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
Day 2 of the Country Inns and Suites 1K Adventure started off with a breakfast at the CIS Madison- West before we listened to our first video clue of the day (you can watch it here) and hit the road. Little did I know, Madison, WI is the only US capital city that is located on an isthmus and it was our goal to visit both Lake Mendota and Monona before we could get our next Suite Stop clue. We stopped at a park on the shore of Lake Mendota and let the kids run off some energy. While I was taking in the view from the shore, a family of ducks came by and paid me a visit. I called my ducklings over to visit with the mallard’s ducklings and we all had an enjoyable morning at Lake Mendota.
After a good energy burning session, we headed over to the shore of Lake Monona where Paul and I swooned over the picture perfect view of downtown Madison. The kids were less impressed with the view and more impressed with a dead fish that had washed up on shore. Hey, whatever floats your boat, right?
Before we left Madison, we stopped at Michael’s Frozen Custard for some chocolate frozen custard cones and cheese curds. The kids thoroughly enjoyed their very first frozen custard experience and I loved the cheese curds. If you haven’t had the chance to try these regional treats, be sure to add them to your menu the next time you are in the area!
Our second clue (here) took us to Milwaukee, specifically the North Point Lighthouse in Lake Park. I had always imagined Milwaukee to be a gritty, industrial, beer making town but today we got to see its incredible beauty. The neighborhood along the shore of Lake Michigan around the lighthouse could not have been more gorgeous. Our jaws dropped when we saw the tree lined streets dotted with some of the most beautiful homes we have ever seen. I think if I lived in that neighborhood I may be able to deal with those harsh Midwestern winters! Luckily today the chill was long gone and the weather was perfect. We arrived at the lighthouse at the same time as the Williams family and enjoyed exploring the park near the lighthouse with them. We found a forested trail that led us down the bluff and to the shores of Lake Michigan. The entire area could not have been more beautiful. We could have stayed in Milwaukee all day but our next clue (here) told us that the Windy City was waiting!
We were so excited when we got the clue telling us that we were heading to Cloud Gate in downtown Chicago. I had seen so many photos of this iconic mirrored bean and I was thrilled to be finally be able to see it for myself. We hopped in the car and headed on down the road full of energy and excitement. That energy quickly drained when we slammed directly into Chicago rush hour traffic. I live in Southern California so I am no stranger to the nightmare that is rush hour, but Chicago certainly can give Los Angeles a run for its money. It was awful. There was much more stopping than going, that’s for sure. What I found particularly demoralizing was the fact that there was no carpool lane which we had grown to rely on back home. So we sat and endured the tie up along with the rest of Northern Illinois. After what seemed like an eternity, we rounded a corner and the Chicago skyline came into view! We let out cheers as the energy came surging back and our spirits were once again soaring. We parked below Milennium Park and joined the masses. Evidently, every Monday there are free concerts in the park and half of Chicago had come out to enjoy the music.
We made our way through the crowd and over Cloud Gate. I screamed with joy. We had finally made it to that precious bean! We took our pictures and strolled around the park for a bit before deciding that we had to leave Chicago and make it to our final destination for the night, the Country Inn and Suites in Naperville. It was so hard to leave the city that we had spent so long trying to get to but we knew that if we wanted our kids in bed before midnight, it was what we had to do. Don’t worry Chicago, the Earnshaw’s will be back!
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
Chicago Skyline at Dusk
I’m so excited! I just can’t hide it!
Did you know that Illinois is now an orange state?!?! No, we’re not talking about politics here. Trekaroo is launching in Illinois and we’re turning it orange on our maps!
Why Illinois? Because our mission is to help parents explore and travel with kids everywhere and with 3M children living throughout Illinois, it’s got family fun around every corner. After lots of hard work and the help from dedicated Trekaroo moms and dads, we are now in Chicago and beyond.
So, what have we got?
- Over 400 activities that have been rated and tagged by parents like you
- List of 1000 plus hotels throughout the state of Illinois waiting to be rated by parents like you
- Coverage of the 5 major areas in Illinois: Chicagoland, Central Illinois, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, and Western Illinois
- All sorts of fun lists on best free attractions in Chicago area, free Chicago museum days, and more.
What location is next? Drop me an email and let me know where we should go. We’re thinking Seattle, DC and some of the hot winter ski spots in Colorado and Utah.
