Ice castles, Winterfest, cooking classes, cocktail contest
End-of-year holidays are history, so now what can preoccupy your time and mind? Opening as soon as weather allows, likely mid to late January, is […]
Virtual holiday tastes of the world
No one I know is traveling internationally these days, except in their imagination or through fond memories. My last big trip, one year ago, was […]
Holiday shopping? Buy the book
Well-woven words will always hold value, regardless of whether they are assembled in a publication you can touch, page by page, or scrolled on a […]
Take Ten: Give thanks
Back in January, before we had a clue about the global plight that would unfold, I decided to begin the new year with an overnight […]
Popcorn: kernels about the harvest
Goodbye, sweet harvest of summer. Hello, autumn pickings, for hot popping all year. Sweet corn commands intense attention because of the short turnaround between plucking […]
Winning Bloody Marys, craft brews, wines
Do you turn the Bloody Mary into a meal? Judge quality by the kick of spice in a juiced-up glass? Prefer properly pickled garnishes over […]
Little Lanesboro, and the river that runs through it
Much of the allure of little Lanesboro, Minn. – 50 miles west of La Crosse – is about the river that runs through it. Root […]
Fast Five: Small towns, big personalities
Earlier this year, Oprah’s “O” magazine introduced “60 charming American towns you haven’t heard of but should visit,” and not one Wisconsin locale made the […]
Classic cars, Harleys, mazes, container bar
Lovers of nostalgia and simpler times, this one’s for you. Grand Geneva Resort and Spa, Lake Geneva, has partnered with American Classic Rental to loan […]
Take Ten: awesome art environments
Restless but uneasy about mingling with lots of strangers during this pandemic year? Then gas up for a road trip around rural Wisconsin, to roam […]
A big cheese, private dining, new zoo baby
My dairy farmer father for many years held a side job: hauling milk (stacked in steel cans, no less) by the truckload from the neighborhood […]
Travel cancellations: Lessons learned
Gone, officially, is any hope of hopping the border with four longtime girlfriends for a summer vacation in Canada. Sadly, we are relieved. Weekly day […]
Tulsa: from affluence to agony
My first job outside of Wisconsin was at the now-defunct Tulsa Tribune in Oklahoma, which seems like a lifetime ago and marked the start of […]
2020: year of the drive-in for food, fun
A burger would be on my short list for best last meal on Earth. Not just any meat slinger’s burger, but a perfectly seasoned, chargrilled […]