A Day on the Pacific Ocean on the Royal Princess

Brittany and I slept well as the Royal Princess very calmly rocked us through the night. Unfortunately, we were also dealing with a time difference, so we were up a lot earlier than we planned.

It was too early for breakfast in the main dining room, so we got dressed and went to the International Café. This 24-hour coffee shop was one of the most popular places on the ship, with complimentary pastries, sandwiches, quiches, and other goodies. They also had specialty coffees, which were included in our Princess Plus Package.

Brittany chose a breakfast burrito and an iced coffee while I had a peanut butter banana sandwich and a latte. Both really hit the spot and the International Café would become a place we visited frequently during the cruise.

I was very curious about The Sanctuary on the ship and had arranged for us to have a tour of it before it officially opened for the day. The Sanctuary is an adults-only area with a relaxing vibe, a unique light menu, and other opportunities such as massages and chilled towels.

The Sanctuary has an extra charge for a full or half day. We were quite impressed with the facilities, and I found it fairly easy to navigate in my mobility scooter. We made arrangements to give it a try for an afternoon later in the week.

We left there and headed to the Princess Theater for the introductory Naturalist Seminar. I was actually working on a story on naturalist Robert Raincock, and we were generally interested in knowing more about his role on the cruise.

The talk was extremely informative, and the large crowd was equally interested in learning about the cities and wildlife we were going to see over the next week. He also told us, though the chance was slim, we might see the Northern Lights and we could get on a list to be called if they were a possibility any night.

Although these phone calls would be in the middle of the night, he had a lot of people interested, including Brittany. This was the first of daily seminars he would do throughout the cruise.

The three of us went to the Horizon Bistro Buffet to talk more about Rob’s career and the many Princess cruises he’s been a naturalist for throughout the world. (This article, for a major cruise publication, is still in the works.)

We were quite hungry at this point and had lunch at the buffet. There were so many choices it was hard to follow what was where. We each took from a few different options. I have to say we were disappointed, but fortunately it would turn out to be the only meal we felt this way about aboard the Royal Princess.

Rob Raincock went back to work, and I went back to the room to do some social media and rest. Brittany did some exploring on her own, stopping for some tasty tacos at the Trident Grill before coming back to the room later in the afternoon.

It was formal night in the main dining rooms. We had originally agreed to do only one formal night later in the week, but the menu looked very good, and we decided to dress up a little bit and go there anyway. With the freestyle dining and Medallion App, it was just a matter of getting online and booking a table in the Concerto Dining Room for an hour later.

It was a good choice. Dinner was excellent, with appetizers of scallops for Brittany and arancini for me. I chose eggplant meatballs for dinner, and she had the prime rib. Dessert was a chocolate filled cake and cheesecake.

Since we had an early dinner, we had time to check out the Champagne in the Piazza, a tower of champagne glasses for passengers to enjoy on the first formal night.

We then went to the Wheelhouse Bar for  some classic cocktails. I had an old favorite, Dark & Stormy, and Brittany decided to try something new, a Melon Sour, with Matusalem Rum, Malibu Coconut Rum, melon liqueur, lemon, and pineapple.

The drinks were very good, but as much as we tried, we were still exhausted. We had been going since early in the morning and were not yet adjusted to the time difference.

We were up in the room a short time later, getting ready for sleep as we were starting the next day with 6:00 am arrival in Alaska and a busy full day in Juneau.

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I was hosted on this trip, but opinions are my own. 

Last Day Exploring Wildlife Prairie Park

My friend Joan and I had been enjoying Wildlife Prairie Park, just outside of Peoria, Illinois. It was a perfect post-pandemic trip with lots of space in the open air.

Brad Windsor, Volunteer Coordinator, and Sam Himegarner, Director of Hospitality, picked us up in the morning for another tour. The property is so big we still hadn’t seen it all between the first day tour and our previous day exploration.

Our first stop was to see Mike the bison. The 19-yer-old was once a movie star and now shares his home with Elsa the elk.

We took a look at the banquet hall. It can hold up to 200 people and the ability to both have a moonrise and sunrise over an open patio makes it an ideal wedding location.

I was impressed with Hazel’s Overlook. Beyond the spectacular views is Native American folklore plaques dedicated to Hazel Rutherford. She and her husband Bill were major benefactors of the park.

I was also happy to see the park is set up for accessibility in many areas. I was able to take my scooter on some of the trails and walkways.

Wildlife Prairie Park also has a Sculpture Garden. It is dedicated to blind children, who can “feel” sculptures to size of the actual animal.  The park also has a Touch Cabin that St. Jude Children’s Hospital set up for children with heart issues.

We also saw the Pioneer section, which has an original cabin and the actual one room schoolhouse used until 1959. Nearby there is a butterfly habitat which is worth a stop.

The park is a great place for locals to spend the day whenever they want, with a family membership of only $85 a year. Visitors from out of town should consider the accommodations for a few days, or even a week. You won’t get bored. They even have special events, including a Halloween Scary Park, throughout the year.

Joan and I bid farewell and headed into our Legacy Cabin to pack up. We were going to miss the new, spacious accommodation with a sunrise facing the bison pasture from the patio. It was fully furnished, including a modern kitchen.

Before heading home we stopped at  Trefzger’s Bakery, which has been making baked goods in Peoria for over 150 years. It didn’t not disappoint. It was really hard to choose what to get, but finally decided on a quiche, a raspberry cheese danish, their famous Thumbprint cookies, and a cinnamon bread that was perhaps the best I’ve ever had.

Wine and Wildlife in Central Illinois

The bison didn’t come out to greet me while I had my morning coffee on the patio, but there was definitely a sense of peacefulness to start my day with.  