Special thanks to michipo, bridgets, asmpman, teammom, kat569, and momof3boys for their love of Illinois and sharing about their adventures with kids with the Trekaroo community. And of course, thanks to the Trekaroo team who works so hard on making everything happen.
See you in the Windy City,
Esther Lee (thelees3) – CEO
Chicago Resources:
- Fun in Chicago with Young Kids
- Family-friendly Tips from a Local Mom for Exploring Chicago
- Free and Cheap Entertainment in the Suburbs of Chicago
- Best FREE attractions in and around Chicago
- Free Museum Days in Chicago
- Places to cool off the Kiddos in the Chi-town Area by asmpman
- Kraft Great Kids Museum Passes in Chicago
- Saving Money on Chicago Kids Museums – Museum Adventure Pass
Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | FL | HI | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA and now IL
Chicago moms and dads, Trekaroo is in your hood!
That’s right, our KidsMobile has pulled in for Trekaroo’s big launch in Illinois. Thanks to some super duper families who have been sharing about all the reasons that families love Chicago, we can all benefit from their road-tested tips and recommendations.
Trekaroo families have voted and this is their verdict for 2009:
Hot List of Best Places to take Kids in Chicago
Best Kid-friendly Hotels in Chicago
*****
Jumpin’ onboard the Trekaroo KidsMobile are some of the most travel savvy mid-west moms. Together, they’re letting us in on some of Chicago’s best kept secrets for families.
First up, Minnemom shares how to have Fun in Chicago with Young Kids. This is a mom extraordinaire who has traveled through big and small towns all over the midwest with her 4 kids. If you need advice about how to have a lifestyle of travel with a large family, she’s your go-to gal and you can follow her adventures on her fantastic blog: Travels With Children
Amie O’Shaughnessy of Ciao Bambino brings us some Family-friendly Tips from a Local Mom for Exploring Chicago. Ciao Bambino is a one of Trekaroo’s favorite partners because we share a common passion – inspiring families to travel. Ciao Bambino provides vetted reviews of the best accommodations when traveling with children of all ages around the world.
Free and Cheap Entertainment in the Suburbs of Chicago - sign me up! The bargain hunting mom behind Bargins Rock has no hesitation sharing her best finds in her home town of Chicago. She’s passionate about saving money and loves passing on good deals to her blog readers. If you like deals too, be sure to bookmark her blog.
Bridget Stern also has a list of the Best FREE attractions in and around Chicago. Bridget works with families day in day out capturing the most wonderful photos of children and families as a professional photographer. She is also an active mom who loves exploring with her daughter. To see great pics and read about their family’s adventures, hop on over to Bridget Stern’s blog.
Other Chicago Resources:
- Free Museum Days in Chicago
- Places to cool off the Kiddos in the Chi-town Area by asmpman
- Kraft Great Kids Museum Passes in Chicago
- Saving Money on Chicago Kids Museums – Museum Adventure Pass
Next stop, we’ll be heading to Seattle, Washington for another big launch the week of Halloween.
The Trekaroo KidsMobile is a blog carnival with a twist. It’s designed to provide a unique opportunity for mom and dad bloggers to be featured on Trekaroo while
1) expressing their unique point of view
2) getting a web of link exchanges.
Join us for one of our next stopovers.
*****
LiLing Pang is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | FL | HI | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA and now IL
My first experience in Chicago involved a car rental, a blizzard, and the loss of my driver side windshield wiper. Since then, I’ve been to Chicago multiple times with the family and with each new experience, I always wish that I had more time to stay and play.
Chicago is filled with an endless number of fabulous attractions both in the heart of the city as well as into the rest of Chicagoland. Here’s Trekaroo’s hot list of places to take kids in Chicago.
Baby Beluga at the Shedd Aquarium. Photo Credit: Flickr/the-o
#1 Place to take Kids in Chicago – Shedd Aquarium
The Shedd Aquarium is not only the most popular places to take kids in Chicago, but also the top rated place to see animals. “They offer live shows with shark feeding, dolphin behavior and have the most beautiful beluga whales, the canaries of the sea!”
Best Museum for Kids under 3 – Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
This museum is made for kids to learn about nature. They can hold a butterfly in the Butterly Haven, learn about having a eco-friendly lifestyle in the Extreme Green House, make their own dams and waterways in the Riverworks waterplay area and more.
