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Issue: Fall/Winter 2011
Author(s): Carolyn Walkup
What may be the world’s largest collection of handmade scarecrows greets kids of all ages at the 26th annual St. Charles Scarecrow Fest , held October 7–9. Nearly 120,000 people are expected to attend the outdoor festival, when fall’s rich colors only add to the charm of downtown St. Charles, located just an hour west of Chicago. More than 100 scarecrows — created by artists, community organizations and local businesses and showcasing a variety of styles — will be on display throughout Lincoln Park and ...
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Issue: Fall/Winter 2011
Author(s): Amy Bizzarri Bocchetta
Do you have what it takes to train dolphins and beluga whales? Don a wetsuit and rubber boots and jump into Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium , where the premier experiential program will have you spending up-close-and-personal time with amazing marine creatures. The Shedd is a world-class aquarium, featuring more than 32,600 marine animals, from snails to whales, as well as the Abbott Oceanarium, a 3,000,000-gallon tank that is one of the largest indoor marine mammal facilities in the world. With the Shedd’s Tr...
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Issue: Fall/Winter 2011
Author(s): Amy Bizzarri Bocchetta
Set sail high into the sky on an unforgettable hot air balloon ride in Galena, Illinois. You’ll have an eagle’s eye view of the fall palette of colors as the natural beauty of historic Jo Daviess County extends out below, and relax as your colorful balloon peacefully makes its way through the blue skies. Hitch your ride with Galena on the Fly at the Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa, one of the Midwest’s premier family resorts. After take-off, you’ll spend a few minutes at treetop level; from there you’ll asc...
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Issue: Spring/Summer 2011
Author(s): Amy Bizzarri Bocchetta
Since 1852, the Graue Mill and Museum in Oakbrook, Illinois , has been grinding cornmeal, its waterwheel turning at the edge of the picturesque Salt Creek. Today, the Graue Mill Museum is dedicated to bridging past and present through living-history programs that illustrate daily life of the past, including milling, spinning and weaving demonstrations. Watch a woman clad in a pioneer dress and bonnet weave a rug and prepare preserves in her kitchen, help separate the wheat from the chaff, and learn how t...
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Issue: Spring/Summer 2011
Author(s): Katie Morell
Instead of heading to far-flung shopping hot spots like Las Vegas and New York for this summer’s girl’s trip, stay closer to home and head to Naperville, Illinois . Just 30 miles west of Chicago, the city is filled with inviting shops, restaurants, spas and art galleries. Back in the late ’70s, Naperville was little more than a farming community with just a few stoplights and a grocery store. But over the past 30 years, families from Chicago have flocked to the western suburb and today it ranks highly as...
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Issue: Spring/Summer 2011
Author(s): Carolyn Walkup
For families who love horses, Arlington Park Racetrack , located 30 miles northwest of downtown Chicago in Arlington Heights, Illinois , offers rare behind-the-scenes tours on selected midsummer weekends, when you can get face to face with the horses, jockeys and trainers. Called Breakfast at Arlington, the tours include a hot buffet breakfast and a memorable visit. Open to all ages, the tour introduces participants to an actual early morning training workout on one of the world’s best-maintained tracks,...
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Issue: Spring/Summer 2011
Author(s): Lynne Thompson
Fail to plan your visit to this mammoth Chicago museum — the largest science center in the Western Hemisphere — and you may end up wandering aimlessly through the 400,000-plus square feet of exhibit space, trying to decide what to see first. A 40-foot-high tornado — a spectacular swirling column of water vapor partially enclosed by a pair of clear curved walls — lures visitors into “Science Storms,” one of the Museum of Science and Industry’s newest permanent exhibits. Nearby, children repeatedly l...
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Issue: Spring/Summer 2011
Author(s): Amy Bizzarri Bocchetta
Embrace your inner cowboy or cowgirl at White Pines Ranch , a dude ranch just for children and families located on 200 acres of beautiful woods, pastures and horse trails in Oregon, Illinois . For day-trippers, horses are available for guided trips ranging from 45 minutes to an entire day’s ride, with picnic time included. Enjoy a scenic trail ride past moss-covered cliffs, blossoming lilies and the meandering banks of Spring and Pine creeks. See if you can spot the many small mammals — squirrels, raccoo...
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