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Over
the river and through the WOODS
Your guide to the great winter getaway
By Kathryn Anderson, Jayplay writer
By New Years Day, you might need a vacation from your vacation. Here are some quick, close and relatively cheap escapes that might leave you (and four of your best friends) feeling refreshed, rested and perhaps a bit hung-over.
The simple life
If your gas mileage leaves much to be desired, and intimacy is your thing, consider a weekend stay at a Lawrence bed and breakfast. The Circle S Ranch and Country Inn boasts 12 luxury guest rooms, accommodations that earned the inn a top 12 award on www.bedandbreakfast com, for most romantic inns in North America. Go with your one-and-only or book a slumber party. Circle S will supply the margaritas and a whole bunch of comfort food, you bring the movies,
board games and tequila shots.
The best amenity of the Circle S, however, is the spa which offers a slew of beautifying and relaxing treatments for guests. To warm up, splurge on a hot stone massage ($95 for an hour). Rooms start at $155. Call (785) 843-4124 for reservations.
Just outside of town, the Victorian Veranda Country Inn offers French-Country luxury for the conservative spender. Basically, you can shack up there for the price of a night at the Ramada. But this place has horseback riding and a veranda (a fancy word for a porch). The bedrooms look decidedly like grandma's house: think wicker furniture and French lace curtains. The dining room, where you'll be eating a home-cooked hot breakfast, is rich-mahogany and lit
by chandelier.
This B & B neighbors the Free State Farm, where hayrides and wiener-roasts are a way of life. Rooms start at $80. Call (785) 841-1265 for reservations.
Bust out the bathing suit
If you've ever navigated Interstate 435, you've probably passed the Great Wolf Lodge, a mountain cabin of mammoth proportions, complete with guest rooms and a premier water park, with Nebraksa Furniture Mart as a backdrop. What could be greater than drinking at a bar called Camp Critter before navigating eight stories and 40,000 square feet of slides and pools?
Things to keep in mind:There will definitely be hordes of screaming young children. This is where Camp Critter
Bar & Grill comes in. And the mini-bar. On yeah, there's a spa too. Also, 'tis the season for the family vacation, so make reservations soon. Rooms start around $150 (with the holiday specials) and some can fit up to six. Park passes and towels are included. Call (913) 299-7001 for reservations, or visit www.kc.greatwolflodge.com for the skinny.
Before there were water parks, Harry S. Truman, FDR and Al Capone hid out at the Elms Resort and Spa, where they basked in the healing powers for the Excelsior Springs. Just 30 minutes north of Kansas City, the Elms is your ticket to affordable elegance and really fancy spa treatments. Take a serenity bath ($35) with moisturizing milk and essential oils. Rooms at the $19th century hotel start at $95.