Have you ever driven along the countryside, passed a beautiful farmhouse and wondered what would it be like to live in one? Wouldn’t it be nice to have the experience of actually living on a lovely farm?
You can do that by planning a vacation at Hobson’s Bluffdale Vacation Farm in Eldred, Illinois. Guests are invited to make reservations and visit from mid-March through mid–November. Arriving at Bluffdale is like stepping back in time into another world.
Photo courtesy Bluffdale Vacation Farm
Bill and Lindy Hobson own and work this 320-acre farm with their son, Ken, growing corn and soybeans 280 miles southwest of Chicago. Visiting children and adults help with the farm chores; feeding the chickens, tending to the larger animals, and collecting eggs. But there are also many added treats: horseback riding, fishing, and swimming. Evening activities include ice-cream socials, bonfires, hayrides, cookouts, and square dances.
The farm is located 4 miles north of Eldred, Illinois, and about a 4.5-hour drive from Chicago. Specific directions will be given with your reservation. It’s a beautiful drive through farm country for you to imagine what life could really be like.
Lindy Hobson’s Story
“I grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, and Bill and I met when we were in college at the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana. Bill’s family has owned Bluffdale Farm since 1820. When we first moved here, my friends and family from the city visited and called it heaven with a fence around it. It occurred to me that we were onto something very good, that city folk needed a place to come to relax and enjoy the finer points of living in the country.
“There’s a lot of wonderful history in this house. Bill’s great-great-grandmother was just a girl when she attended George Washington’s funeral at Mount Vernon, Virginia, on December 14, 1799. Both Charles Dickens and Ernest Hemingway visited here. It’s a beautiful place and we love sharing it with so many people from around the world who visit and return. I’m 80 now and have some trouble with the computer, but I cook all the meals and bake all my own breads, rolls, and pies from scratch.”
This is a beautiful trip to make with kids and extended families of all ages. After staying with the Hobsons, your whole family will have stories to tell and share, and the valuable first-hand learning experience of what it means to work and live on a very special farm.
For More Information:
Hobson’s Bluffdale Vacation Farm (Rt. 1 Box 145, Eldred, IL 62027; 217-983-2854; www.bluffdalevacationfarm.com; bluffdale@irtc.net; open mid-Mar.–mid-Nov.; guest house: adults $99 per night, $629 per week, with adjusted rates for children; cabins and cottage accommodations are slightly higher).
Editor’s Note: These trips are featured in Sheryl Kayne’s book Immersion Travel USA: The Best and Most Meaningful Volunteering, Living, and Learning Excursions and on her website www.ImmersionTraveler.com. Sheryl would love to hear from you at ImmersionTravel@aol.com.
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Welcome to 
When I was a kid, I wanted to be an ice skater. Unfortunately for me, the nearest ice rink was 35 minutes away and my mom was not willing to shuttle me back and forth for lessons. On second though, given my lack of coordination, it was probably a blessing in disguise. Nonetheless, I still love to skate and look forward to when my kids are old enough to take interest.
In my opinion, there is no better place to ice skate than out in the fresh air. After all, ice skating began on frozen ponds in Switzerland 5000 years ago! Modern times have traded in bone for steel and regions without frozen ponds now make due with artificial rinks, but the fun and exhilaration of gliding across the ice is still the same. So where can families find outdoor ice rinks? Count on Lydie and her fabulous lists to provide you with the answers! She put together a list of the 10 Best Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks for Families. Here is a sampling of what made the list:
The Ice Skating Rink at Curry Village:
I am definitely going to add this rink to my bucket list. Imagine skating in Yosemite Valley with views of Half Dome and El Capitan. Its hard to find a more beautiful scene on the entire planet.
Photo courtesy of Culture Mob
Home of the world famous “bean” sculpture and spitting fountain, this park gives you free access to their ice skating rink, provided you bring your own skates (you can rent skates for $10). Practice your double axles with the Chicago skyline in view.
Just off the north shore of Lake Tahoe is the home of the 1960 Winter Olympics, Squaw Valley. Visitors can take an aerial tram up the slopes and skate on an Olympic sized rink with incredible views of the Sierras.
Read about the other seven rinks that made the list of the Best Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks for Families.
One of the newest outdoor rinks to hit the country is the ice skating rink at The Strand in Huntington Beach. Families can ice skate within view of palm trees and the Pacific Ocean directly across the street from December 22nd through January 5th.
