The Curtis Orchard is a childhood staple. The best time to go is in the Fall for apple picking and their pumpkin patch. At twenty-five I still go here with my friends for an old-school weekend of apple picking. They sell super delicious baked goods here such as pies, donuts, and cobblers. There’s a petting zoo, playground, and corn maze for kids too that’s a lot of fun. My parents still eat here often at their Flying Monkey Café and rave about the pulled pork and brats.
Things to do
The Krannert is the second largest art museum in Illinois outside the Chicago Art Institute. That said, I’m really proud to have the Krannert in Champaign. It never fails to impress visitors, especially guests in town who think Champaign lacks the sort of culture of a big city. They showcase a lot of contemporary works in a variety of mediums such as photography, sculpture, music, visual art, and installation work. The concerts they host here have always been enjoyable.
You’ll find this vintage and quaint theater under their giant neon “ART” sign. It’s one of my fondest memories of Champaign (I always wanted to steal this sign for my own). It’s a single screen theater that showcases indie films that range from the obscure to the more-so mainstream. Obviously you should buy your tickets in advance because they tend to sell out. The staff’s great here and their concession stand looks like it’s out of a movie itself.
I’ve stayed at a lot of B&B’s but none of them had gourmet chefs as hosts. The rooms are very modernly decorated with touches of antiques. The room we stayed in had a beautiful clawfoot bathtub that I’ve dreamt about having in my own home for ages. They really go out of their way to make the ambience here very romantic, they even provide you with fresh flowers! For breakfast Catherine prepared French toast with bread she made herself. The eggs and herbs were all out of her garden.
