Hyatt Place Pablum in Bloomington, Indiana
October 19, 2019
Yeah well the Grant Street Inn was full. So we ended up at a Hyatt Place. Nope. Hamster cages for all.
Bloomington Morning
Hamster cage 229
Same
Same
Not plastic, but might as well be
NPS will try hard to avoid Hyatt Place in the future. About the only good thing about it is that the Irish Lion is across the street.
Irish Lion across the street
The bar at the Irish Lion
Old Fashioned
There was also a house concert.
Ritt and Wilder Deitz
Two showerheads for the Hyatt.
Back at the Grant Street Inn in Bloomington, Indiana
November 6, 2018
Though NPS has lost track of just how many times we’ve stayed at the Grant Street Inn, our previous visit seems to have been in October 2015! Whoa. Well, it’s nice to be back.
The good news is that room 30 was available (or rather, became available) for this visit. Thanks to the staff for freeing it up!
The fireplace in 30 no longer seems to function
The bed, on the other hand, functions just fine.
Still no opportunity to try out this hot tub thing
The plastic shower can be forgiven due to the hot tub thing. We guess.
It was a nostalgic visit this time, back to the town where NPS went to grad school. The weather was awful, rainy and chilly, so, as a result, much time was spent inside.
A new cocktail club in town called C3 Bar is worth a visit. Had to teach them how to make a Lion’s Tail, but they did a fine job. The food is good and beats the kind of weird suburban location hands down.
A visit to the Irish Lion was an absolute blast as always. So much laughter! And great Sazaracs made with Whistlepig 10 rye.
Back up to four showerheads for the Grant Street Inn. One of these years, maybe the hot tub will come into play.
Switcheroo at Grant Street Inn Bloomington, IN
October 1, 2015
I have been coming to the Grant Street Inn for about twenty years ever since they opened. They know me, and theoretically they know that I am a big fan of room 30. Alas, on this trip they put me in room 31. The room is nice, but its biggest feature is also its biggest flaw.
The room 31 pod sticks out by 7th street
The problem with 31 is noise from the 7th Street bus route. It’s OK during the day, but it starts early. Room 30, just around the corner from the pod is much quieter. And room 30 has a fireplace and a nice shower thing with a hot tub feature.
The deck off 31
The door to the outside deck is very nice. And the deck makes a great place to delete email as big buses rumble by.
Room 31 Grant Street Inn
Room 31 Grant Street Inn
Bathroom/sink area room 31
The shower in 31 is reasonable. It is a cube with glass, but not as fancy as it could be.
The shower is reasonable
While in town, try restaurant DO for some interesting Korean food.
Anyway, for forgetting that I really prefer room 30, the Grant Street gets a temporary three showerheads. Until next time!
Cardinal Spirits: A New Bloomington Distillery
April 16, 2015
Cardinal Spirits is so new that their grass has not come in yet. We were honored to get an evening tour led by a mysterious partner.
The grass is still straw at Cardinal Spirits
Cardinal is using both wine and barley beer as mash for vodka and gin distillery. Currently, the vodka is available and the gin is almost ready for release (still in the titration stage with aromatics). There is some brandy and some whiskey recently barreled as well.
Where the mash is born.
Cardinal Spirits still is about 6 stories in 4 connected sections
Distillers notes
Aromatics added here for the gin process
The mysterious partner gave a great tour
How new is the brandy and whiskey?
One rick
This new!
New indeed. Born last week.
You are in Indiana!
The experiment is still underway when it comes to gin.
Gin testing bench
Bottler
Needless to say, the tour was fantastic. So much fun to see Cardinal Spirits booting up!
Now it’s time to taste the gin.
