Located in Galena Illinois, Chestnut Mountain has become a premier Midwest skiing destination with its nineteen trails that span 220 rolling acres with a total vertical drop of 475 feet.

The resort boasts state-of-the-art snow grooming and the largest snowmaking system in the Midwest. Chestnut’s hard working crew makes sure that the trails stay looking and feeling like fresh snow all the time. Thanks to two quads, four triple chair lifts, and three surface lifts, lines are virtually non-existent during the ski season.

Skiing is not the only activity Chestnut Mountain offers. Midwest snowboarding, Mississippi River cruises, mini golf, bike rentals and even a 2,050 ft Alpine slide are just some of many activities a traveler will find at this resort.

Not a skier but still looking for a special retreat? Chestnut Mountain offers some very exclusive Galena lodging options and amenities. How about an indoor pool, sauna, and jacuzzi, a game room, spa services, casual dining and free wireless Internet (very important for the tech-savvy traveler). Their rustic lodge includes one hundred twenty comfortable rooms, making this full service resort the perfect choice for everything from group and family trips to romantic getaways.

Be sure to check their events calendar for a list of things to do in Galena Il where you can even sign up to receive text messages on special promotions as well as ski conditions. They also offer news via email as well.

Chestnut Mountain is also happy to cater to conference, banquet and even weeding events with their 5,400 square feet of meeting and function space.

To check availability, visit their online reservations system or for more information, be sure to download their full-color brochure (PDF file).

Originally constructed in 1923 as the lodge for the San Francisco Elks Club, Kensington Park is one of seven boutique hotels owned by Personality Hotels. The organization moved into the building in 1984 and occupy the main lobby and floors five through 12. The Elks Lodge and the Post Street Theatre occupy the remaining floors.

We have stayed there twice now, the first time in August of 2007 and more recently in February of 2009. Both times we stayed in a king sized “Royal Court” room. These rooms are a little larger than the others and feature the following ammentities:

• Monogrammed Waffle/Cotton Robes
• In-room Coffee Makers
• CD/Radio Alarm Clocks
• Designer Duvet Covers, Feather Beds & Down Pillows
• Daily Newspaper
• Slippers

A couple of additional special touches in the room include a beautiful ornate ceiling fan, a rarity for hotel rooms, and a comfy fur throw on the bed, my wife’s favorite amenity. The hotel also provides complimentary coffee and tea in the mornings and tea and sherry from 4pm – 6pm.

Kensington Park Hotel King Bed Room

The king sized is extremely comfortable and makes getting out of bed each morning a difficult task. I also enjoyed the fact that there was a good sized flat screen television and free wireless Internet. You also can’t beat the 12th floor view overlooking Nob Hill (pictured below).

Our view of Nob Hill from Kensington Park Hotel

I’d also like to add that the guestrooms themselvesunderwent a $1.5 million restoration in Spring 2008.

Over the years, we’ve had good and bad lodging experience while visiting San Francisco. That is why Kensington Park Hotel is a safe choice for us each time we visit now and in the future. It’s clean, has all the amenities we enjoy, the staff are fabulous, it is conveniently located to all the areas we love to visit and best of all, it is very affordable for a San Francisco hotel ($127 per night).

So the next time you visit San Francisco, if you are looking for a clean and elegant boutique hotel experience near Union Square, check out Kensington Park Hotel. You’ll be glad you did.

While certainly not comparable to the modern day B&M coasters, Canyon Blaster delivered a very enjoyable ride. The ride was smooth and the theming was great. There is one element that is very enjoyable – just before you dart into a dark and scary tunnel, you feel your head is about to be chopped off. One cannot help but to duck even though there is plenty of space.

Built in 1993 and standing at 93 feet, Canyon Blaster reaches speeds up to 41 mph on a track that is 2423 feet long. There are four inversions, two loops and a double corkscrew. The ride is short (about a minute and a half) but is a good ride. I believe the cost was $7 which may be pricey to some but you can get a wristband for a bit more and ride all the attractions Circus Circus has in the Adventuredome and get more value for your dollar.

Overall, I give it a thumbs up. It is a typical Arrow double coaster of which I have rode many in other amusement parks. It seems as though this one is kept in good shape and the theming adds to the thrill of the ride.

Prior to riding the Manhattan Express, I did not have high expectations for this or any other coaster located on the Las Vegas strip. Receiving a Twitter message from a friend a day earlier of how the coaster beat his body up did not improve my expectations. Nevertheless, I was going to ride it anyway.

After I paid the $14, I found no wait to board the train with the exception of the fact that they needed to put at least 10 people on a train that only holds 16 riders in order to send it out. This was not a good sign of things to come as you should be able to send a train out empty and know it will be able to run the length of the track with no issues. (More later on why they needed almost full trains in order for the coaster to run.)

After enough people arrived, we boarded. I sat in the front so I could experience a frontal view of the 144′ initial drop. As I engaged the restraining system, I already knew that this was going to be a rough ride. They use a lap bar that pushes down on your legs which is fine but then shoulder restraints that push down on your shoulders having padded extensions on each side of your head (see photo below).

The result is that your head bobs back and forth between the pads during the ride, giving you a pretty good beating. This is almost the same experience one may have on most stand-up coasters which I might add are not typically comfortable to ride.

While the initial drop was decent, the train rode pretty rough on the track. The loop itself was anything but smooth as you felt you were actually thrown into it. From there the ride just got worse and almost stopped at one point (the reason why they need almost full trains). The ending was so boring it almost put me to sleep. Overall a boring track design, horrible restraining system and just a really lame ride for how much it beats your body up.

Manhattan Express was originally built in 1997 by Togo. It stands at 203′ with an initial drop of 144′ and is followed by 2 inversions – a loop and a dive loop. Trains reach speeds up to 67 mph and track length is 4777 feet.

In August 2006, the original Togo trains were replaced by new trains built by Premier Rides, which makes me wonder how bad the first trains were. Also Premier Rides added a magnetic brake system in 2004.

I give the ride a thumbs down as one of the worst steel coasters I have ever ridden. Unless you are into coaster counts as I am, save your $14 for the slot machines.

Even if they replaced the restraints to a traditional over-the-shoulder system, it would not remedy the boring track design and the almost “put you to sleep” ending. They should at the very least lower the price so riders are only beat up rather than being robbed at the same time.