Do you know of an outdoor rink that you think Trekaroo families should visit? Then tell us about it by writing a review.
Do you have an outing that you would like to spotlight this week?
Perhaps its a post about a vacation you just took or a day trip that you think our readers should know about. Or maybe its a post about the vacation you are currently planning and going to book through Trekaroo! Link up something fresh from your blog using the Mr Linky below.
PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.
Step 1: Pick a recent post (past couple of days)
Step 2: Under “Name” write: “Title of your blog post (blog name)” – blog name in parenthesis
Under “url” paste: the link to your blog post (not your home page)
Step 3: Grab the Spotlight Thursday image and link to this post so your readers can see who else is playing along this week.
We want to be sure that everyone who participates in Spotlight Thursdays gets their moment in the spotlight so blogs that don’t link back will unfortunately have to be removed.
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Sharlene Earnshaw (aka doubleadventure) is Blogger-in-chief for Trekaroo and the blogger behind Double the Adventure.
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Welcome to
Its no secret that kids think bodily functions are entertaining. Most parents have been embarrassed at one point or another by their children’s impolite giggles and noises. Well, if you can’t beat them, join them- but make sure to throw in some education for good measure! Grossology is a traveling exhibit that uses “edutainment” to teach kids why we burp, sneeze, and vomit. Where else can kids play on a playground shaped like a giant digestive tract?
Recently, we sent Superoo Madelinej out to the Rockford Discovery Museum in Rockford, Il to check out Grossology with her kids. She said that while she feels the exhibit was probably geared towards children ages 6-12, her five year old and three year old still got alot out of it. Her three year old “really enjoyed climbing on the mouth/esophagus/stomach/intestine playground and trying to play the (free) pinball game” while her five year old loved the “shooting” game where “she loaded ping pong balls into a shooter, aimed for the big nostrils, and fired. Every few minutes, the game “sneezes” and all the ping pong balls come out.” Kids with an especially large love for all things disgusting might have fun with the “guess the smell” game. Is that armpit or foot that you smell?
You can read Madeline’s entire review of the Grossology Exhibit here.
Grossology will be at the Discovery Center Museum in Rockford through Jan 2nd, 2011, so if you live in the area, be sure to set aside some time during the Winter Break to pay the exhibit a visit. The exhibit is also at the Sloan Museum in Flint, MI through January 16th and the St Louis Science Center through March 27th. It will also be at the Virginia Air and Space Center January 29th through September 5th and the Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding, CA April 30th through September 5th.
Do you have an outing that you would like to spotlight this week?
Perhaps its a post about a vacation you just took or a day trip that you think our readers should know about. Or maybe its a post about the vacation you are currently planning and going to book through Trekaroo! Link up something fresh from your blog using the Mr Linky below.
PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.
Step 1: Pick a recent post (past couple of days)
Step 2: Under “Name” write: “Title of your blog post (blog name)” – blog name in parenthesis
Under “url” paste: the link to your blog post (not your home page)
Step 3: Grab the Spotlight Thursday image and link to this post so your readers can see who else is playing along this week.
We want to be sure that everyone who participates in Spotlight Thursdays gets their moment in the spotlight so blogs that don’t link back will unfortunately have to be removed.
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – -
Sharlene Earnshaw (aka doubleadventure) is Blogger-in-chief for Trekaroo and the blogger behind Double the Adventure.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | OR | PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
This week I would like to Spotlight a place that I recently visited for the very first time, Millennium Park in Chicago. When I was in the Windy City ten years ago, this fantastic urban oasis didn’t even exist and now its a thriving part of Chicago’s urban culture. One of the center pieces of the park is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a outdoor concert venue showcasing many different artists and genres through free concerts. Its great place to spread out a blanket, have a picnic, and enjoy a night of music as a family.
One can’t spend time in Millennium Park and leave without great appreciation for the incredible art and architecture the park exhibits. From the grand beauty of the Millennium Monument in Wrigley Square to the 110 ton elliptical wonder bean that is Cloud Gate, your family will have reflecting on and around these treasures.
No trip to Millennium Park is complete without a splash around the Crown Fountain. Two 50 foot glass block towers project faces of Chicago citizens. Its especially entertaining when the faces seem to be spraying water out of their mouths. Kids love splashing in the shallow pool between the two towers but don’t let the little ones have all the fun. Kick off your shoes and have a little splash time yourself!
