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A Weekend In Historic St Charles Illinois (pictorial)
I love this town. Over the years I’ve been there many times. For business, wrestling tournaments/ teaching martial arts seminars and dance comps with my daughter. This was the first time we have just gone to chill and write about it. We will be back again and again.
From the cool native history along the Fox River that runs right through downtown to the many Underground railroad sites, there is a wealth historic sites to see. The Baker Hotel is anther great one and gorgeous. I plan to stay there next trip and write about it( a few pics of it here). Shops, pubs and fine dining all can be found in the gorgeous downtown. Old buildings, redone buildings and the classic Arcada Theater (caught Stephen Pearcy from Ratt live while we were there. Great place and got to hang out with one of my HS wrestling training partners .Sometimes our travels give us a chance to catch up). All this with beautiful Fox River roaring in view.
This trip we stayed at the Hilton Garden in that we have stayed at many times. Always great. Cool modern art look in the lobby. Decent pool and fitness and nice rooms. Nice quiet location and always a good experience. It has great conference space and great service. Nice quiet seating areas to relax, read and check your messages on wifi. We will go again(and again). Next time the Baker though just because we write about travel lol.
Take a look at the pictorial and see for yourself( a saddle shop right downtown!)
A Trip To Pizzeria Antica (review of a cool destination here)
We had eaten here shortly after it first opened but I didn’t have time to take pics and think about writing on it. First, it’s a true cool destination location restaurant. Our downtown area has become quite hip, and is often referred to as micro urban. I should say that it’s close to where I live but I’m 15 min away in a tiny town. Champaign has about 100k people which is still small to many folks. My town has less than 8k lol. So I often refer to Champaign places as home to me.
OK on to the fun stuff. First, if straight dominoes, papa John’s etc is the only thing you like, don’t go! I love all pizza but this is wood fired gourmet rustic. Great locally sourced meats and cheese’s plus produce. Lots of olive oil and charred edges on the crust. Very good, and the place is a true experience. It’s in an old publishing building and very industrial looking. I love that! You can stand and Look at the specially made ovens which came from Naples Italy. Heck you can see the woodpile!!
A few pictures and then we will talk about the meal after the jump. Enjoy.
To start of I had a great Morreti Rossa and my wife had the house Chianti. We ordered the cheese plate for a nice start. Great local area cheese’s that were fantastic as well as olives/sweety drops jam and bread. It was very good. Not too heavy or much but classically excellent. Artisan local cheese can’t be beat for an experience.
For the main we had the pizza pomodorini. Fresh mozzarella and fresh cherry tomatoes plus prosciutto Di parma/parmagianno reggianno and fresh arugula. Excellent. Fresh and nice charcoal edges. Again if this isn’t your thing it isn’t your place. Give it a try though. I’m a Giordano’s and Filippo guy but I love this stuff as well!
It was a great meal in a very cool place. Made for a nice and different experience in our area. The only downside was service this time. I never complain about that but she disappeared! Dropped off the pizza and never saw her again. We really wanted more drinks (especially me!). Gone. We have fun wherever we go and laughed about it but it wasn’t great. Nobody seemed happy to be there. I hope it was a one off as I really like the place and will return, but that needs work. We travel often, eat everywhere and pay well as a general rule. This was off.
Again, it’s a great place and we had a wonderful time. Check it out if you’re in the area. If you’d like to be part of our sponsor/ad/ ambassador program email us. From inexpensive links to features or social ads/spokesperson work. Hit tompkinscontent@gmail.com today. Also follow @combatsportlife on Twitter.
Today’s sponsor is the awesome Westbrook Stables. Get a great riding and training experience in a Western family oriented environment! https://m.facebook.com/westbrookstable/
A link to today’s restaurant
http://anticachampaign.com/
A Cool Shopping Experience At Destin Commons( Thoughts &travel Pics)
As I’ve mentioned in other articles I enjoy finding unusual shopping places. I know it doesn’t fit my fighter image, but hey I promote and market. It’s like a business field trip. Plus there are always coffee houses and a place to grab a drink.
Our first day in Destin was a bit chilly for the beach so my wife and daughter thought a shopping trip was in order. I spotted Destin Commons on our way in to town. It looked cool and with checking out. As it turns out it was very cool. Besides having a great line of stores and restaurants it was visually appealing and fun to walk around. A cool fountain area in the center that looked like old Florida and had a beignet cart. That is just plain awesome. Check out a few pictures here and will talk a bit more after the jump.
There are all kinds of stores ranging from well known clothing and shoes stores to places like Books A Million. Places like Wet Seal and Sephora to the unusual like the Shark Shop ( products from the show Shark Tank). You’ll also find cool vacation location stores like Bass Pro( yesssss!) Pepper Palace and Maui Nix.
It’s a cool place to wander around, have a bite or a cocktail and relax. Did I mention there is a World of Beer there??!! Incredible place. It is entirely possible I stopped in for a bit. Zoe’s is also great for wraps and bowls. There were a number of places from casual or fast to date night. Take your pic.
