Sue and I really enjoy getting away for a change of pace and to enjoy exploring new locations and experiences. We love cruises and trips east to see our relatives, but those getaways are for longer trips and can be a bit costly. So we try to take a number of short trips to recharge our batteries.
We were born and raised in the Northeast. The mountains, evergreens, and lakes of the Northeast are still in our blood.
Occasionally, we will take some long weekends and visit the hilly Galena area or Lake Geneva. In the past, we saved the trips to Lake Geneva for the warmer weather. But we made an exception recently and spent the weekend at the Abbey in Fontana, WI, on Lake Geneva. We took advantage of an off-season, weekend package deal.
This was our first weekend getaway during the winter season. It was fun watching fisherman use their augurs to make holes in the ice for ice fishing. Families were also pulling their children on toboggans and sleds across the ice – a different experience from the boats cruising up and down the lake.
The most pleasurable part of the getaway was our visit to the Helm lounge at the Abbey. We really enjoyed listening to the music of Tom Stanfield, the Abbey’s resident pianist. Tom has been performing at the Abbey for over 30 years.
His mixture of music is fascinating. He not only plays the piano, but will also play the flugelhorn while he plays the piano. You would think you had Chuck Mangione right there in the lounge!
His variety of music is very interesting. He will jump from Charlie Brown to Disney to a medley of Chicago. We had the opportunity of spending some time with Tom during his break and found out that he had played here at Sun City some time ago. When he found out that Sue and I loved the ’60s music, he played a whole series of ’60s songs right after the break.
The most exciting part of our getaway is that it was very inexpensive. The music in the lounge is free and the prices of drinks are comparable to local prices here. We enjoyed the getaway so much that we plan to drive up there just for dinner and a visit to the lounge for the evening. It is less than an hour away.
Send your questions and ideas to: Sun Day, Frugal Forum Column, P.O. Box 761, Huntley, IL 60102, or, by email to: thefrugalforum@gmail.com
