Day Trip Suggestions

I know there is a dinosaur museum in Rockford if your kids are interested in them at all. I'm not sure what it is called though. The Clock Tower Inn in Rockford has added an indoor waterpark. I haven't stayed there since it was added but it doesn't look real big so may be a good waterpark for younger kids. I'm sure there will be pictures of it on their website. Have fun! It does seem like it is hard to find places to go that aren't in Chicago.

I would defiantly check out Starved Rock in Ottawa. We have gone on the spring and it was awesome. We actually spent my daughter’s 3rd birthday and the Grand Bear Lodge and her birthday is May 2nd. My son was 4 at the time. We all had a good time.

Check out Brookfield Zoo for a day trip closer to home. Boo at the Zoo is going on through the end of October. If you celebrate the Christmas holidays, during December they have their Holiday Lights festival, Breakfast with Santa, Holiday Brunch with music and costumed characters, and on December 31 they have Zoo Year Eve. All good family activities! Also,in January/February you can go to various sites along the Illinois (Starved Rock--also near the Grand Bear Resort),and Mississippi Rivers to view bald eagles! There are many organized activities in many locations every year. Just Google "bald eagle watching" for several websites. Grand Bear Resort website is grizzlyjacksresort.com

I took my 2 yr old and 6 mos old on a daytrip to Rockford last week. We went to the Discovery Center children's museum, and only had enough time to see a fraction of the museum (had to be back in the western burbs by 3 to pick my oldest up from preschool). It is a GREAT museum--better than the DuPage musem (to which we have a membership). If you are already a member of the DuPage, Chicago or Kohl's museums, admission to the Rockford one is free.

There is also a great indoor waterpark at CoCo Key Rockford. http://cocokeyrockford.com/

The drive is not bad at all--basically head straight west on I-88, and then cut north. It took me about 1 hr 40 min to get to the museum.

Last winter we went to Key Lime Cove (another indoor waterpark) in Gurnee for an overnight with our then 3 & 1 year olds. It was a great time!

I signed up with www.radioshoppingshow.com. They have 3 sites http://www.wbig1280.com/ (for those who live in Aurora/Chicago)
http://www.wrmn1410.com/ (Elgin/Chicago) and
http://www.kshp.com (Las Vegas)

I have purchased a lot of items from them (you can take a look at what they have to offer before actually signing up with them). They charge $3.00 to ship the certificates to you and they usually arrive within 2-3 days.

I just purchased a hotel stay for around $40 in Tinely Park and it includes breakfast and has a pool. We've gone to waterparks, restaurants, mini golf, you name it, they probably have it. Once you register, they will send you a key tag. Make sure you sign up for their emails (that will tell you when everything goes on sale.

Oh, and when I plan on going to Vegas, I'm going to first check out their Vegas site for deals.

Have you been to the DuPage and Kohl children's museums? Those are LOTS of fun.

It's getting to be the end of apple picking time, but there's a nice orchard called Royal Oak Farm, about 60-90 minutes north, that has fun stuff to do besides pick apples.

For an overnight I would suggest Blue Harbor Resort in WI. It has a very nice indoor water park that's great for younger children. It's not as big as the waterparks in the dells, but certainly enough for the little ones. They also have kids activities, including story time with milk and cookies in the lobby at night.