…on a 618 Day adventure!
So let me be blunt; June 18th, 2025 sucked. For those who don’t know, June 18th is also my birthday, and it is also the newly-celebrated-around-here 618 Day.
But last year, my mom passed away unexpectedly nine days before, while I was nine months pregnant (the stress of the situation lead to me being induced on June 20th, giving birth the following afternoon). We had planned this big block party in Marion, but it being June in Southern Illinois there were threats of storms, and all of our vendors were pushing to move to the rain date in August. So we did… and it ended up being a beautiful day.
2025, I spent 618 Day, my 35th birthday, mainly laying around being miserable and crying, watching shows, ordering Applebees on DoorDash because that’s where my parents would take me for special occasions as a kid (crying through four cheese penne pasta like a champ).
All of that to say, I felt like I owed it to myself to celebrate how I wanted this year. No block party, no wrangling vendors or putting on a production. I decided I was going to live my 618 Day, create an itinerary showcasing six places and exploring a region within 18 hours or less. In the months leading up to the day, I created itineraries of different areas for different folks to explore. For myself, I chose Union County.
So let’s dive in:
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A great day begins with a great breakfast, and if you want a great breakfast in Union County, you’re heading to the Iron Whisk.
This little building has just a handful of tables, so weekends can be a bit of a wait (I usually browse the Cobden Village Shops during my wait). But on a Thursday, our waitress and the kitchen were able to keep it moving quickly and efficiently, with little wait times.
We kept it light as we knew we had a day of eats. Christian went with a basic BLT, and I chose the daily special, which was a loaded fruit and yogurt banana split. Because it was a celebration, we also went with a loaded Bloody Mary and Mimosa. Service was impeccable as usual, fruit and other ingredients were so fresh. The Iron Whisk is such an asset to the Cobden Community, and that’s why it was on our list.
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Southern Illinois was built by farmers and coal miners. One of these farming families is Rendleman Orchards, a legacy that has been built over five generations.
Located in Alto Pass, the Sirles and Rendleman families have contributed so much to their community; from donating pumpkins to a Halloween walk, being part of the Farm to Food Bank program, to providing jobs to generations of families.
It was a no brainer to stop by the Orchards on 618 Day, and reflect on the history behind the land we were traveling. We grabbed a peach smoothie and peach cider slushie for chicken watching, enjoy the breeze and the light sound of clucking coming from the coop.
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11 years ago I worked at Rendleman Orchards, and quickly learned there is only one place you can get to for food AND have time to eat during your lunch break in all of Alto Pass; Duty’s Country Store.
Duty’s sold, and now the store is under new owners and a new name; The Flying Pig.
Now at first glance, it may seem like the same store, albeit a bit cleaner, more items, pops of pink, lighter. But when you look closely, you’ll realize all The Flying Pig’s owners have put into this place in the two short months they have been open!
So the deli is the shining star here, absolute insane thick cuts of meat and cheese. You get your money’s worth. The menu is currently basically the same as Duty’s, just way more generous and better meat/cheese offerings! On the weekends, they offer hot food specials like walking tacos, philly cheesesteaks, bbq. They are really going off what the community wants AND needs, voicing understanding of the food desert that can affect those without transportation in the area.
This truly is a one-stop shop, and if you’re staying at an AirBNB in Cobden or Alto Pass, I urge you to stop in here instead of a big box store like Kroger or Walmart. They had everything we needed for snacks, drinks (bottled, canned, or fountain), beer/booze, chocolate milk, mini donuts. There were also basic groceries, first aid items, even squishmallows!
The plans are to build a bar inside, paint the front porch hot pink for a good hang out area, and provide just a nice one-stop grocery/bar/grill/hang out spot for the community. We loved our sandwiches, we loved the staff, and we will definitely keep supporting them!
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In between The Iron Whisk and Rendleman Orchards, we stopped at Cliff View Park along 127. This little pull off has a gazebo, but most importantly it has incredible views of the canopies, bluffs, and Bald Knob Cross.
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After grabbing our sandwiches, we decided to head to the Dome for check-in. We sat on the gorgeous wooden deck and enjoyed our meals, while I listened and watched for birds, squirrels, and even a wild rabbit came out to the feeder! We were so surprised to find a slice of Schoolhouse Cheesecakes blueberry cheesecake in the fridge as a welcome gift! Cheesecake is my favorite dessert, so this was such a special and appreciated touch.
We made sure to check out the game barn, which was a little warm at the peak of this nearly 90 degree day, but we appreciated the fans that quickly cooled it off.
Inside the game barn is a Pac-man arcade game, darts, chairs + table, chess, bulletin board and shelves filled with local attraction and restaurant information, darts, boombox with cd and cassettes (no wifi and throwback connection vibes are what they’re going for at the Dome). If you wanted to just stay on the property the entire time, you truly could and would be entertained!
This was the perfect stop to refresh our clothes, check out the place, get a little food in us and drop off our bags, and then we were back out on the road. More on the Dome in our next blog!
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About 5 minutes from the Dome is StarView Vineyards (Owl Creek is even closer if you need proximity!).
I worked at StarView in 2015, during one of the lowest times of my life. I completely left my “big girl” careers working as a Judge’s Secretary, and then a medical secretary, to do something entirely new to me in an entirely new place.
It is here that I fell in love with Cobden, the people, the way the community all loved each other and supported each others businesses. It was also here that I learned about the wine trail, and truly began to grasp that Southern Illinois is a DESTINATION. So yes, StarView had to be one of our stops.
They also offered free chips and salsa for 618 Day, so Christian and I split a bottle of wine while feeding the turtles and munching on some chips. The sun was shining but would duck behind clouds, the breeze was perfect, the handful of folks on the deck were completely relaxed. It was a great stop before dinner.
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Giant City State Park is my favorite place in all of Southern Illinois, so we could NOT properly celebrate this day without a drive through the park, stop at the Boardwalk, and dinner at the Lodge. We had our wedding reception dinner here, and have eaten here as a family many times. It is the last place I had a meal with my mom. So, the Lodge truly means a lot to us.
The Lodge was decorated beautifully for the upcoming 4th of July/America 250 Celebration, and being a Thursday night I had to go with the BBQ dinner special.
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We ended the night heading back over to Alto Pass (we became very familiar with the main roads of the two towns this stay) to Havisham Bourbon Bar, a beautifully decorated bar located right in the heart of Alto Pass.
In true Union County fashion, we ran into a few people we knew or recognized in our couple hours here! It was a great way to end the night, sipping on decadent handcrafted cocktails while picking the brains of the locals over whether we should relocate (we should, we know!)
The team at Havisham is so sweet, friendly, and ready to create something YOU like. We ended up closing the bar down, which we never do!
After closing down Havisham, we headed back down the road to the Dome, more than ready for some hot tub time!
We soaked for a bit in the tub, and to our surprise we still weren’t tired (at 11pm!) so we grabbed a few beers we got at The Flying Pig and headed to the game barn. We popped a cassette in the player and challenged each other to Pac-Man, checked out some of the games, and just hung out.
Around midnight we decided to call it a night, 618 Day was over after all. We slid on our complimentary sleep masks, drew the curtains, and couldn’t be more grateful to have had such a great day.