Sue the T-rex at the Field Museum. Credit: Flickr/cjmaru
Best Museum for Kids – The Field Museum
The Field Museum is home to Sue, the largest T-Rex fossil yet. If your kids don’t know Sue yet, be sure to read The Field Mouse and the Dinosaur Named Sue by Jan Wahl for kids ages 4-8. “This museum is big, and some areas are great for kids, most like the dinosaurs, mummies, taxidermy animals, bugs, and miniature house and gems.” The rest of the museum is probably better for teenagers and adults.
Doll Heaven – American Girl Place
Literally. Where else can your little girl treat her favorite doll to clothes shopping, a hair treatment (wash and style), visit the Doll Doctor for any chronic issues and visit their homes (ie. Kirsten’s log cabin or Samantha Victorian’s parlor). If your daughter loves her American Girl, you can’t miss this spot.
Best View in Chicago – Willis Tower Skydeck (formerly the Sears Tower)
103 floors up, your kids can enjoy panoramic views of the Windy City from the Willis Tower. The Ledge is such a fun and unique experience for kids of all ages. Hear is first hand from some of the kids who were there this past summer.
Fountain fun at Millennium Park. Credit: Flickr/mpwillis
Best outdoor attraction in Chicago – Millennium Park
“Here’s a place downtown that doesn’t cost anything to get into, a place where the kidlets can run around in open spaces and the older folks can rest their weary feet, a place where contentment prevails. Younger children adore the two towering rectangular fountains in the southeast corner of Millennium Park. These fountains stand 50 feet tall, spaced far enough apart on a black granite slab to create a reflecting pool between them, and the water cascades down their sides with varying intensity.” The other favorite hotspot is the Bean. Don’t forget your camera.
Which Hotels came up at the top? Best Kid-friendly Hotels in Chicago
Other Resources for Chicago:
- Fun in Chicago with Young Kids
- Family-friendly Tips from a Local Mom for Exploring Chicago
- Free and Cheap Entertainment in the Suburbs of Chicago
- Best FREE attractions in and around Chicago
- Free Museum Days in Chicago
- Places to cool off the Kiddos in the Chi-town Area by asmpman
- Kraft Great Kids Museum Passes in Chicago
- Saving Money on Chicago Kids Museums – Museum Adventure Pass
Esther Lee is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | FL | HI | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA and now IL
Heading to Chicago for the Holidays and looking for a kid-friendly hotel? These are the hotels in Chicago that Trekaroo families were raving about in 2009.
Best Kid-Friendly Hotel in Chicago (Parent’s Choice)
Park Hyatt Chicago
Park Hyatt combines both relative affordability with excellent service. CheerioFamily can’t say enough good things about their “superb service”. Momofthreeboys thinks it’s “location is excellent. Right on Michigan avenue, across from Water Tower. There are plenty of shops everywhere. Also a nice playground within walking distance.” asmpman loved the kids “welcome packages with cameras and coloring books”. Families will appreciate the indoor pool and laundry facilities. If you have an American Girl fan, then you’ve got to get the American Girl package – cookies and milk, beds for your daughter’s doll, bathrobes, slippers and even more. Wow! What little girl would not be in heaven!
What’s to love
- Location (near Michigan Ave and Water Tower and a nice playground)
- Kid-friendly staff and service
- Complimentary breakfast and manager’s reception
- American Girl Package
What’s not to love
- Very few suites
Read the full reviews from families on Park Hyatt Chicago | Check Availability and Deals at Park Hyatt
Best Value Kid-friendly Hotel in Chicago
Homeward Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown
Families love this hotel because of it’s spotless rooms and spacious suites that are perfect for families. Couple that with a kitchen and complimentary breakfast and dinners, the value that the Homeward Suites offers is hard to beat. Although this is not a luxury hotel, the rooms and beds are very comfortable. It is also located within walking distance to good public transportation. To check availability and deals. Rates start as low as $110/night at select times of the year.
Other kid-friendly hotels in Chicago
Known for treating kids as well as they do adults, this hotel is luxurious but wonderfully welcoming to families. Book now and get $125 off “while stocks last”. Rates start at $445/night. Check availability and current rates at Four Seasons Chicago
You wouldn’t expect this boutique hotel to be kid-friendly but it is. Besides having sheek rooms, they also have board games and cards, snacks, and free tickets to Navy Pier. It is located just 1 mile from Magnificent Mile where there is lots of shopping and restaurants. Book now. Average nightly rate starts at $230.
