Tassel Ridge Winery is a modern, beautiful building offering tours taking you from the vine to the bottle of wonderful wine. You will learn about the grapes that are grown in Iowa, the vineyard planting and harvesting process, and the processing, fermenting, blending, and bottling of wine. If you are lucky you may even be able to watch one of the winemakers at work creating the one of a kind, delightful wines made right there at Tassel Ridge.

 

You will be able to walk out into the wine making area and look down at the huge stainless steel tanks that are on both sides of the walkway. The size of the tanks and the engineering required to make it all work is truly something mind boggling!

 

In the warmer seasons you will soon be able to take a ride out into the actual vineyard and see the vines while learning about the grapes grown in Iowa. The vineyard at Tassel Ridge is expansive and extremely beautiful. The rows and rows of vines are so beautiful it will be a treat to see them.

 

Tassel Ridge offers several customizable front label formats into which they can put your message or photo. These are a wonderful way to make a memorable impression for weddings, anniversaries, “Big Zero” birthdays, class reunions, and more. The fee for this service is $10 for artwork and labor time, and a minimum of 12 bottles is required. Please allow two weeks for custom labels. What a wonderful way to give that special gift from you to those you care about. What an impact your gift will have on those that receive the special personalized labels, not only will the label be just from you but the wine will be so very wonderful that the recipient will talk about it for a long time to come!

 

When you drive up to the winery you will see a welcoming building with a great parking area. Then when you walk in the door you will be greeted by friendly staff that will offer to help you in any manner they can, whether it is a tour, wine tasting or an explanation of the different wines, pricing and what foods the wine is best suited to accompany. They will also be happy to show you some of the accessories available at the winery for your wine enjoyment, from the single bottle cooler to the full wine cooler, from the openers to the glasses, you will find that special item to make your experience even more pleasurable. 

 

Tassel Ridge Winery would love to have you visit their winery and sample the wonderful wines they make right there. They also encourage you to visit the other wineries in the state of Iowa by participating in the Wine Trail. 

 

For more information on Tassel Ridge Winery and Iowa Wines go to www.iowabeautiful.com and read all about the winery. 

Traveling across the state of Iowa, whether going from north to south or east to west there is a Days Inn just waiting to offer you a good nights sleep and a complementary breakfast to start you day.

 

If you are looking for a good hotel with a decent rate you will want to be sure to go to a Days Inn. It is the goal of all Days Inn hotels to offer you the best rate for the best room. Forget something for your personal needs such as a toothbrush, comb or razor? Just ask at the front desk and they will be happy to provide you with a complementary item to help you out. It’s all part of the superior service you will get at Days Inn hotels.

 

The big bright sun over the Days Inn signs is the sign of a happy place to be. Along with a great place to stay the Days Inns of Iowa are offering you a $5 discount on your first nights stay when you print off the first page of the website on www.iowabeautiful.com and bring it with you at check in. Great rates and a $5 discount on the first nights stay make Days Inn Iowa the best possible place to enjoy your travels in Iowa. 

 

We hope you will come and visit us, see the wonderful sites there are in Iowa, from the great museums to the local celebrations, the historical sites to the fabulous capital building, Iowa and the Days Inn hotels will welcome you on your Iowa Vacation.

 

Tucked in the center of the state, surrounded by rolling farmland, the river gently flowing along the east and northern sides of the town this is certainly a place to visit.

 

With the ease of access from Highway 30 or 330 Marshalltown has something for everyone!   For central Iowa tourism spots, Marshalltown has to be one of your vacation spots.

 

Do you like to camp? Then you will certainly want to visit The Big Tree House. Just imagine having a tree house that has 12 levels reaching 55 ft. high, and has over 5000 sq. ft of space! The Big Treehouse is located at the Shady Oaks Campground. From the Treehouse, there are lofty views of meadow, woodlands, and stream; and from the 2002 Spiral Stairway, unusual angles of the Treehouse may be observed. Now, this is not a place for kids to play, it was built by an adult for adults to enjoy, but you certainly can show it to your family while camping at Shady Oaks Campground.

