Girlfriend getaways
Art al fresco
When warm weather arrives, art fairs start to pop up everywhere.
We all know what summer means — days at the beach, boat rides, marshmallow roasts . . . and shopping.
Not at malls but under the little white tents that pop up wherever there's a festival, on the shores of lakes, in parks and on picturesque town squares.
That's where the region's most accomplished potters, glass makers, jewelers, painters, weavers and photographers bring out their wares and make themselves available to whoever cares to stop — customers, passersby, admirers.
Spring weekends for women
In shopping towns and woodsy retreats, April and May are prime time for girlfriend getaways.
In spring, women's weekends pop up like daffodils.
Chalk it up to cabin fever — women just want to get away. Or, perhaps more accurately, tourist-starved destinations want women to get away.
In 2013, the Lake Michigan town of Holland is first out of the pack with Girlfriends Weekend March 1-3. The famous tulips won't be out, but hotels offer specials, and a package includes a breakfast buffet, champagne brunch, fashion shows, concerts, clinics and swag bags.
Great shopping towns
Few shoppers can resist these Shangri-Las of spending.
Some people may guess that lakes or bicycle trails are the chief attraction for travelers in the Upper Midwest. Other might say museums, state parks or stadiums.
Wrong, wrong and wrong. The No. 1 attraction in travel is . . . shops.
Shopping is sightseeing for a lot of people. On vacation, they shop not as they would at the local mall, but as if had all the time in the world to browse, stroll and sample.
Galena getaway
In northwest Illinois, this historic village is a favorite destination.
In the grand scheme of things, Galena, Ill., was destined to be a flash in the pan.
The flash came from the shiny lead sulfide upon which the town's fortunes were built in the 1830s, '40s and '50s; galena is the Latin word for the ore.
It made many people rich, and in the 1850s, Galena, three miles from the Mississippi, was the busiest port between St. Paul and St. Louis.
Jolly Cedarburg
In southeastern Wisconsin, a historic village has perfected the art of the party.
When a small town is about as pleasing as can be, what else can it do?
Why, make sure everyone notices, of course.
In 1972, an old Yankee mill town just north of Milwaukee started a Wine & Harvest Festival. Two years later, it started Winter Festival. Eight years after that, it started Strawberry Festival. And people poured into Cedarburg by the thousands.
November girlfriend getaways
When hunting season starts, women head out to have fun with their friends.
In November, women make a break for it.
As men sit in deer stands or watch football games on TV, women hit the road with their friends. They shop, they visit spas, they sip wine and they see shows their husbands or boyfriends don't want to see.
For women, November is a great month. Not only do they have a good excuse to get away with their friends, but it's time to
start shopping for Christmas. There are art fairs and holiday markets everywhere; Madison has them on three weekends in a
row.
12 months of girlfriend getaways
Here are the best places to go for a good time in all four seasons.
In travel these days, girlfriends rule.
They shop, they sip, they splurge. No wonder every resort, spa and tourism bureau is touting "girlfriend getaways,'' trying to reel in the roving groups of women who are out spending quality time with each other.
Galena advertises pajama parties, makeovers and massages. Chicago plugs "shoes, shoes, shoes.'' In Door County, Sturgeon Bay
hosts a Groovin' Sisterhood Weekend in April.
50 great girlfriend getaways
Looking for ideas? Here are fun trips for every season.
When women want to find the perfect travel companions, they know where to look: each other.
On the road, women can be more adventurous and spontaneous than they are at home. They also tend to laugh a lot more.
I've traveled with friends, sisters and nieces more than 50 times in the last 20 years. We like to do all kinds of things: Amish tours, eagle-watching, horseback-riding, tennis camp and tubing at indoor water parks and on rivers.
Autumn in the studios
On fall art tours, treasure hunters find vivid colors everywhere they look.
When country artists hang an "Open'' sign on their studios, it's time for seasoned shoppers to hit the road.
Around the region, art-studio tours have been springing up, beckoning art patrons into the countryside just as fall leaves change color.
It's the perfect meeting of minds and pocketbooks — shoppers get to chat with the artists, and artists get to sell right out of their studios.
Wine walks on the Wisconsin
On a fall girlfriend getaway, we hike, eat and sip our way along the river valley.
For some people, “Wisconsin wine” is a puzzling concept, like “New York nice.’’
But grapes do grow in Wisconsin, primarily on the high ridges of the Wisconsin River, near its confluence with the
Mississippi. There, vines bask in sunlight and frosts sink into valleys.
What vintners can’t grow they truck in from other states, adding a Wisconsin je ne sais quoi to the grapes during blending, fermentation and aging.
Tippling into fall
In November, taste the fruits of the harvest on wine trails.
As fall winds down on forest trails, the season is just gearing up on wine trails, where groups of wineries invite folks to take a little drive, sample the wares and maybe take home a few bottles.
Since wineries tend to be in very scenic areas, that’s not such a bad idea. And in November, many offer special events to put buyers in the holiday spirit.
Here are wine trails in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan that have planned events in the fall of 2012.
Best shopping towns for weekenders
Cute, compact, accommodating — these are good spots for girlfriend getaways.
There are certain towns that are so adorable and have so much that appeals to tourists that you just have to call them show
towns.
They're real towns, of course, but they're always on their best behavior because tourists are always watching, and many have evolved in lockstep with tourism.
There's no question about what goes on the top of this list — Galena, Ill. This 1850s lead-mining boom town snoozed for a
century before it was rediscovered and turned into a playground for weekenders, especially from Chicago.
Where the girls are
At vacation spots everywhere, women are on the lookout for fun. Here's how to plan a getaway.
Everywhere I go, I see groups of women out having fun. Women on bikes. Women on skis. Women shopping, sightseeing and
sampling.
Often, they're wearing the tell-tale colors of the Red Hat Society, a loose-knit organization of older women whose mission is
to have fun.
One June, I spotted three of them at Strawberry Festival in Cedarburg, Wis., having some laughs over a bottle of strawberry wine. They'd driven up from the southern Wisconsin town of Orfordville for the day, one of many trips they take throughout the year.
Power shopping in Wisconsin
On a late-fall foray, six bargain hunters find treasure amid scenery.
Down comforters, to nestle all snug on a bed. Fleece stockings, to wear with care. Bowlsful of jelly, and a shop full of toys.
These visions were enough to draw six Minnesota women toward the rolling folds of southwest Wisconsin, holiday lists in hand.
Until that trip, my friends and I never had thought of ourselves as power shoppers.
"Wow, I've never done this before,'' marveled my friend Mary, looking on as three of us tried futilely to close the lid of the bulging car-top carrier. "I've heard about women who do this.''
Cuyuna lode
In an old mining area, friends go prospecting for antiques.
Out in the countryside, fall is a good time to go hunting.
There's so much to scout out — autumn colors, new trails, interesting shops. Lots of people head for the river valleys, to orchards on the St. Croix and towns along the Mississippi.
But one October, two girlfriends and I headed north instead. And in an overlooked part of the state, between Brainerd and Mille Lacs, we found a rich vein of fun.
Minneapolis spa getaway
A group of girlfriends find a bargain in their own back yard.
In winter, a spa getaway sounds like just the thing.
Relax, rejuvenate and renew. Cleanse the skin, clear the mind. Get rid of stress and enter a portal to tranquility.
Like a lot of women, I thought a spa vacation would make a good girlfriend getaway, a relaxing break in routine.
© Beth Gauper, 2007 - 2013 all rights reserved
