Spring has hopefully arrived in Lake County.A week ago this past Sunday was a great day to be out and about in the county experiencing our natural beauty as we had our first 80 degree day.Now we know that it won’t last but it was beautiful none the less.April is one of those months where the weather fluctuates daily and it could be 80 or 40 and rain, but definitely spring has arrived!Area attractions are getting ready to open for the season and runners are out exploring the Forest Preserve trails.
This weekend is the Easter Holiday and many communities and park districts are having Easter egg hunts and events this weekend.One of the big hunts in the area is the 20th Annual Easter Egg hunt happening this Saturday in Downtown Antioch.The Easter Bunny is visiting Gurnee Mills Mall and Westfield Hawthorn through April 23rd, so while mom does some shopping, dad can take the kids to visit the bunny.Be sure to view our calendar of events for a list of all Easter events and brunches http://www.lakecounty.org/events.cfm.We also have some area fish fry’s listed for your convenience.
One of my favorite places in Lake County to grab a beer and burger is Mickey Finns Brewery and Pub in beautiful Downtown Libertyville.I especially enjoy stopping by on warm spring / summer days when you can sit out in the beer garden and take in the beautiful sights of Cook Park.I recently had the opportunity to view how Mickey Finns brews their own beer and makes their famous Mickey Burger (which is one of my favorite dishes).It is a very interesting process and you can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjGEzdjZZVw.Maybe I will see you at Finns next time I am in enjoying my burger and beer!
If you or your wife is a chocolate lover, you won’t want to miss the 12th Annual Long Grove Chocolate Fest happening April 29– May 1 in Historic Long Grove Village.I have been to this event several times and they truly have everything chocolate.My wife was in heaven!They have live entertainment happening, food booths, chocolate demonstrations and workshops, wine pairings, and plenty of children’s activities.This is one event that I think everyone should take the family too and stroll the cobble stone paths of Long Grove.You can view my experience at Chocolate Fest in my Lake County Cool Places video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzBcs9Fe0n0
Brewing Beer at Mickey Finn's Brewery and Pub in Libertyville!
I have been to Mickey Finn’s Brewery and Pub in beautiful Downtown Libertyville before and have always enjoyed their Mickey Burger and one of their refreshing brews. I always wondered how they make their beer and what their process all entails. So I contacted Brian Grano, owner of Mickey Finns, after his big St. Patrick’s Day celebration and he was gracious enough to show me how they make their Mickey Burger and brew their beer.
This wasn’t my first brewery tour as I have taken the tours at Anheuser Busch in St. Louis, Miller Brewery and Lake Front Brewery in Milwaukee, but learning the process at Mickey Finns was my favorite as they took me through the whole process and went into full detail on each of their steps. The Brew Master even took me downstairs to where they store the barley malt and the machine that crushes the barley grain and how it then comes upstairs and into the Mash Tun, where the crushed grain is mixed with hot water. Now if you have been to Mickey Finns, you have seen the Mash Tun and the next few steps in progress, as it is located behind class walls by the dining room. Rumor has it you can see the process happening on Thursdays. Once I found out how this process worked, I wondered how they got the beer over to the tappers at the bar. My mouth was just watering for a beer at this point! Listening to the Brew Master, I quickly realized that this was probably the easy part, as it goes downstairs to 1 of 10 tanks and each tank holds about 20 kegs and is connected to the individual tap towers. The beer at Mickey Finns never travels more than 100 ft to get it into your glass.
I usually get hungry when I have beer, so while I was there Brian took me into the kitchen and had one of the cooks show me how they make their famous Mickey Burger. This is one of my favorite dishes at Mickey Finns! In the words of Mickey Finn’s owner Brian Grano, “This is where all the magic happens. Right here baby!” Mickey Finns has daily, weekly, monthly and kid specials all the time and is an excellent establishment for happy hour after work or to have a good meal with the family. The upstairs Amber Room has events such as concerts going on every weekend. Mickey Finns is a place where “Everyone knows your name”! See you atFinns!