 

My friend Joan and I were staying at this hidden gem in Central Illinois. Not only did we get to enjoy this enormous scenic part, but it was filled with (mostly contained) wildlife and we had a brand-new cabin to stay in where the bison roamed in Wildlife Prairie Park.

 

After breakfast and coffee, we took the car down to the main entrance and boarded the train. It’s a great way to get acquainted with the park. You’ll get a basic overview from the conductor as you pass through the highlights. 

There is also a stop at the Pioneer area and butterfly habitat. You can get off to explore and pick up a train later to go back to the station.

 

We met with Brad and Sam at the Visitors Center. It’s worth a stop as there’s a lot of information on the area, from how it figures into the history of American Agriculture to charts of the fish you can find in the area.

After a walk through the trail to check out some of the animals, we got into the jeep for a tour of the other accommodations the park has.

 

Tent campers are welcome at Wildlife Prairie Park, but you may want to think twice about roughing it once you see all the unique accommodations.

The Cabooses are perfect for families, especially younger kid. They were created from actual train cars and have bunk beds in them. 

There are Prairie Stable suites with patios that have two small bedrooms in them. Just outside, picnic tables are a great place for groups to meet, as is the recreation center.

In the same area are the cottages. I really liked the way these converted grain bins, with kitchenettes, faced the lake, making them ideal for kayakers and fishermen. Firepits and grills are also outside in front of the lake.

 

From there we headed to Kickapoo Creek Winery which is just a few miles away from the park.

The tasting room is spread out and welcoming, and the grounds are just beautiful, making them ideal for weddings and other events. They also participate in Harvest Hosts, a group that list wineries that allow for RV parking.

  

The wines here are also worth the trip. The Rose Blush was our favorite, strawberry and cherry flavored, and not overly sweet. The Sun Kiss was also terrific, and my friend Joan, more of a red lover than I am, went home with a bottle of the St. Croix.

 I couldn’t resist the Chocolate Raspberry, which has strong notes of my favorite treat.

Kickapoo Creek Winery also serves food and the menu is wide ranged. After sharing a spinach artichoke dip, I had a Turkey Rueben while Joan had the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich (served with a sesame ginger mayo). They were both delicious.

 

For dessert, we shared a Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake and Pecan Bourbon Pie, both of which were delicious.

We headed back to Wildlife Prairie Park for some rest on our patio. 

 

Before we had left for the winery, we met with Mike of the Mike’s Knot Just Ribs food truck, which parks by the Visitors Center. We took back a ton of barbecue for dinner.

We were still pretty full from lunch, but we did taste some amazing ribs, pulled pork nachos, coleslaw, beans, and macaroni & cheese. There were plenty of leftovers.

 

It didn’t take long before we were both exhausted from the day and headed to our bedrooms. We had a little more time the next day to see more of Wildlife Prairie Park.

A Wildlife Oasis in Illinois You Can Stay At

It wasn’t easy to make the decision to go on my first trip after the pandemic started. I am high risk and had been good about sheltering at home and only staying around people within my pod. I hadn’t even seen my family, with the exception of a few, short, outdoor visits with my mom, who lives nearby in an assisted living.

I was definitely ready to get out for a bit and, when researching outdoor activities in the outskirts of Peoria (I was going there to see my puppy, who wasn’t quite ready to go home), I came across the perfect place for a safe getaway.

Wildlife Prairie Park is in Hanna City, Illinois, about three hours from Chicago. It’s a tremendous 1,800 acres that offers a ton of outdoor activities for all ages and abilities. It also happens to have an unusual selection of accommodations,

My friend, Joan, and I met with Brad Windsor, Volunteer Coordinator, and Sam Himegarner, Director of Hospitality, at our accommodation for the next two nights. We were one of the first to stay in a new Legacy Cabin.

The cabins have everything needed, for a family to stay for a few days, or even a week. There’s a full kitchen, large living room (with flat screen cable tv), two bedrooms, and a full bathroom.

The most special thing about the cabin is the backyard. You can sit on your patio and sip coffee in the morning, or barbecue on the grill in the evening, while watching the bison and elk roam in the pasture.

It’s hard to believe the park has been open since 1978 and it’s not better known.

Brad and Sam took us around in a jeep to get acquainted with the surroundings, which we would explore more over the next two days.

The park has five lakes, most of which you can kayak and/or fish at. There are hiking trails that are accessible (I brought my medical scooter) and others that are for the more experienced.

There’s also disc golf, mountain biking, a 30-foot sliding board, an Adventure Trek behind the scenes tour, and, of course, lots of wildlife.

They try to keep it to wildlife indigenous to the Midwest. Among them are Longhorn bulls, a black bear, bison, elk, owls, eagles, and a groundhog, Gerdie. Brad pointed out that Gerdie has a better record at predicting the weather than Punxsutawney Phil does.

We ended the tour with plans to get together the next day and check out some of the specific areas of the park. Joan and I decided to head to downtown Hanna City and find someplace to eat.

I had read online about Gil’s Supper Club and it sounded like a good place for some comfort food. I was right.

Gil’s has outdoor and indoor (bench) seating and a very big menu. I rarely eat fried food, but when they told me the chicken had its own fryer, it sounded quite good. It was and the portion was huge. I only ate about half, saving it with the rest of my potato and coleslaw.

Joan had the fried shrimp, which she said was delicious. The menu also includes chicken and seafood combos, pork chops, tenderloin, burgers, and more. Even the kids’ menu has a varied selection.

We went back to the Wildlife Prairie Park and relaxed in the cabin before bedtime. We had a big day of exploring, and a visit to Kickapoo Creek Winery, coming up.