Central Illinois Bed and Breakfast the Market Street Inn

Who thinks about Persimmons today? Probably not a lot of folks but the Persimmon Fest in Central Illinois at the Christian County Historical Museum sure does draw a crowd from all over the country and then some. Actually the persimmon is a sought after fruit in Asian Countries.

The Lovely and Versitile Persimmon

Persimmons are not ready to eat, at least by local standards, before they have undergone a “killing frost” and we have had one now so the persimmon harvest is coming in, they are being washed, pitted and mashed into a pulp for use in all sorts of tasty dishes including puddings, pies, steamed persimmon pudding, spiced persimmon cake and other baked goods.  Darleen Wilson is making 24 persimmon pecan pies for this event.  Abraham Lincoln would have loved Darleen’s pies.

Persimmon Bundt with Walnuts

Persimmon Bundt with Walnuts Recipe

Romance and warmth multiply in flickering firelight

We are approaching the time of year when warmth is a desirable thing. There is nothing like a flickering fire or the warm bubbling waters of a whirlpool tub for two to warm and stimulate you and your partner and enhance relaxation and romance. Both fire flicker and bubbling jets of our whirlpool rooms are available at the Market Street Inn Bed and Breakfast www.marketstreeinn.com.

Whirlpool Tub for Two next to a Fireplace

Most of our guest rooms have either a gas log fireplace or an electric fireplace while our Hunt Club in the Carriage House has both. Enjoy the romance, the escape and each other.

The Taylorville Main Street Association is presenting a number of great activities here in Taylorville, less than 30 miles southeast of Springfield, Illinois. Come check out Barbecue, Blues & Cruise on June 4th & 5th at the Christian County Fairgrounds. Friday evening (no admission charge) from 5 to 10 PM “Talk to the BBQ Pros” and enjoy the Michelle Merker Memorial Concert.  Saturday ($5 admission)  From 10 am until 10:00 pm folks will be engaged in a Kansas City Bar-B-Q cook off, an Iron Chef competition and a Backyard grillers competition. While some folks cook and others taste, still others will be enjoying fantastic blues music from Big Babe Martin and the Chump Change Blues Band and The Manhattan Project.  

Start your day with a trip to the Farmer’s Market on the east side of Taylorville Square and pack a picnic, or enjoy good food from local vendors, and plan to make a day of it.  Also on the Square will be “Art On the Square”, a juried art fair which features beautiful paintings and sculpture and jewelry.

As if cook-offs and blues music aren’t enough, there will also be a Car and Bike Cruise and Show. This is guaranteed to be fun for vehicle aficionados of all ages. Taylorville is a perfect spot for Illinois Weekend Getaways. Come stay with us at our Central Illinois bed and breakfast and enjoy the Taylorville Main Street Association’s BBQ, Blues and Cruise on June 4th & 5th.

Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez

Saturday, April 3, 2010 Gaetano Gambino will celebrate the 1st year anniversary of being open in Taylorville, IL, right in the Heart of Lincolnland. Gaetano, long in the restaurant business, was transplanted by Hurricane Katrina and came to where we don’t have hurricanes. He is a success. There will be music all day long–featuring 3 bands, from 10 AM to 10 PM, a Louisiana Style Crawfish Boil and other refreshments. There is NO COVER CHARGE! Come and celebrate the end of Lent, Easter and have a great time.

Sometimes the best times are not the big events. In fact, sometimes the simplest things create the most special moments. A spontaneous getaway to our Central Illinois bed and breakfast, with no plans other than serious rest and relaxation, can make for lovely lasting memories. It may not be as glamorous as jetting off to New York City or London, but heck, it’s a lot less expensive, too!

Taylorville Illinois is a peaceful, quaint town. We are close to Springfield, and often take advantage of all that great city has to offer, such as the historical sites about Abraham Lincoln, the Hoogland Center for the Arts, the Springfield Theatre Centre, and the Muni, Springfield’s Opera.

Often, however, we like to enjoy the simple pleasures of Taylorville. Walking less than a mile down the street to Gambino’s Family Restaurant, where we indulge in New Orleans cajun food and beignets. When we want a shorter walk, we head two blocks down the street to One East Market, Taylorville’s most upscale eatery. Live music happens at both of the restaurants from time to time, and that makes the food even better.

Lingering over coffee after a tasty breakfast here at our Taylorville b&b is another lovely way to pass the time, as is enjoying a soak in your whirlpool or curling up with a good book in our common areas. Be spontaneous. Let someone else pamper you for a while. Pack your bags and head down the road to Taylorville!

Throw your heart into the game, even if you are just watching.

Baseball season is underway. Fans gather around televisions, listen to radios, and fill stadiums in pursuit of this great American past time. The porch of our bed and breakfast in Taylorville Il is the perfectly spot to enjoy a pitcher of lemonade, a bowl of nuts, and the lulling voice of the announcer giving the play-by-play. Outdated, some might say, in this age of television. We have t.v., too, but sometimes it is worth revisiting old pleasures.

