 |
Issue: Spring/Summer 2012
Author(s): Amy Bizzarri Bocchetta
The Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, Illinois , is Chicagoland’s newest and largest gaming and entertainment destination. Just minutes from downtown Chicago and next door to O’Hare Airport, this state-of-the-art, 147,000-square-foot casino has been wowing visitors since it opened last summer. The 44,000-square-foot gaming floor is packed with more than 1,050 slot machines and 48 table games, including those for blackjack, baccarat, craps and roulette. Sign up for a Rush Rewards Club Card, and you’ll get fr...
|
|
Issue: Spring/Summer 2012
Author(s): Amy Bizzarri Bocchetta
Celebrate Native American and Western heritage along the rolling Rock River, at Lowden State Park’s annual Oregon Trail Days Festival on July 21 and 22, in Oregon, Illinois . This history-filled event commemorates the creation of the 48-foot statue Chief Black Hawk, the second tallest monolith in the country, designed by artist Lorado Taft in 1910. As you enter the state park, you’ll be struck by one of the largest gatherings of Native American tipi east of the Mississippi River. For the experience of a...
|
 |
Issue: Spring/Summer 2012
Author(s): Amy Bizzarri Bocchetta
Saddle up and get ready for a busy but fun weekend at Bluffdale Farm , an Illinois farm vacation dude ranch. Voted one of Parents magazine’s “Top 10 Family Resorts in North America,” this historic Illinois farm, located in southern Illinois near the city of Eldred , has been charming visitors since 1963. A wide range of daily activities will have you experiencing farm life while enjoying the best of the great outdoors. Hop on your favorite horse and take a guided ride into the sunrise or sunset, or hitc...
|
 |
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 ...
|
 |
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...
|
 |
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...
|
 |
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...
|
 |
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...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|