Do you have an outing that you would like to spotlight this week? Perhaps its a post about a vacation you just took or a day trip that you think our readers should know about. Or maybe its a post about the vacation you are currently planning and going to book through Trekaroo! Spotlight your posts here by following the instructions here and filling out the Mr. Linky Form below.
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Sharlene Earnshaw (aka doubleadventure) is Blogger-in-chief for Trekaroo and the blogger behind Double the Adventure.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
Yesterday was long. I mean REALLY long. Luckily it was also really fun. While we didn’t go incredibly far mileage wise, we did see and experience an amazing number of fantastic sights. By the time I got the kids tucked in bed and wrote my post for the day, it was nearly 2AM!
I am a woman who needs her sleep. Six hours does not cut it for me so when 8AM reared her ugly head, I became an alarm snoozing machine. Finally, around nine, I was convinced to drag myself into the shower. Luckily, the Country Inn in Naperville had a wonderful breakfast which tempted me out of my slumber and into the dining area. The kids seemed incredibly refreshed even though they went to bed near 11 at night (bad Mommy. A slap on the wrist for me). It was drizzly outside but we were anxious to hit the road and get our first clue (which you can see here).
Our first stop was at the clock tower in Fredenhagen Park, which is along the riverwalk in beautiful downtown Naperville, IL. Unfortunately it was raining, so I volunteered to quickly hop out of the car and snap a picture. I wish the weather had been better and we had more time, because the riverwalk certainly looked like something worth sticking around for.
Our second clue (here) told us to go to the town of Joliet, Il, which had a historical museum that revolved around Route 66. We literally only had time to take a potty break and snap a couple pictures which was a bummer because the museum looked like so much fun. I have always had a fascination with old travel routes and Route 66 is probably the most famous of them all. As sad as we were to have to leave the Route 66 museum without getting a chance to explore it, we were happy to discover our entire day’s travels were Route 66 themed.
Our third clue (here) told us we were going to Atlanta….. Illinois. First of all, I had no clue that there was an Atlanta outside of
Georgia. Second of all, where the heck is Atlanta, Il? Well, we quickly found out it is on Route 66 in Central Illinois and it is home to a large beardless Paul Bunyan holding a hot dog. If you are ever in the area I insist that you pull off the interstate and take a picture of your brood with the Beardless Paul Bunyan. I also insist that you head across the street and have lunch at the Palms Grill Cafe (clue number four). Eating at the Palms Grill is like stepping back in time. The old time cash register and old time Coke machine left me in antique envy, and the Ponyshoe (bread topped with turkey,fries, and cheese sauce) was unlike anything I had tried before. All three Country Inns families dined together and we all enjoyed both our meals and each other’s company. It was a highlight of the day.
After lunch we hopped back in our Ford Focus and listened to our fifth clue (here). This time were headed to Mt Olive, Il, and the Soulsby Gas Station on old Route 66. While our time at the gas station was nothing more than a pit stop, it was also a delightful step back in time. The station was no longer operable but it had beautiful Shell gas pumps that were perfect for photo ops.
After our short time in Mt Olive, we got our final clue of the day (here). We were headed across the Mississippi River and in to St Charles, MO. I was aboslutely thrilled. I have been to most of the 50 states, but Missouri had evaded me up until today. We pulled up to the Country Inns and Suites in St Charles and wiped the drool from our chins. The property here is GORGEOUS. The exterior is beautiful red brick and the hotel is only a block from the Missouri River.
After a quick check in, we decided to head down South Main Street and eat dinner at the Old Mill Stream Inn Restaurant. The patio dining along the tree canopied creek was a perfect way to wind down after a long day in the car. Tomorrow, we are planning on getting an early start so we can fully enjoy all the Suite Stops that Country Inns and Suites have planned for us. While I don’t know exactly where we are going, I have a feeling that a famous arch may be in our future!
I hope this post has inspired you to take your own Road Trip Adventure. For more information on how to create your own trip to remember check out http://www.countryinns.com/1kcountry.
Want to follow us on the adventure as it happens? Be sure to follow @doubleadventure on Twitter and the hastag #CIS1K to see what all the families are up to every day of the Country Inns and Suites 1K!
Disclosure: A significant portion of the costs and resources for our family’s participation in the 1K Country Adventure was provided by Country Inns & Suites By Carlson.
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Sharlene Earnshaw (aka doubleadventure) is Blogger-in-chief for Trekaroo and the blogger behind Double the Adventure.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