The front porch or the parlor chair in front of the television might just be as close as one can get to a major league baseball game here in Taylorville Illinois, but the spirit of the game is alive and well in the area nonetheless. Just a few miles up the road from our Central Illinois bed and breakfast is the B-R-S Baseball Museum. If you are a baseball fan, this museum is a lovely way to pass an hour or two while you are staying with us.

The Nokomis area of Central Illinois has produced many excellent baseball players; three of them not only made it to the big league, they made it the Hall of Fame: “Sunny” Jim Bottomley, Charles “Red” Ruffing and Ray Schalk. This museum is dedicated to them. Whether you are visiting the Springfield Illinois area for business or pleasure, if you have a spare hour, check out the B-R-S Museum.

Swing Under the Stars in Taylorville

Swing Under the Stars at the Lake Shore Golf Course from 7 – 10 pm on July 18, 2009. Swing dancing is alive and well near our Central Illinois bed and breakfast. The Bob Markum Swing Band will set our feet a-tappin’ during this third annual Great American Music Series. $10 admission gets you great music and finger food; in addition there is a cash bar.

Make a weekend getaway of it; stay in our bed and breakfast Taylorville, golf by day and dance all night. We have several golf packages to entice you, and Lake Shore Golf Course has 160 acres to tackle. This scenic 18 hole, par 72 course sits on the shores of Lake Taylorville, providing a beautiful setting during your game.

Swing your club during the day and swing your sweetie Saturday night. What could be better?

See Great Livestock at the Christian County Fair

This week, guests at our Central Illinois Bed and Breakfast will be able to attend the Christian County Agricultural Fair, hosted at the fairgrounds from July 7 – 15. The Fair is a meeting place for people from all walks of life, especially folks who live and work miles from any city. For them, this is an opportunity to learn about new products and techniques, and to swap tales with people in the same line of work. For city-dwellers, this event provides a rare glimpse into American agricultural/rural life. How often do folks from Chicago or St. Louis get to watch bull riding and tractor pull competitions? This is a great opportunity to learn about where our food comes from. What makes a prize-winning pig prize-winning? What characteristics do people look for in their beef cattle and dairy cows? The livestock shows are fascinating when you consider these questions.

Our Taylorville Illinois Bed and Breakfast is the perfect place to stay while you attend or participate in the Christian County Agricultural Fair; we are located just twelve blocks away from the fairgrounds. Fill up on a tasty homemade breakfast before heading out for the day, and share your experiences during our social hour over complimentary wine, beer and cheese after you return. We look forward to seeing you at our Victorian Bed and Breakfast in Central Illinois.

What is it about a small town that invites people to mingle? Perhaps we feel that if we have all chosen to be here, we must all be okay. Perhaps we believe that everyone we meet could be a neighbor, so we best be friendly. Now, we know that there are good folks all over the world, in big cities and remote rural areas – we host people from far and near at our inn near Springfield Illinois, and we enjoy hearing about where they come from and what they do. Nonetheless, for us, there is no finer place than the small town of Taylorville Illinois.

One of the most pleasant traditions in Taylorville is Wednesday nights in the summer. About 6:30, folks congregate on the lawns of the Hershey Towers, just about six blocks from our Central Illinois bed and breakfast. They mingle and share the news of the day or the week, and settle down to listen to music on the green. The music is always good, and the company is always enjoyable. These Wednesday evening music meet and greets have been happening for over 60 years. We haven’t made them all, but we get there when we can and we encourage our guests to wander over when they are free.

Stop by a shop and pick up fixings for a picnic; grab take out; or have an early or late dinner at one of the many excellent nearby restaurants. The town comes alive for the music on Wednesday evenings, and it feels like THE place to be. So come stay at our Illinois bed and breakfast and join in the fun.

Looking forward to Taylorville's Garden Walk

Taylorville’s thirteenth annual Garden Walk is June 21, from 8 am to 4 pm. This year’s theme is  “Legends and Lace,” and it will take place rain or shine. The price of admission entitles guests to a free plant, a garden hat, complimentary tea at Hickory Estates all day, and entry into flower arranging contests.

Highlights this year are: “Lilies of the Field”, a double wide garden filled with 600 varieties of lilies; a high-profile vegetable garden on a high-traffic corner; a container garden at an apartment building; river rock lined garden beds filled with a wide variety of perennials; and more than one garden with a water feature. A “red Angus burger farmhouse lunch” will be served from 10 – 1 at the Christian County Farm Bureau, so bring your appetite.

We are really looking forward to the garden walk at our Central Illinois bed and breakfast. It is always fun to see what members of our community are up to in their gardens. There is always at least one garden that is unknown to us, hidden away somewhere and full of delights; and we always enjoy hearing about what guests of our Illinois bed and breakfast have discovered during the Garden Walk.