If you are in Destin Florida and have some time away from the beach, this is a fun stop. Give Destin Commons a look. If you want us to feature you on the blog or do a review then email tompkinscontent@gmail.com . Also full socialad campaigns and marketing plans.
Check out today’s links.
http://www.destincommons.com/
http://www.pepperpalace.com/
http://worldofbeer.com/
A Quick Review Of Mama Sherry’s Pizza and Wings in Destin Florida ( great meal great price)
So something that has become a tradition in our family trips is finding a place for pizza and wings. We all love pizza and hit that up wherever we are, but Beach locations require a pizza and wings place. Why?? First because it’s awesome!! Second, because we spent years travelling for fights and tournaments plus dance comps for my daughter. Now fights and rodeo with my adult children. Along the way at a dance national in Daytona, we found a great pizza and wings place after finally getting back to the beach late in the evening. After all day at the comp we just wanted to hang out. Pizza and wings ( beer and wine for mom and dad) on the beach at midnight hit the spot. The fact that it was a great deal made it better. Thus a tradition began
We are fortunate to travel all over and have luxurious travel experiences. Still, my favorite is find that great, quaint place with a great deal on this kind of food. Frankly, it’s how I got here. My loves won’t change!!!! So on this recent trip to Destin we found Mama Sherry’s. In between the high end strip malls with chains and along the road to the marina, this oasis of family vacation fun can be found. You have to either be a local, know it’s there ( because you subscribe to this awesome blog) or know how to search these places out. That said, it is on the main drag on 98 although easy to miss.
I’ll make this quick and to the point, then I’ll get to the pictures( what you want!!!). We had the hand tossed pizza with pepperoni. A classic without pretense. It was great. We had an appetizer of fried pickles ( my daughter’s fave from bluegrass nationals karate tourney waaay back). Excellent!! We also had wings with a honey habanero glaze. Perfect! This isn’t molecular gastronomy. This is classic people food. Enjoy it for what it vis. I love both, but this is my world!!!! I had a couple of Mama’s Irish Red ( a private label made by Bud, think Killian’s). Big beers and cheap!! My wife had a couple bof house red wines. Again cheap! See a theme?? Eat well, have fun, keep some money. OK so next are the pictures. Check out the food and drinks but also the place. Fancy? Nope. Awesome? Oh yeahhhh. If you don’t like this kind of thing you probably aren’t interested in what goes on here. Lighten up, I’ve been around the world and this is great. Check the pics and see how much after the jump.
Twitter. o all that food and alcohol that was delicious, plus old school Florida ambiance. Less than $50 with tip ( and I tip really well). It more than fed three people ( with lots of leftovers ). Easily feed a family for that or less. Finding budget eats at the beach with a family is something I will always want to show you. I’m always going to be a guy who grew up in a Midwest farm town!!!
Enjoy. Go there and tell them we sent you. If you want your place reviewed or a link here hit us up. From social care on twitter/fb to full campaigns or just getting us to stop by we want to talk to you. Affordable for any business, email tompkinscontent@gmail.com. follow @combatsportlife and @tompkinscontent on Twitter
Today’s link! Get yours here !
http://www.mamasherryspizzawingsandthings.com/aboutus.htm
A Quick Review Of Quick Bite At Surf Hut In Destin Florida (Pictures)
While my reviews are never super long or wordy, this one is shorter than normal. Not because it was bad, but because we at there after getting out of the car from along trip. We pulled in to Embassy Suites, unloaded and walked across the street to Surf Hut. Usually I spend time getting lots of photos of the place and our food but not this time. We were tired and the girls didn’t want to work with me right then lol.
It’s a great location. Right on the beach and facing Gulf Drive. This makes it not cheap. It isn’t high end expensive, just pricy for coastal casual. It’s worth it. The food is good, the service is great and the location awesome. I’ll give you an idea of prices in a minute( not terrible, just not cheap). It has a great deck in the back and a bit if private beach with games. A nice covered porch on the front, classic keys look for dining.
My wife and I both had the special, six gulf shrimp with fries and slaw for $13.99. It was good and not way out on price( higher than most areas though). My daughter had a cheeseburger and fries also 13.99. It was good, but obviously for just a regular burger that’s slightly high. Let me just say, all well with it. The location sells it and the food is good. I just want you to know what you’re looking at.
It was great overall and I definitely recommend it. If you’re in Destin, give it a shot. A nice relaxing time. Take a look at these pictures and enjoy.
Hope the pictures help( took the night shot from the beach another time). Again, it was a quick meal so a quick post! Sometimes that’s the best though!
If you need help promoting your business or you want to be reviewed, contact us. All kinds of services and advertising/ marketing available. Inexpensive and casual. Email tompkinscontent@gmail.com and follow @combatsportlife & @tompkinscontent on twitter.
Check out today’s links
https://surfhutdestin.html
http://embassysuites3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/embassy-suites-by-hilton-destin-miramar-beach-DSIESES/index.html
graytonbeer.com