You probably regularly find yourself overworked, which means it's time to take a day for you. There's a spa near Chicago that features an incredible salt cave that will relax and soothe your aches away. Most don’t even know these salt rooms exist. Check out one of the best kept secrets in Chicagoland.
Tavoos in Glen Ellyn offers Halotherapy, which is also known as salt therapy.
The cost is $45 for a single session, though there are also package deals for multiple sessions. You can even rent the whole room for a private party for $250.
Other services include facials, hair removal, body treatments, permanent makeup, yin yoga, and more.
It is one of the most valuable salts in the world and contains 84 minerals and trace amounts of some elements. It is also antibacterial, increases circulation, and can be used in cooking and baking.
Tavoos Skin Care and Halotherapy Spa is located at 710 Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn, and you can find more information on their Facebook page or website.
When I recently met a long-time friend in my old hometown of Music City, it was quite the reunion. For this much-needed, in-person check-in after more than four years, we decided on The Butter Milk Ranch, a popular bakery and brunch restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, along the buzzy 12 South neighborhood thoroughfare.
We both loved the mid-century look of the building and the thoughtful blend of vintage and modern finishes inside that made the atmosphere feel more classic than dated. As we expected, the place was packed for Sunday brunch - as most places in this neighborhood have been for years. The infamous angel-wings mural is a stone's throw away, as are dozens of cute shops, coffee spots, and other restaurants that lure as many or more tourists as locals.
One of those other restaurants is Urban Grub, a casual-yet-upscale dinner destination that opened in 2012. Its ownership group opened The Butter Milk Ranch in 2021, a year after my friend and I last saw one another. She'd moved to another state when a massive tornado outbreak decimated parts of my (and our friends') East Nashville neighborhood on March 3, 2020, and returned to help with cleanup. Needless to say, this meeting was under much better circumstances.
Thankfully, she'd secured an early spot on the waitlist, which is only available during business hours (you can't make reservations). We had a nice spot in the front room with plenty of filtered sunlight coming in through the building's glass front, through which we could see the busy street scene. The warm wood and generous greenery made the space feel cozy, even when full.
As for the meal, we started with breakfast cocktails - a blueberry lavender mimosa for me and a BMR Irish coffee for her - and the most light, flavorful beignets with brown butter, lemon curd, and brown butter "snow." I ordered a seasonal salad with mixed greens, beets, and tomatoes, while she ordered the Avocado Benny with hollandaise - a take on eggs Benedict using a cube croissant foundation. We shared generous side servings of cheesy stone ground grits, fresh fruit, and bacon.
We were pleased with our meal, grateful for the time together, and hugged before parting ways, neither realizing we'd been dining at a place we'd both frequented decades before. We even made small talk about it as we ate, pondering exactly what business had been in the building before and its location in proximity to the building that once housed Katy K's Ranch Dressing. Katy K's was a custom and vintage western clothier shop that was a hipster hotspot from the late '90s until 2015, when it closed due to rising rents.
Owner and designer Katy Kattelman was a noted figure in New York City fashion, music, and art circles of the 1980s, where she launched her fashion brand before moving and reestablishing it in Nashville in the early 1990s. She operated a shop in Midtown before moving to the 12th Ave. South location, where she long predated the slew of trendy shops you see there today.
As for us, it turns out we were sitting there eating scrumptious food, chatting away, while mentally trying to orient our location around the Katy K.'s landmark we both knew well from many years ago... while sitting on the site of it. If that's not indicative of people who lived through Nashville's growth boom and leaving, I do not know what is.
While The Butter Milk Ranch clearly took design cues from the original building, the façade is much larger in scale, with replicated rock wall details. Aside from a large portrait of Dolly, there were few if any other hints of cool, country kitsch that defined the vibe at Katy's - and really, much of all that was cool about Nashville in its early days of growth. Not to say it isn't now, especially to people who are delighted by different things. As for when I arrived in 1998, you just had to be there!
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Despite my nostalgia, I've got nothing against this delightful bakery and brunch restaurant. To the contrary! The service was great, the food fantastic, and the atmosphere lovely - surely even more so to those who do not know or yearn for a Nashville that was.
