Indulgent retreats
Unwinding in Hayward
For guests, the comforts of this northwoods town belie its reputation.
From the beginning, Hayward has been a rough town.
It sprang up in Wisconsin's north woods along with the logging camps, and its saloons and brothels gave it a reputation that was reflected in a rail conductor's call: "All aboard for Hayward, Hurley and Hell!"
After resorts replaced logging camps, muskie wranglers joined lumberjacks as mythic figures.
Now they're cooking
For weekenders, rubbing elbows with a real chef is better than TV.
When some folks want to go out for dinner and a show, they make a beeline for Stephen Larson's kitchen.
At his restaurant QUARTER/quarter in the Minnesota bluff-country town of Harmony, the chef and his assistant-wife, "the beautiful and talented Lisa'' Flicker, offer cooking classes that are part magic show, part chemistry lab and part comedy routine.
"Steve and Lisa are the best,'' says frequent guest Carol Beastrom, who runs the Selvig House B&B in Harmony. "They work off each other; they'll make you laugh.''
Kohler's luxuries
In a tidy Wisconsin town, a family's reach stretches far beyond plumbing fixtures.
It all began with an enameled horse trough/hog scalder.
It grew into an empire that includes a five-diamond resort, a collection of upscale shops, an innovative art center, a foundation that rescues Wisconsin folk art and, in fact, an entire town that's so perfect it's almost eerie.
That horse trough evolved, too, into such products as the Body Spa, a futuristic shower stall with a waterfall and 10 jets that pummel tired muscles with 80 gallons of water per minute.
R&R in Rhinelander
An unusual spa is home base for a north-woods Wisconsin getaway.
When we’re stressed out, a lot of us think: Gotta go to a spa.
Not a day spa, where you’re anointed, kneaded and tossed back into the cold. No, a destination spa, where you lounge around in white robes and relax until you’re half paralyzed.
Not many of us can afford that kind of spa . . . unless it’s in Paul Bunyan land.
Rooms for romance
Here's where to go for the perfect getaway with your sweetie.
When anniversaries, birthdays and Valentine's Day roll around, swains everywhere wonder where to take their sweethearts to celebrate.
Of course, it has to be somewhere romantic. But what's romantic? To many, it's the floral Laura Ashley look, with lots of lace, patterned wallpaper and antiques.
To others, it's a rustic cabin in the forest, minus the heart-shaped whirlpool but with loads of privacy and atmosphere.
Inn retreats
If you don't like the weather, spend a weekend where everything is under one roof.
In winter, not everyone wants to get out and enjoy the great outdoors.
Many people would rather enjoy down comforters, hot toddies and a massage. Many people don't even want to look at snow and ice.
And that's possible at many inns and resorts. Some include a spa or dinner theater, others shops and restaurants, and a few
offer a whole weekend's worth of entertainment under one roof.
10 great ways to celebrate New Year's
Here are some fun ways to welcome 2012.
If you want a good way to greet the new year, plan a great getaway.
First, look around for a party. One fall, we saw that Cherish the Ladies was performing at DECC in Duluth on New Year’s Eve. Rooms were cheap — we got a room at The Suites on Canal Park for $90 — so we made a weekend of it.
After the concert, we continued the Irish theme downtown at the Dubh Linn Pub, where some of the performers joined us for a pint.
The gift of fun
Here are 10 presents that travelers can enjoy all year long.
It’s easy to give people more of the nice stuff they already have: sweaters, compact discs, fancy soaps.
But how about giving them a good time, instead? Memories, we’ve found, last much longer than material goods.
This season might be a good time to open some doors for family and friends by bestowing passes, kits, experiences and other gifts they can use year-round.
Wright in Mason City
An Iowa town that embraced the famous architect has reopened his last hotel.
Brilliant men have been very good to Mason City, Iowa.
Frank Lloyd Wright built a bank, hotel and house there in 1908-09, and the locals loved his Prairie style so much it commissioned houses from four of his associates; today, it's one of the best collections in the nation.
Wright became persona non grata in Mason City after he abruptly left for Europe with his married lover. But a musical virtuoso was growing up nearby. Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,’’ inspired by Mason City and its band, became a Broadway smash in 1957.
10 splurges in Door County
If you've been pinching pennies, here are some fun ways to reward yourself.
In Door County, the last two weeks of August and the entire month of September are golden days.
It's the lull between summer vacation and fall color, when the crowds thin but the weather is balmy and swimming in Lake Michigan is best.
Many families have to take schoolchildren home to start practices, so if you can go now, you'll enjoy lodging rates that are lowered at some places as early as Sunday and at others on Aug. 21.
Under one roof in Duluth
A frugal duo indulge themselves with antiques, chocolate, craft beer and massages.
In summer and fall, festive Canal Park draws the crowds. But when cold winds blow in winter, a brewery suddenly looks much
better.
Started in 1882 as Fink's Lake Superior Brewery, Fitger's was a mainstay in Duluth, surviving Prohibition but not industry consolidation. It closed in 1972 and almost was razed, but the sprawling building on the lake reopened in 1984 as a hotel, restaurant and shopping complex.
Now, the complex also boasts a day spa, a nightclub, a dinner theater, a brewery and a coffeehouse — everything anyone could want for a little getaway, all under one roof.
Near escapes in Minnesota
Skiing or skyways? Here are 10 places for a great winter getaway.
Before Valentine’s Day, and as winter drags on, everyone starts thinking about romantic getaways.
Well, we already have a story about romantic places to stay, and beyond that, who can say what romance is?
Especially since “romantic’’ often is code for “expensive.’’ We think romance has very little relationship to expenditure; we’ve found it in tents and camper cabins as well as luxurious inns. It’s everywhere, if you look for it.
Near escapes in Wisconsin
Water parks or waterfalls? Here are 10 places to go for a great winter getaway.
When winter seems to be lasting forever, you just want to get away.
Of course, that’s not so easy to do if you’re buried in snow. Then you may have to get away a lot closer . . . maybe to the hotel around the corner.
Until then, here are some great winter getaways, each with lots to do and see.
Perry's palace
In central Iowa, a gorgeous Arts and Crafts boutique hotel gets a second life.
In 1997, a small-town damsel who married a prince — well, an heir — waved a silver wand over her hometown of Perry, Iowa, and unusual things began to happen.
She took the Hotel Pattee, a dowdy brick building on the brink of demolition, and
filled it with terra-cotta tile, Persian rugs and so much Honduran mahogany she cornered the market for it. Artists moved in
and painted murals and whimsical folk-art lamps, bedsteads and armoires.
Decorators went to work on the Arts and Crafts lobby and library, a railroad dining-car restaurant and 40 theme rooms and suites that honor everyone from Louis Armstrong to the creator of the "Alley Oop’’ comic strip.
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 - 2012 all rights reserved
