dion came out because she didn’t look anything like her, but when she started belting out the tunes, it didn’t matter.

Every month there is a different additional performer and we were lucky enough to see the Bruno Mars impersonator, who was great at and off the piano.

The show ended with all the performers singing and dancing.

They had one of the Blues Brothers cars, as well as the Car from Cars. Inside the museum they show all 7 cars from Fast & Furious, as well as vehicles from Transformers, and Back to the Future.

Before we left the parking lot, we Looked around at the outside cars from the adjacent Celebrity Car Museum & Attraction.

Since we had a big, late lunch, we never did have dinner. We discovered the one thing Branson doesn’t have is restaurants open late.

It was a good excuse for some Dairy Queen comfort food, before we headed back to the Radisson for a good night’s sleep. It would be a full next day in Branson.

Michelin Star Dining and Radisson Blu Exploring

My stay at the brand new Radisson Blu Aqua in Chicago continued with a full tour of the property and a chance to experience two Michelin Star restaurants in one day.

The day started with a healthy fruit-filled breakfast in the Radisson Blu business center. The behind the scenes tour took us everywhere through this building, designed by Jim Hamilton down to the long, single piece fireplace and carpet that represents and aerial view of Chicago and sits in the lobby.

While the whole place is modern, warm and attractive, I was most impressed with the fitness facility. I have never seen anything like it at a hotel – 8,000 square feet of the latest exercise equipment; indoor and outdoor swimming pools; a spa area; an outdoor running track; and a basketball court. It fits in perfectly with the Magellan Complex neighborhood (also referred to as Lakeshore East), where a six acre park provides plenty of open space for walking.

Meghan Risch of the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau came by again to give us another presentation on Chicago. Even though I’ve been living in Illinois for three years now, I don’t get into Chicago often (or stay long enough) so I really appreciate the information.  I didn’t know, for example, that you can explore the cities attractions either free or cheaply by bus, trolley or water taxi. Or, that there are more James Beard winners at restaurants in Chicago than any other city in the country.

It was a short while later that we were at the restaurant of one of those, Naha. Carrie Nahabedian is the award-winning chef at this restaurant and she has been a pioneer in the female chef movement in Chicago. Together with her cousin Michael Nahabedian she runs this Mediterranean influenced eatery, which holds a Michelin Star and focuses on the contemporary. The duo also prides themselves on working with many local farmers to bring sustainable ingredients in season.

The wine selection at Naha is also unusual and I loved the Moschofilers, a Greek grape that is full of citrus, especially grapefruit. I started with a wonderful soup of Long Island Cheesecake Squash with crisp parsnip, mascarpone cheese and crushed pistachios. It was a good combination of slightly sweet and a bit salty.

Many in our group ordered the signature Naha BLT with homemade thick bacon. I chose the Braised Pork Shank after being fascinated by its description – off the bone with 3 Sisters Garden white corn polenta and Roasted Brussel sprouts with golden chanterelles. It was as flavorful as it sounds and I was quite satisfied with my choice.

The desserts were just as interesting, though I have to say I liked my choice the least (fortunately, we had a group the liked to pass things around for all to taste). It was a Bittersweet Chocolate Pave with a milk chocolate beignet and chocolate cream pinot noir ice cream and shaved French Autumn Perignord Truffles. It was really excellent, except for the truffles, which I happily enjoy in everything – except ice cream.

We had some free time to explore the hotel (which has a must-see art gallery) before we headed off to dinner at Sepia, which like Naha had received a renewal of their Michelin Star for 2011. We started off with cocktails and I was very pleased with the Sepia Mule, ginger infused Moon Mountain Organic Vodka with ginger beer.

Our menu had been chosen for us, starting with a flavorful salad of salt roasted pear, hazelnuts, Tilston Point blue cheese and baby arugula in a white balsamic dressing. There were two choices for dinner. The first was a Pan Roasted Cod with butternut squash caponata and sage-walnut pesto which I was told was quite good. I had the Ale Braised Short Ribs with red cabbage and spaetzle in a mustard crème fraiche. The sauce was a bit rich, but I enjoyed the way the ale in the short ribs balanced the red cabbage and the spaetzle was cooked perfectly.

A 2009 Diez-Caballero Tempranillo from Rioja was a bit buttery like chardonnay, but not suffering from a severe oaking. For dessert, a Malted Milk Chocolate Mousse on Peanut Butter Crunch satisfied everyone’s sweet tooth.

Before our Chicago trip officially ended, we went to Blue Chicago for some wonderful live blues and I realized just how much more Chicago nightlife I needed to check out. Maybe on the next trip…