I will certainly be back, and I might just sneak a Katy's button, a Bettie Page figurine, a kooky belt buckle, and a pair of fuzzy dice onto one of those shelves for posterity.
We'd love to hear about your visit to The Butter Milk Ranch when you go. If you're looking for a luxurious stay in the heart of downtown, consider the highly-rated JW Marriott Nashville. Located adjacent to Music City Center convention center, it's almost exactly three miles north of The Butter Milk Ranch.
There's no arguing that Hawaii is unique among the states for many reasons, and for the last quarter-century or so, I've been held in its thrall. From my home in the Midwest, I count the minutes until my next trip to the Aloha State and feel like the longer I wait between trips, the more I need to get there. And when I do go, I almost always try to include Maui as part of my itinerary. For me, Maui is the Goldilocks of the islands - it's just right in terms of natural beauty and convenience. And really, its natural beauty cannot be overstated. Take for example, one of my favorite parks in Hawaii, Waianapanapa State Park. It's simply incredible, and on my most recent trip to Maui, I just had to make the trip. So, I set off down the Hana highway on a Sunday morning (advanced reservation in hand) to find a moment of zen.
The turn-off to the park is just west of Hana - look for the sign. The road to the park is narrow, rutted, and pot-holed, so when calculating your timing allow about 15 minutes between the Hana Highway and the park entrance. It may quicker if there aren't many other cars, but I ran into some traffic, which meant a lot of stopping and taking turns on the one-lane track. You'll show your timed entry pass (more on that below) to the attendant at the booth and then find a space in the main parking lot (unless you're camping, at which point you'll proceed to your site).
And then you'll see why this place is state park The rugged, volcanic coastline is absolutely stunning. You'll find sea arches, caves, a blowhole, and a lava tube all within the park, although accessibility will depend on the surf - if it's rough, some parts of the coastline are inaccessible. But it's always beautiful!
The jagged coast is covered in lush, tropical vegetation, which softens up the appearance of the more inland portions of the park. Explore the park by hiking the three-mile, out-and-back Ke Ala Loa O Maui/Piilani Trail. It's a moderately challenging hike due to the terrain and exposed conditions, but on the other hand, there's only 200 feet of elevation. I didn't think it was too bad. Just bring plenty of water, sun protection, and real shoes - your slippahs aren't going to cut it. Download a trail map from AllTrails Plus before you go, as cell coverage can be pretty spotty in the park.
The centerpiece of Waianapanapa State Park, of course, is it's famous black sand beach. It's small, so it can get crowded sometimes, but it's kinda - and I don't use this word lightly - magical. It's such an intimate setting: the unexpectedly soft sand under your feet, the roar of the surf drowning out the voices of other visitors, and nothing to but wild coastline in your field of vision. Otherworldly, in a good way, may be the best description.
The water on this part of Maui is obscenely blue and dramatic against the black volcanic coastline of Waianapanapa. It rolls in from the open North Pacific, so it can be rough - and rogue waves are a real danger - but on calmer days, it's awesome for body surfing. Just pay attention. I got bowled over by a wave at Waianapanapa once, and lost my favorite sunglasses. I learned my lesson so you can laugh at me while avoiding the same fate.
The next time you get ready to set out on the Hana Highway, be sure to schedule a stop at Wainapanapa State Park in Hawaii. I promise that it's absolutely worth it! If you're not a Hawaii resident, you'll have to plan ahead before visiting the park - even if you just plan to stop by while driving the Road to Hana. Non-residents must make a timed entry reservation in advance on the Hawaii DLNR website. The non-resident entrance fee is $5 per person, and parking for non-residents is $10 per vehicle. No reservations or fees are required for Hawaii residents with valid state ID. The process is simple, but I would recommend planning your visit well in advance. I made mine on Thursday night for a Sunday, so my time slot options were pretty limited. I had to time my drive and my stops along the Hana Highway pretty tightly to have enough time to arrive and spend some time in the park.
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Waianapanapa State Park is also home to one of my favorite campgrounds in Hawaii. Despite its remote location, it's very popular, as there are few developed campgrounds on Maui. Residents and nonresidents, alike, must make reservations for camping. The fees vary based on residency and type of accommodation visit the park's page on the Hawaii DNLR website for more information.