 

Impressionist and post-Impression artists, such as Mary Cassatt, Alfred Sisley, and Edgar Degas have work displayed at the Fisher Art Gallery. The gallery is open to the public for no charge! 

 

Lillie Mae Chocolate shop offers you hand dipped chocolate for your pleasure. You can stroll around Marshalltown, look at the antique shops, enjoy the community while indulging yourself in the succulent pleasure of freshly made, hand dipped chocolate.

 

If you like to golf, then Marshalltown is certainly a place to enjoy yourself with the opportunity to choose from 6 different courses to play.

 

There are 160 acres of nature trails including prairies, timber, wetland, prairie potholes and conservation farming all waiting for you to enjoy. Self guided trail maps are available at the trailhead for you to pick up before you begin your day of exploration.

If you are interested in history then you will be pleased with the array of displays and artifacts that are in the Marshall County Historical Museum. Not only are there items that show the life styles of the early days of Marshalltown but there are also business and industry permanent exhibits featuring such notable locals as David Lennox, a man who started as a simple machinist and went on to found several local industries such as the Lennox Furnace Company (now Lennox Industries) and the MarshalltownTrowel Company (now the Marshalltown Company).

 

Veterans are an important part of the Marshalltown mind set. The Iowa Veterans Home is for older men and women who served our country to protect the rights of all American’s. This facility provides a safe, dignified home for those that have reached an age where they are unable to totally care for themselves and yet want to retain their dignity and be around others that understand the sacrifices that were made in serving in the military. Marshalltown provides this safe environment and caring staff to make the lives of the veterans a comfortable, active time. The Iowa Veterans Home is the third largest facility of its kind in the United States. There are 755 beds, 113 are residential and the remainder are nursing beds. 

 

The educational opportunities in Marshalltown include a satellite campus for Buena Vista and the Iowa Valley Community College. The smaller town atmosphere offers a safe, comfortable environment for the students to study and socialize.

 

The public educational system in Marshalltown offers everything that your student could ask for from arts to sports to a great academic program. The personalized attention available in the school system helps the students to excel in a variety of areas and prepares them for a successful future.

 

Marshalltown welcomes you with interesting things to do and see, a great industry and business base and friendly people so come on over, you will be glad you did!

 

This fabulous property offers not only the best beds in the city, but a great breakfast every morning, free to the guests. Enjoy a breakfast of over 20 hot and cold items on their wonderful breakfast buffet. You may choose to have hot Belgium waffles, or how about biscuits and gravy and sausage? If you want have fewer calories in your choice you may choose to have either hot or cold cereal followed with a cup of yogurt.  The breakfast room is cozy and yet spacious enough to allow for a quite conversation while enjoying the beginning of your day. 

 

The hotel offers a pool and hot tub for those that want to enjoy a little relaxation in the water. If it’s pool, the game, you want they also have pool tables in a game room. If its arcade games for yourself or your kids they have those too! The arcade room has a variety of games to try your skill.

 

If you are planning a meeting or training session, the hotel can accommodate you in their meeting rooms with full service food available to prevent you having to leave the property for lunch or dinner. Their professional staff will see that all your needs are met to assure a smooth and productive session.

 

This hotel has more to offer than many of the other hotels in the city. The staff is exceptionally courteous and efficient while making you feel welcomed. They will give you the room type you desire, whether it is a standard room or a suite you will be delighted in your accommodations.

 

The suites of the Baymont are spacious, with a sitting room and the bedroom each having their own television. The sitting room has a flat screen for your enjoyment while the TV in the bedroom has the DVD player and VCR built in to allow you to watch your own choice of movies.

 

The Baymont Inn and Suites is just minutes away from anything you want to do or see in the Des Moines area. Access is easy off I-80 at the International Airport exit or from Army Post Rd where it splits from the west bound direction and goes to the north (hwy 28).

If Des Moines is not your final desitination, the Baymon Inn and Suites at the airport provides a welcome stopover as you head to your ultimate destination.  If traveling on vacation, plan your Iowa vacation fun where you can come back home to the Baymont each night.

 

Staying at the Baymont will be one of those experiences that you will remember and will want to repeat whenever you are in the Des Moines area.