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.
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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
Much to the chagrin of one of my best friends, her sweet little 3 year old girl has turned out to be princess obsessed. For the past two weeks, I haven’t seen our little friend in anything but Cinderella’s dress. I mean she even wanted to wear her princess outfit to soccer camp. Somehow when someone you love so much gets really into something, it’s contagious because there is something about embracing your child’s passions yourself that creates such a bonding experience. Alas, for her 3 year old birthday, our friends traveled down to Disneyland for some face to face with Cinderalla, Arielle and all the other princesses.
Do you have a Princess obsessed child? Wanna make your little princess’s fantasies come true? Trekaroo families have some awesome ideas about places to go to make it all happen.
Travelmom declares the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina,”Princess Heaven”.
Michipo says you can “see your fave princesses” at the 5 star rated Princess Storybook Breakfast in Lake Buena Vista, FL.
The Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament in Buena Park, California is “Perfect for the princesses and knights in your family!” raves JenC17.
Lydie’s got THE list of Top 10 Princess Destinations in the US that you must not miss.
Trekaroo is reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | FL | HI | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA
Elementary school aged kids are eager explorers and discovering San Francisco with them is a total blast. Kids at this age are great communicators, able to follow a tour, are interested in history, and are strong enough to do what may be more demanding physically. If you are coming to San Francisco with a child who is in elementary school, here are some must see attractions listed in order of importance.
Golden Gate Bridge
San Francisco, California
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bike/236189021
Pier 33 (on Embarcadero and Bay St)
Hornblower Alcatraz Landing San Francisco, California
3. California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Drive
San Francisco, California
Would you vote an 18 year old to the school board? Did you even know that an 18 year old could run for public office? What about voting a 20 year old to be your mayor?
Jason Pollock, film-maker, writer, activist and twitter fanatic (@Jason_Pollock) just released a movie called “The Youngest Candidate” in partnership with Oscar winning producer Lawrence Bender (“Inconvenient Truth” and “Pulp Fiction”), Worldwide Pants (David Letterman’s Studio) and Balance Vector Productions. Here’s the trailer:
The film is about the few remarkable teenagers who have the passion to run for public office despite their youth, inexperience, and the cynicism directed towards them. This documentary follows four boys and girls who are coming of age through the electorial process. It captures their exuberant enthusiasm, unbending idealism, and the unfettered passion of youth. These brave young politicians face ridicule on every front, but persevere through to election day.
The topic that Pollock covers in this documentry is fascinating, but what I find even more intriguing is the preciousness of unbriddled optimism, passion, and idealism that comes with youth. Those of us who are able to maintain this through the curve balls that life throws our way are the ones who will be able to rise beyond ourselves. Unfortunately, these qualities are often beaten out of us by life circumstances or by well and not so well meaning adults well before we enter our teens.
As a first time entrepreneur chasing after a dream, I find myself identifying in many ways with these young passionates. Before starting Trekaroo slightly over a year ago when we decided to jump in with two feet, our hearts, our paycheck, and bank account, I couldn’t even begin to imagine the merciless challenges that would face us daily as entrepreneurs. Without the same unbriddled optimism that these teens possess to face the seemingly insurmountable, we would have given up even before launching Trekaroo. Recession or no recession, being an entrepreneur is both the most exhilarating and nerve wrecking thing I’ve ever done in my life. It is also a journey our family could never have persevered along without family and friends. Family who have indulged our dreams, sometimes blindly, but most of the time by biting back their fears and instead choosing to help us.
As parents, most of us want our children to believe that they can accomplish anything. We offer countless words of encouragement starting when our little ones can barely rollover. We make personal sacrifices to ensure that our kids receive an education that puts them in good standing on the path to success. Some of us practically sell our souls to provide our children with every opportunity to discover their unique talents and passions. At the same time, we also have a strong urge to shield them from any disappointment, ridicule, failure, and poverty. Essentially, we tell our kids to reach for the sky but as soon as we think the sky is too high, we pull down heavy rain clouds to drown out their dreams. What a paradox!
When I picture myself as a parent to one of these young candidates, I just know that I’d be the one trying to adjust my child’s expectations or attempting to talk him into a smaller dream. Of course, failure is painful. But as with most jourynes, it’s not the final desitnation that matters most, rather it’s about the lessons we learn on the road through struggling and overcoming challenges. The faith to embark on new and unknown journeys is something we are born with, but it is delicate. I believe that as parents, we should take great care to guard it.
“…we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope…” Romans 5:3
“Ma Ma? I found your website!” squeals my 3 year old with pure delight. I look up from my keyboard. It takes me a few minutes to process the following:
1) How does a 3 year old know the word “website”
2) How can a 3 year old find a website?
I look over at him puzzled and see that in his hand is a grubby piece of scrap paper (we seem to always be drowning in scrap paper). Tilting my head slightly, I realized that on the back of it is an old screen grab print out of Trekaroo several iterations old being waved excitedly in the air.
Our kids seem to have totally embraced everything about Trekaroo – begging to write reviews (Read: Review of San Francisco Zoo from our 5 year old), taking photos, taking care of our mascot kangaroo and playing poster child for our website.
Trekaroo has found its way into every aspect of our family life….down to the inbetween spaces of our piles of magazines and art supplies.
I have a new goal! That Trekaroo would become as much a household name in the lives of families across the country as it is in ours. One day, families won’t even think about planning a trip without first checking the inside scoop from other parents on Trekaroo.
Now….I just have to find more 3 year evangelists to spread the word.
