Fresh veggies! Fresh…read morecooked pretzels! Hot tamales! Sweets! People are all friendly! Great prices!

Peoria Riverfront Market operates on Saturdays mid May through September right along the Illinois…read moreriver on Water Street across from the museum. You will find local produce, meats, coffee, baked goods, jewelry, antiques and more, all in pop up booths. Parking and entry is free. Be aware you may need to park a distance away and walk. The market is dog friendly, and several of the vendors put out water dishes for the dogs. Great stop for a bit of exercise and local support on Saturdays.

Several websites recommended that my husband and I check out the Luthy Botanical Garden and after…read morevisiting, I can't figure out why this place was recommended. We went there on a Saturday morning. Parking was very difficult to come by. There was no clear entrance. On this Saturday, there were vendors selling their wares. There were too many vendors taking up too much space. I went there to enjoy nature, not feel forced to buy things. There was a singer and guitar player who was too loud and not very good. I enjoyed walking and seeing the flowers and sculptures but there was not enough of that at this garden. Luthy Botanical Garden is too commercial and there is not enough garden.

Wha a lovely stop on my day trip today! I loved observing the winter phase of the outdoor gardens…read moreas well as the permanent art pieces and sculptures. The real treat was the greenhouse space though! I really love to learn all the names of everything around me and they're all expertly labeled with large font which my group appreciated. And nice that admission is free! Be sure to leave a donation though.

Saturday 6/22/13 was the first Washington Farmers' Market. Because of the amount of rain we've had…read moreand flooded fields, produce may be a little slow this summer. My wife was quite pleased with the lettuce. Much better than store-bought, according to her. The radishes tasted good, but some were "woody". The strawberry preserves were excellent! We also had crafters come in: one lady all the way from Lincoln. Her shop is The Cloth Penguin, and she has baby bands, jewelry, skirts, and other stuff. Reach her at jfrawleyb@comcast.net. Another crafter had his wife staff the booth: thesycamoretree.net. He sells unique gift items. I'm looking forward to next Saturday when we might have more farmers show up. Northtown Farms specializes in pork burgers. Garden Marketplace specializes in vegetables.

Ackerman farms is a great family friendly produce market, petting zoo, gift shop and all around…read moreentertaining place. I was in town from Florida and this was a great place to savor the Midwest fall experience. I selected one of the beautiful mum plants for my Aunt and Uncle. I loved the pumpkins and squash of all sizes displayed in various bins and baskets. I wanted to back my car up to the gift shop and a take a lot of items home. They offer local popcorn, jams and candy apples, decor items and cooking tools like aprons with catchy phrases. They had a lamp I really wanted but was not sure it would fit in my car with my luggage. I found the staff very nice and willing to interact with you. They would answer questions but also let you browse and look as much as you wanted. Snother surprising thing was the animals were so friendly. Some of the alpacas came right up to me over the fence and the kitties got up from sunning themselves to greet me. I loved the clever signs and the old truck parked in front of the sunflower field. If you are looking for fall photo back drops this is the place. They serve drinks and have a picnic area. Although I was in town too early for the pumpkin festival, I felt like I got a good sampling of activities on my visit to Ackerman's Farm and the parking was very convenient.

It's a beautiful farm, with lots of activities for the whole family. I love the gift shop,…read moreespecially when buying pumpkin everything!

What an awesome place! Everything apple fresh you've ever wanted can be found here! One can also…read morebuy local honey, fresh fudge, even sourdough bread. I bought apples - 1/2 peck of Gala ($10.79) and, (2) 1/2 pecks of Fuji ($10.79 each). Also, I purchased a 10" Caramel Apple Nut Pie ($16.99). Last, but certainly not least, I had to try their Carame Apple Pie Sundae ($9.00) from the Apple Bin Bakery and Cafe. It was incredibly delicious!! There are pumkins for purchase outside as well as farm animals on the "Back 40 Fun Acres" (which I admit I didn't get around to visiting). My tip is for you to go early as it can get quite crowded, especially on weekends.

Tanners Orchard has gotten some great upgrades! I seen them doing remodeling before the season…read moreopened last year and I was pleasantly surprised to see the difference. I think back to 28 years ago, we visited Tanners all the time and so much has changed ever since then, they really grown & developed a lot new areas since then. I love that they have the animals there and that you can feed them and now they've got the little coffee shops and snack trailers which is a super nice addition. Inside the store there are so many different types of things that you can buy and they make all that stuff fresh too! Outside they've got pumpkins for sale and also mums at the entrance. Behind the building there are all kinds of fun stuff to do too like the apple arches, playground, point rides, animals to feed ect. They've actually got it pretty organized so that even when they are busy the aisles and traffic are still pretty well structured with a nice flow. *This is a great place to bring kids and make your own new memories! *Prices have definitely gone up but I guess that's happening everywhere. *Still love the remodel at the front entrance, it looks so nice and much safer now. *We got lots of yummy treats that we'll be able to enjoy in the days to come. *We'll see you again next Fall

Environment: GREAT I will definitely come there again!…read moreThe environment is so nice. And the mini golf was so much fun in such a beautiful place!

Review Visit: June 13th, 2016…read more A perfect combination of fun and delicious. I have, admittedly, been here many times before June 13th. But that is neither here nor there. The only thing you need to know is that this place has cheap mini golf and some of the best ice cream around. The mini golf portion is about $5.50 a person, young ones being cheaper. The course is your typical 18 holes. But this course is quite challenging and I have only sunk a few Hole-in-Ones here. There is a sweet deep blue fountain/waterfall that runs through most of the park. My ball has gone in the water more times than I care to admit. The challenging but fun course aside, the real gem here is their ice cream. Imported all the way from Madison, Wisconsin, this is some of the best that I have. It easily is in my Top 3. My usual is a Caramel ChocoLatte. Sooooo good. The company they get it from is called Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream and I really want to visit Madison, Wisconsin one day to have ice cream directly from them. All in all, a great place to spend an afternoon putting balls and devouring ice cream. This is actually one of the few places on my blog that falls into two categories. Mini Golf and Ice Cream Shack, since you can pop in and enjoy ice cream without ever stepping on the green.

Don't blink or you might miss this gem of a barbeque experience in Central Illinois. Husband and…read moreWife deliver amazing food at a reasonable price. The flavor is EXCELLENT . Their ribs are exceptional as well as their pulled pork and brisket bag specials. Highly recommended!

Little food truck/trailer in the Lonewolf Concrete parking lot at the corner of Eureka St. and…read moreTimberline. Variety of bbq goodness. Things like burnt tips, ribs, pulled pork with sides such as potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw, etc. Very nice folks. This is a nice thing to have in an area with very limited food options. Hope you check it out!

It's definitely off the beaten path. But the delightful wine and the setting definitely makes it…read moreworthwhile. To start off, I opted for the the 3 tastings for $5.00 - I chose #1: Albert 703 #2: Cynthiana #3: Broken Barrel As I progressed from 1-3, the more I enjoyed the flavor (that's just me). I really enjoyed the bourbon barrel flavor and aroma - a very nice dry wine. I had a great conversation with the owner, Donna, who stated they had been in commercial operations for 10 years and having this physical site open for 8 years. She was a wealth of information and extremely nice and cool person to talk with - she knows he wines! After discovering the Broken Barrel was my favorite, I decided to purchase a bottle and enjoy the pastoral setting of the outdoor seating overlooking their lake. What a nice way to enjoy a beautiful fall afternoon! I highly recommend you check this place out!

Great wine, we like more on the dry side. We found 2 white and2 red's. We love the outdoor seating…read more So relaxing. Lots of trees to sit under to drink your wine