To celebrate our 14th anniversary, Shae and I decided to book a three night stay at the Kimpton Gray Hotel in Chicago. We had three free night certificates from renewing our IHG credit cards and the Kimpton Gray seemed to offer the best value based on the room rate during our … [Read more...] about Review: Kimpton Gray Hotel, Chicago IL
Pet-Friendly Things To Do
Dog’s Day Out At The Kirk Park Dog Beach Near Grand Rapids, MI
Puppers. As far as the eye could see. Our day at Kirk Park Off-Leash Dog Beach was about as close to pawfection as my life can get. Sun? Check. Sand? Check. Clear, warmish water? Check. Our little family? Check. Dogs of all shapes and sizes having fun and being so … [Read more...] about Dog’s Day Out At The Kirk Park Dog Beach Near Grand Rapids, MI
Review: The Mitten Brewing Co., Grand Rapids MI
I'm not particularly adventurous when it comes to pizza. I tend to go for whichever option has the most different kinds of meat and have them go light on the cheese. However, when meeting up with friends for dinner and drinks at The Mitten Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, … [Read more...] about Review: The Mitten Brewing Co., Grand Rapids MI
Review: Country Inn & Suites Manteno, Illinois
When exploring our options for using hotel points in Illinois, I noticed that the Country Inn & Suites Manteno would be good value. Neither of us had heard of Manteno before, but when checking Google Maps could see that it was near Kankakee State Park, so there was at … [Read more...] about Review: Country Inn & Suites Manteno, Illinois
Hiking The Rock Creek Trail In Kankakee River State Park, Illinois
While staying in nearby Manteno, we visited Kankakee River State Park to hike the Rock Creek Trail. The Rock Creek Trail is a two mile loop which includes a cave and "waterfall" (you'll see later why that's in quotation marks). The dog-friendly trail itself is easy as it's … [Read more...] about Hiking The Rock Creek Trail In Kankakee River State Park, Illinois
Visiting Perry Farm Park, Bourbonnais IL
After leaving the somewhat boring city of Peoria, we headed northeast to the much smaller Illinois village of Manteno. Due to its size, we were a little concerned that there might not be that much to do in the area, but we needn't have worried. In fact, Manteno and the nearby … [Read more...] about Visiting Perry Farm Park, Bourbonnais IL
Review: Candlewood Suites Peoria At Grand Prairie, Illinois
We decided to stay six nights in Peoria on our 50 state road trip as we got a great deal at the Candlewood Suites Peoria at Grand Prairie using our points. It turns out that six nights was about five nights too long as Peoria was pretty boring. Still, that's not the fault of … [Read more...] about Review: Candlewood Suites Peoria At Grand Prairie, Illinois
5 Non-Boring Things To Do In Peoria, Illinois
I'll be honest - Peoria, Illinois was a bit of a snoozefest. We spent six nights there on our 50 state road trip as we got a great deal on a hotel using our points. The only problem was that there didn't seem to be all that much fun stuff to do there. By the end of the six … [Read more...] about 5 Non-Boring Things To Do In Peoria, Illinois
15 Things We Loved About Savanna, Illinois
Having spent six weeks in Wisconsin on our 5 year, 50 state road trip, we crossed the border and headed to Savanna, Illinois - the first city we'd be visiting in our 7th state. Ending up in Savanna was something that happened randomly. We'd already planned out the other cities … [Read more...] about 15 Things We Loved About Savanna, Illinois
Here’s Our Best & Worst Things From Wisconsin
Shae and I recently finished up a six week stay in Wisconsin, the sixth state on our 5 year, 50 state road trip. During that time, we stayed in seven different cities - Milwaukee, Green Bay, La Crosse, Wausau, Eau Claire, Phillips and Madison. Neither of us had visited … [Read more...] about Here’s Our Best & Worst Things From Wisconsin