Rend Lake Getaway

We decided to take advantage of the three-day President’s Day weekend (holiday for Kristin, vacation day for me) and spend a relaxing weekend out of town. In the past, we’ve used this weekend for outlet mall trips, but this year we went to Rend Lake Resort.

Rend Lake is the second largest lake in Illinois, located just off I-57 and south of Mount Vernon. There is a highway rest stop that we’ve visited on several trips, and it always struck us as the prettiest rest stop we’ve been to, as it sits next to the lake. A few weeks ago, the Post-Dispatch ran a story about weekend winter getaways that included Rend Lake Resort. So I booked one of their Jacuzzi rooms in what they call a “boatel” and we were off!

The weather was pretty chilly and overcast, but it was a great weekend. The room was spacious with a fireplace (which came in handy) and plenty of space. We visited the nearby Pheasant Hollow Winery and hit a couple local restaurants (including a pizza place in Christopher called DiMaggio’s pizza which tasted very much like pizza from Kenosha, yummm!), but otherwise we just relaxed and caught up on reading.

Pictures from the trip are online. They are all pretty dark and gray owing to the weather, but they give you an idea what the resort is like.