Reviews written by The Travel Penguin
I visited Misty Nights Bar and Grill very late on a Monday evening. The bar counter seats twenty or more customers and there were also about 20 high tables with chairs. Around the single room of the bar were 9 or more flat screen TVs, 2 pool tables, 2 dart boards, several video games, a touchscreen jukebox with Bose speakers...
The Cahokia Mounds are not spectacular, by a long shot. But a visit to the Cahokia Mounds should appeal to anyone interested in the Pre-Columbus history of North America and the native population that once developed a major civilization here and then mysteriously disappeared. You can climb up some of the Cahokia Mounds, but I...
On the evening of our visit, we were looking for an outdoor deck overlooking the Mississippi River at the St. Charles riverfront and ended up at Uncle Joe's Bar & Grill. The main reason we tried here was that there was public parking right behind the deck on the backside of this bar. It was...
The Regency Room at the Hotel Roanoke offers very nice dining in a very tasteful setting. It is no wonder that they have won many awards and yet their prices, although not inexpensive, are not way out of line. Our family stopped in at the Regency Room for lunch on a Saturday on our...
Biltmore House is definitely high up on my list of architectural must-sees in the United States. At 135,000 square feet it is huge and, although privately owned, it is a national treasure. There is nothing else like it in the country. I've been fortunate to visit Biltmore House several times -- first back in the...
Town Square Pub N Grub is located in the Dardenne Town Square mall near where Highway N crosses I-64 close by Lake St. Louis. The pub has 2 sides: the front side is a bar plus tables and chairs. The back side is a restaurant. There is also an outdoor patio. The venue is located on the corner of a...
When I used to live in Tokyo, I once considered moving to the Shonan Beach area. I was serious enough to start looking at various accommodations here. I liked the area simply because of its proximity to Tokyo and Yokohama and yet you feel somewhat distant from the cares of the city. That said, Shonan...
Indian Camp Creek Park is located just north of Wentzville, Missouri on Dietrich Road, one mile west of Highway 61. It is a newer park and clearly "a work in progress." But don't let that scare you off. Essentially, this was once a large farm consisting of both fields and woods. Much of the...
Sengaku-ji Temple is dedicated to honoring the souls of the 47 Ronin (literally, "wave people") who were masterless samurai after their lord had been sentenced to death by ritual suicide. These warriors waited several years to launch their revenge against the person they blamed for their lord's wrongful death. After avenging their lord by...
To me, Kinkaku-ji, otherwise known as the Golden Pavilion due to the golden structure in it's garden, is the essence of Kyoto gardens. It is on virtually all tour itineraries of Kyoto. I've been here several times and it is my personal favorite of Japanese temple gardens. Too often, you are rushed to see it if you are visiting Kinkaku-ji...
Yasukuni Shrine, located nearby Kudanshita Station, is not a huge structure but it is very historically significant. The shrine is located within walking distance to the Imperial Palace for very good reasons. This shrine is where the Japanese military war dead are enshrined as "deities." Accordingly, Yasukuni Shrine is somewhat a controversial shrine in the...
Tokyo Disneyland Resort, or simply Tokyo Disneyland as most people still refer to it, is located in Urayasu City which is just east of the "downtown" financial district of Tokyo. Although located in neighboring Chiba Prefecture, it is only a short train ride from Tokyo Station to Urayasu. As far as theme parks go,...