This is a good bargain hotel with suites, indoor pool and a decent location. Book early and save 15%. Nightly rates start at $145.
Hotels with pools
Doubletree Hotel Chicago Magnificent Mile (Rates start at $88/night)
The Palmer House Hilton ( Rates start at $95/night)
Best Western River North Hotel ($109/night)
Omni Chicago Hotel (Rates start at $199/night)
Which activities turned up at the top? Hot List of Best Places to take Kids in Chicago
Other Chicago Resources:
- Fun in Chicago with Young Kids
- Family-friendly Tips from a Local Mom for Exploring Chicago
- Free and Cheap Entertainment in the Suburbs of Chicago
- Best FREE attractions in and around Chicago
- Free Museum Days in Chicago
- Places to cool off the Kiddos in the Chi-town Area by asmpman
- Kraft Great Kids Museum Passes in Chicago
- Saving Money on Chicago Kids Museums – Museum Adventure Pass
LiLing Pang is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | FL | HI | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA and now IL
Just yesterday, at the playground our 3 year old who normally would be clambering across the tree house playground was lethargically sitting on my lap in the shade. 
With beads of sweat trickling down his little face he sighed, “I’m roasted like a marshmallow!” One of the best things about summer is finding fun places to cool off our kids close to home or a road trip away.
Photo by: www.flickr.com/photos/23826464@N04/3479116232
Beach Bumpkins
Kids and beaches are a winning combination. Tidepooling is a fun and educational way to cool off and explore the beach.
Kid-Friendly Tidepools Along the California Coast
Trekaroo families know which beaches are best for kids. Read their reviews:
Kid-friendly Beaches in Miami & Palm Beach, Florida
Kid-friendly Beaches in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Kid-friendly Beaches in South Carolina
Kid-friendly Beaches in Oahu, Hawaii
Photo by: Brennan Pang
Fun Escapes into Cool Museums
Not in the mood for getting wet? Escape to an air-conditioned museum instead! Get cool and develop new interests. Lydie Thomas tells us How to Make a Trip to a Museum With a Kid a Pleasant Experience.
Ready? Start exploring kid-friendly museum exhibits for summer 2009 Across the US | San Francisco Bay Area
Museum Free Days in the San Francisco Bay Area – GrandmaDot
Photo by: www.flickr.com/photos/emeryjl/1317616335
Wonderful Water Parks
River Head, NY: Splish Splash Water Park
Martap112 loves it because it has “a lot of rides to choose from”.
Denver, CO: Water World
One of the largest water parks in the nation with more for young kids than most.
Lydie Thomas reminds us to play hard, but stay safe:
Kid Safety TIps at a Water Park or Public Pool
Water Parks in Florida
Water Parks near San Francisco
Water Park in Washington
Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/papalamour/206475271
Livin’ it up at a Lake
Yosemite, CA: Lake Tanaya
Escape the crowds at this lake with it’s “stunning views, large beach and shallow waters” according to TravelPangs.
Oakland, CA: Lake Temescal
A neighborhood swimming lake that’s a “great place for kids” according to mitchguez.
Jim Thorpe, PA: Mauch Chunk Lake Park
Christine O’Toole recommends it because it “offers more than a vacation’s worth of activities”.
Photo by: Brennan Pang
Splash Pads, Fountains and Pools
Chicago: Splash at Millennium Park
asmpman says, “This whole park is fabulous!”.
San Francisco Bay Area Public Pools
The City | Peninsula | East Bay
San Francisco Bay Area Splash Parks
Peninsula | East Bay
Photo by:www.flickr.com/photos/brian-m/233359192
Unexpected Places to Cool Off
Jacksonville (Florida) Zoo & Gardens:
Splash Ground is a “perfect midday break” from walking around the zoo - BarnesFam
California: Universal Studios
Yes, there’s a splash park! Gretchen “took along swimsuits and watershoes and hung out in the splash park” with her kids all summer.
More Lists for Cooling Off By Trekaroo Familes:
• Places to Cool Off in Texas by romar
• Places to Cool Off in the Chi-town Area by asmpman
• Fun Summer Activities in the Tri-State Area by michipo
(This is an excerpt from our July 2009 Trekaroo Newsletter – Don’t miss any issues: SUBSCRIBE to the Trekarooo Newsletter)
Trekaroo is a reviews website dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