I have been to Mickey Finn’s Brewery and Pub in beautiful Downtown Libertyville before and have always enjoyed their Mickey Burger and one of their refreshing brews. I always wondered how they make their beer and what their process all entails. So I contacted Brian Grano, owner of Mickey Finns, after his big St. Patrick’s Day celebration and he was gracious enough to show me how they make their Mickey Burger and brew their beer.
This wasn’t my first brewery tour as I have taken the tours at Anheuser Busch in St. Louis, Miller Brewery and Lake Front Brewery in Milwaukee, but learning the process at Mickey Finns was my favorite as they took me through the whole process and went into full detail on each of their steps. The Brew Master even took me downstairs to where they store the barley malt and the machine that crushes the barley grain and how it then comes upstairs and into the Mash Tun, where the crushed grain is mixed with hot water. Now if you have been to Mickey Finns, you have seen the Mash Tun and the next few steps in progress, as it is located behind class walls by the dining room. Rumor has it you can see the process happening on Thursdays. Once I found out how this process worked, I wondered how they got the beer over to the tappers at the bar. My mouth was just watering for a beer at this point! Listening to the Brew Master, I quickly realized that this was probably the easy part, as it goes downstairs to 1 of 10 tanks and each tank holds about 20 kegs and is connected to the individual tap towers. The beer at Mickey Finns never travels more than 100 ft to get it into your glass.
I usually get hungry when I have beer, so while I was there Brian took me into the kitchen and had one of the cooks show me how they make their famous Mickey Burger. This is one of my favorite dishes at Mickey Finns! In the words of Mickey Finn’s owner Brian Grano, “This is where all the magic happens. Right here baby!” Mickey Finns has daily, weekly, monthly and kid specials all the time and is an excellent establishment for happy hour after work or to have a good meal with the family. The upstairs Amber Room has events such as concerts going on every weekend. Mickey Finns is a place where “Everyone knows your name”! See you atFinns!
I recently had the opportunity to stop out at the Volo Auto Museum. I am not a car guy, but I am fascinated by cars from movies, celebrity cars and some classics. The Volo Auto Museum is one of the great treasures of our area and offers something for everyone in the family to enjoy.
The kids will especially love the Flintstones car, which they are able to sit in. They will even enjoy seeing the Fabulous Hudson Hornet – Doc from the movie Cars. Young adults like myself will be brought back to their childhood seeing the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine and the Mello Yello car that Tom Cruise drove in the movie Days of Thunder. Another special one for me was the Dukes of Hazzard General Lee, since I was a fan of the TV show growing up and I always wanted to have a car with its doors welded shut. I thought it would be cool to hop through the window to get in and out of the car. Maybe next time I will dress up like Don Johnson and take a picture next to the Miami Vice Ferrari! Some of my other personal favorites are the Back to the Future Delorean, The Bluesmobile from the Blues Brothers and KITT from Knight Rider.
If your grandparents were in the military, I highly recommend checking out the military exhibit, it will bring back memories for them. The museum has 40 cabinets full of personal effects from those who have served from the Civil War to Vietnam and Iraq. There is also a combat zone that is set up as a realistic battle scene featuring authentic military uniforms, weapons and vehicles. This is a great exhibit for the history buff in the family.
One of the things that I was unable to see, but will definitely be going back to view is celebrity owned super cars. These cars are stored in a private vault and not open to the public. They can be seen on a bus tour of the museum grounds. The tour costs an additional $3.95. The one car that I really want to see is the new that they have, which is Michael Jordan’s Bentley. You can read about in this Daily Herald article: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110331/news/703319779/#ixzz1IHvl4xVT.
Museum cost is $9.95 for adults and $5.95 for children ages 5-12. You can get a $2 off coupon on our site http://www.lakecounty.org/coupons_view.cfm?coupon_id=387. I highly recommend a visit to the Volo Auto Museum as it is not just for dads. I will definitely be stopping back there very soon and will be bringing my wife to see the exhibits and take the tour to see the celebrity cars. I hope everyone enjoys a visit to the museum as much as I did. You can learn more about Volo Auto Museum at http://www.volocars.com.
