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| *Travel Tips>>>Chicago Travel Tips |
Are there any inexpensive or free things to do in the Great Lakes area of IL? |
Travel Info We are traveling to Great Lakes.IL to see our son's Pass and Review Ceremony at NRTC (Navy Recruit Training Command) and will be there for 3 days while our son is on liberty. We don't have much money so the things we can do are limited. Does anyone know of something to do within a 50 mile radius of NRTC that we can do for free or for cheap? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Travel Tips Everyone else is right - all the good stuff is in the city. Familiarize yourself with both trains before you go. The Metra will get you to the city, the "el" will get you around the city. They both offer discounts for buying multiple rides at a time and some passes are sharable. Don't drive: parking is so expensive and the city is so congested that I promise you're better off taking the train. Next, check out www.cityofchicago.org to find many things to do. I suggest the Chicago Greeter program. The city matches you up with a volunteer for a FREE 2-4 hour walking tour of Chicago. The only catch is you have to sign up in advance. Also, some of the museums have free days during the week. The Art Institute used to be free on Tuesdays, I think it's Thursdays now...anyway you can find out for sure on the website. Skip the Sears Tower and Hancock observation decks (way overpriced) and check out the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor of the Hancock building (just a few floors away from the obs. deck). It's free to go up and with the money you'll save you can have a great martini by the window. There is no dress code (unlike the swanky 95th floor Signature Room restaurant), and the best view of the city is in the ladies' room. Other hot spots: Lincoln Park Zoo (always free!) Navy Pier (neat to see, but full of shops, restaurants, and rides so plan on spending a little money) Billy Goat Tavern - go to the original under Michigan Avenue for a very affordable Chicago experience (not the one at Navy Pier - same burgers, no culture or history) China Town - great food (obviously authentic), very affordable, accessible by the Red Line el. Don't be discouraged by the fact that it's on the South Side. It's not "touristy clean", but safe and you don't have to walk more that two blocks after you get off the train. U.S. Cellular Field - both the Sox and the Cubs stink, but for some reason only the Sox have tickets available. You can get upper level seats for about $20 each. They also have promotions like half price Mondays and 2 for 1 hot dogs for the first hour the gate is open (which means it's usually over an hour befor game time so get there early). The red line stop for the field is the next one south of Chinatown. Again, it's safe (especially with the game time crowds), but I wouldn't wander to much further south from there. Hope this helps. Oh yeah, get a map and learn the "grid system" (every street has a number as well as a name to help you find addresses easier). Seems overwhelming at first, but really helps in the long run. Others Take the train to Chicago visit Navy Pier, millennium park, zoo. Not much to do if the Base I'm thinking of in North Chicago or Lake Bluff just a bunch of parks and crappy beaches. You could also try Gurnee Mills (big outlet mall) Take UP-N to downtown and just walk towards the lake. You'll have plenty to do and see http://www.metrarail.com/system_map/inde... You can visit Chicago: Navy Pier is free to visit, and the Ferris Wheel is cheap...I think $5. The Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium on the lakefront are fun, and affordable too. They both have websites you can find on google with pricing. Visiting the beaches is free, and fun! You can also spend a day at any of the great forest preserves in Lake County, IL - a picnic and a hike. The Lake County Discovery Museum is part of the forest preserve district...and affordable to visit, with no traffic. You can also find info on google. Lincoln Park Zoo off Lakeshore Dr. at Fullerton is a phenomenal zoo...and incredibly free. You can easily spend a whole day down there and have fun on a very limited budget. Additionally, all of the Chicago Park District facilities are very nice and will give you a great day in the city...whether it's a day at Oak Street beach, a festival in Grant Park, or a stroll up the lakeshore to take in the beauty of the city from Soldiers' Field all the way up to Foster Ave. through both Grant and Lincoln parks. Just walking around the city and stopping at places like millenium park, and navy pier is a ton of fun. I go up there a couple times a year and usually the only thing i'll spend money on is food. it's a great city to just walk around and explore in. |
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