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Consider Chicago for Your Next Family Vacation

May 30, 2010 By Colleen Stout 4 Comments

Chicago is a great destination for a family vacation, especially if you’re looking for an alternative to the usual amusement parks and beaches this summer. My husband and I visit Chi-town often, and just a couple weeks ago we took our boys with us for the first time. Here’s some travel suggestions to help you plan your trip to the Windy City.

Where to Stay

Look for hotels in the Streeterville, Gold Coast and Loop areas. Those locations will put you close to the major sites, and public transportation. Downtown hotels can be pricey, but I can always find a good deal on a room online. Hotwire.com is my favorite site for affordable Chicago hotel rooms.

Getting Around

You can easily blow $100 a day on parking if you choose to drive around town.

If you fly, skip the rental car. If you drive in, find a parking garage near your hotel with reasonable overnight rates, and leave your vehicle there.

Use the trains and buses to get around. A one-way trip is under $3 a person, and children 7 and under ride free. Hotel staff are are happy to help you figure out which routes you need to take to your destinations.

Many place are also within walking distance of the three neighborhoods I suggested above. Cabs are affordable if you’re not going far.

If you have small children, ditch the massive stroller that you haul around in the mini-van. It’s too hard to get on and off the trains and buses. Opt for a compact umbrella stroller, or use a sling or carrier that you can wear. [Read more...]

The Twin Cities: Family Style

April 9, 2010 By MeganS 12 Comments

Two and half years ago my family moved to a burb just outside of the Twin Cities. For all of you that are not from the Mid-West, the Twin Cities is what us locals call the Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota area. I am originally from ND and while growing up our big family vacations were always to the Twin Cities. Even though I have been a resident for over 2 1/2 years, I still feel like a tourist. I get excited when I drive the 20 minute commute into the cities and get to see the city skyline (there isn’t much “city skyline” in ND!) So whenever we get the chance and have a free weekend that isn’t packed full of house cleaning and projects, we like to play tourist in our little corner of the world. This past weekend my parents were in town and we used them as an excuse to paint the town red!

We started the weekend off at the Mall of America (MOA). The MOA boasts 520 stores, 50 restaurants, Nickelodeon Universe, a 1.2 million gallon aquarium at Underwater Adventure, Lego Land, it hosts 350 plus events each year and over 5,000 couples have gotten married at the MOA.

On a previous trip to the MOA we took our boys (1 and 2 at the time) to Underwater Adventure where they had a blast oooing, ahhing and squealing with delight as they inched their way through the tunnel of fish and sharks. They were even able to pet sting rays and my oldest was very excited about the fish tank full of Dori and Nemo fish! [Read more...]