Due to the vagaries of flying to the middle of nowhere and a work conference in lovely Schaumberg, IL, there’s a good chance I’m going to have a free afternoon when I attend a conference there next month. My plane leaves at 7:30 from O’Hare, and the conference is done sometime around noon or one. I’m going to ask for a late check-out in the hotel, but there’s a good chance I won’t get it.
I know I can go directly to O’Hare and sit around for 7 hours, but that doesn’t sound like much fun.
So… what to do? I’ll have two pieces of luggage - a rolly bag, small enough that I can bring it on the plane, and a fairly big laptop case. Not too bad to walk small distances with, but I don’t want to, for example, be toting it around downtown Chicago for an afternoon.
So what I’m looking for:
something that can be done in 4-5 hours. I don’t have a car, so I’ll have to account for transportation from Schaumberg to wherever, and from wherever to O’Hare at some point.
something that either can be done easily with luggage, OR is in/around Schaumberg (I’m sure the hotel can stash my luggage there), OR someplace where I can stow my luggage while I’m there (I think, for example, some museums might offer this service?).
I’ve been to the big museums in Chicago before (Art museum, Science & Industry, Aquarium, History, etc) but if there’s new/great exhibits, I’m up for those. And I know I haven’t seen everything in all of them.
What else? A friend mentioned the Ikea in Schaumberg, and that actually sounds somewhat fun to me - remember, I live in the middle of nowhere, so nifty new stores are sort of like Disneyworld. I don’t, however, want to traipse around a generic mall or anything like that (I’ve been to the mall in Schaumberg, not interested.)
I know if all else fails, there’s the Champagne bar in O’Hare, but even Champagne gets dull for 6 hours.
Well, not having a car will make things a bit more difficult - Schaumburg isn’t really a “hub” for way cool stuff to do. I suppose I could meet you and we could to go the bar. That’s what we do pretty much every day.
Yes, the Ikea is pretty cool. Woodfield Mall you said you’ve seen, so I’d cross that off the list. Um - there’s Mitsuwa - that’s in Arlington Heights which wouldn’t be a huge cab fare - I haven’t been there, but I’m told it is pretty cool.
I would say Arlington Park Racetrack but the meet ends this weekend so if you’re not here until next month, that won’t work. Unless you like off track betting - Trackside is open all year round.
Cantigny is very cool - but that’s kind of a long cab ride. Well, probably TOO long and too far away.
Hmmm - let me keep thinking. Let me see what’s going on in Long Grove in October. I could pick you up and take you there. THEN go the bar.
Well, as you sort of note, Schaumberg is a healthy distance from the city, especially if you don’t have a car. Even if traffic isn’t bad, you’re looking at probably an hour to get from Schaumberg to downtown, and the better part of another hour to get back out to O’Hare (and that’ll be at rush hour). Given that you’ll want to be through security at O’Hare well before 7:30, that doesn’t seem to leave a whole lot of time to actually do anything downtown, so I’d suggest seeing what (if anything) appeals in the Schaumberg area.
And, that’s the trick. Schaumberg is mostly known for having that mall…beyond that, it’s office parks and suburbia. There’s not a lot of tourist-oriented attractions there, AFAIK.
IKEA is pretty neat if you’ve never been in one, and it’s huge.
There’s a LEGOLAND place just south of the Woodfield mall (at Streets of Woodfield)…if you’re really into LEGOs, it might be neat, but it’s likely to be very full of kids, too.
Works for me - Alley 64 on Rand Road in Palatine would be a really easy place for everyone to get to - its right off of Rt. 53 on Rand - and they have terrific food and shouldn’t be too crowded. I could pick her up in Schaumburg and take her there, then she could cab it to O’Hare from Palatine. If she were so inclined.
That said - this IS a work event, and there IS a chance that someone’s gonna say “Hey, Athena, since your flight doesn’t leave until 7, let’s spend the afternoon doing <x>” and I won’t really be able to say no. I don’t think there’s a huge chance of that happening - I’m guessing that after a week of conferences, everyone’s gonna want to just stop thinking about work - but I’d hate to blow you all off. So you’d have to be OK with a dopefest that there is a small potential I won’t be able to make it to, or maybe not be able to make it to for the entire time.
And it is a Friday afternoon. Don’t you people work?
So far, barring the dopefest, Ikea sounds good. I like Legolands, but I’ve been to the one in Chicago before, is this one better? Mitsuwa is good too, but man, I keep doing this thing where I go out of town and spend time wandering around all these cool grocery stores where I can’t buy anything because they really frown on 3# of Wagyu beef in your carry-on. It’s like setting myself up for punishment!
I surely do - from home. Friday afternoon “meetings” are pretty common as it’s $3 U Call It drinks at my dive bar and I like to get out of there before the rush starts and it gets crowded.
And we can always touch base closer to your event - just keep us posted.
I do, but I’m one of the bosses at a small company. If I want to / need to scoot on a Friday afternoon, I can usually do so.
BTW, do you know which week this’d be? I know that I’m going to be out of town on one Friday in October. (If you don’t want to post it publicly, you can PM me.)
If you’re talking about the LEGO Store that’s downtown, the one in Schaumberg is a lot bigger – it’s not just a store, it’s more like a LEGO activity center / indoor theme park, with a store attached (of course). It’s also $20 to get in (though they have discounts):
If you (1) don’t want to go to downtown Chicago but (2) have done Woodfield Mall, my suggestion would be to go to Rosemont, where there’s:
a) a brand-new outlet mall. I haven’t been there yet, so I don’t know how much it’s like a “generic mall.”
b) an entertainment complex with a movie theater, bowling alley, country bar, comedy club, Irish-style pub, and German brauhaus.
c) a casino just across the village line in Des Plaines.
You can easily cab it from Rosemont to the airport, or all the above have free shuttle buses to the Rosemont L station, which is the last stop on the Blue Line ($2.25 fare) before the terminal at O’Hare.
One of the interesting things about the Rosemont outlet mall is that they have regular shuttles to the airport and you can actually check into your flight from the mall. Presumably, there are places you can store your luggage, as well.
I’ve been to the Legoland in Schaumburg, and the first floor has the displays maed with Lego blocks. The second floor has the dining area, a carnival ride, an exhibit where you watch them make legos, and a play area where kids cam build stuff with Legos.
I was there on a Saturday afternoon in Schaumburg during summer vacation and it was pandemonium. Went with my mother and the grandkids, [my niece and nephew] and we paid for the package which included admission, pizzza lunch and 4 pepsis, and a picture. I think they have salads, and hot dogs are also offered.
Kids were everywhere and I tripped on a little boy, but maybe if you go during the week, during school hours, it might be bettter for you.
Schaumberg is mostly known for having that mall…beyond that, it’s office parks and suburbia. There’s not a lot of tourist-oriented attractions there, AFAIK.
