Any Chicagoland Dopers here?

In My Humble Opinion
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I hope that this is a GQ. While opinion may be involved, it seems like there would be factual answers here.

In early March, my grandmother passed away. She was 92. At the time of her death, she was living in San Bernardino, CA. Her body has been cremated and, in June, there will be a memorial service as the remains are interred in Batavia, IL, where she was born.

My teenage daughter and I will be attending the memorial service. We will be flying into Midway Airport (SWA has direct nonstops between Austin and Midway). Where should I stay? La Quinta has locations in Bolingbrook, Hoffman Estates, Oakbrook Terrace, and Schaumburg. Which of these are in a nice neighborhood? The Bolingbrook looks nicest in the picture on the website, but it’s on a freeway. I don’t know about the others.

Should I rent a car? The only time I have been in Chicago was when I was in the sixth grade. I was with my dad (who was from Chicago) and we used public transportation most of the time. I’m not opposed to doing that, but that is totally foreign to those of us in Texas. The few cities with urban railroads are nothing like the elaborate Chicago Transit Authority. I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to get around.

While we’re in Chicago, we’d like to go to the Loop and see the Sears Tower and other attractions. If I were to rent a car, would there be places to park? I am afraid of having a car and then being stuck not being able to do anything because I can’t ditch the car somewhere.

My daughter won’t be returning home with me. Her best friend lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and my daughter will be visiting for about a week… Google Maps makes it look like it’s about three hours by car to Fort Wayne. Where is a good place to meet her friend’s family? They aren’t opposed to driving all the way into Chicago, but I hate to have them do that if that’s a difficult thing to do. My rental car, if I have one, will have unlimited mileage, so all I’m out is a tank of gas if I go all the way to Fort Wayne.

So, if you were making such a trip, what would you want to do with limited time and budget? What is a “must do” while in Chicago? She’s not a baseball fan, but if the Astros are playing at Wrigley, I might have to drag her to a game anyway. We would be arriving at Midway on a Friday, the memorial is on Saturday, with maybe family stuff on Sunday. I would need to leave Midway on Thursday at the latest. We won’t have an enormous amount of money to spend. This will be my duaghter’s first airplane trip and we’re a bit nervous at having her flying alone on the way back. When we arrive at Midway, I plan on taking time for her to become familiar with the airport and how to find her flight. I need her to get to Austin, Texas, not Austin, Minnesota.

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For the trip to Ft. Wayne: I live in La Porte, IN (moved here from Ft. Wayne), it takes me 1-1/2 hrs to Ft. Wayne and about 1-1/2 hrs to Chicago. I can be in the Loop in a little over an hour.

30 runs from Chicago to Ft. Wayne. Plymouth would be kinda-sorta halfway. About an hour and change from Ft. Wayne. I recommend going 80-94 or 90 (90 joins 80 for the Indiana Toll Road) to 65 and pick up 30 in Merrillville. Taking 30 out of Chicago can be stressful with a lot of towns and traffic lights. There are a lot of lights until you get east of Valpo, then it’s smooth sailing.

There is a Wal-Mart shopping center on 30 in Plymouth with a Wendy’s, Alpplebee’s, and some other restaurants at the big intersection in Plymouth right on 30 that should be easy to find.

Or Valpo. Valparaiso is also on 30 and a little closer to Chicago, but it seems the highly visible meeting spots are off 30.

I would take the day and window shop along the Mag Mile. Just walking along Michigan Ave. We usually walk from Water Tower shops at Chestnut and Michigan along Michigan and end up at Marshall Fields (now Macy’s) at Randolph St.

Nordstrom’s Eighth Floor, Water Tower place, Marshall Fields Lower Level, have food courts for a quick bite. And there is a Cheesecake Factory in the John Hancock Plaza (around the corner from Nordstrom’s). I’m sure there is a website devoted to shops along the Mag Mile.

There is a Hard Rock Cafe, a Rock-N-Roll McDonald’s, and a Rainforest Cafe for a little more touristy-do-once-in-a-lifetime restaurant near the Mag Mile.

I could give other must-see’s but someone from Chicago can probably help there.

3

First off, Chicagoland is pretty big. In particular, if you’re wanting to be in Batavia and in the Loop, you need a car; public transit to the suburbs is very limited, at least compared to in Chicago proper.

Of the four suburbs you mentioned, I’d stay in either Oakbrook Terrace or Bolingbrook if you want to get to & from Batavia easily. Bolingbrook is the closest of the four to Batavia, but Oakbrook Terrace is a straight shot down I-88 and is probably just as quick. However, Schaumburg & Hoffmann Estates are not terribly convenient given the way the freeways lie.

I don’t own a car myself, so you might want to take this with a grain of salt, but here’s my impression of the parking situation: Parking in the downtown area isn’t hard to find; however, quite a bit of it is in garages, which are rather pricey. As long as you’re prepared to pay ~$20-30 to park your car for the day, you’ll be able to park.

Your daughter might consider taking the South Shore Line, which runs from downtown Chicago as far as South Bend, IN, about 1 1/2 hours from Fort Wayne. The train trip takes about 2 1/2 hours, so the total time would be longer this way.

Beyond that… It looks like you’re out of luck for seeing the Astros at Wrigley; the only home games during the month of June are vs. Atlanta, Seattle, San Diego, Colorado, and Milwaukee.

If you want a great way to see the Loop (and since it’ll be early summer), you should take one of the boat tours offered by the Chicago Architecture foundation. It’s a great way to see some really cool buildings.

The Art Institute is excellent, as is the Field Museum, although in June in Chicago you really don’t want to stay indoors all day. Michigan Avenue is excellent if you’re into shopping, window- or the real kind. As far as the performing arts go, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be wrapping up its regular season; the Blue Man Group is a really neat experience if you’ve never seen one of their shows; and there’s oodles & oodles of small theatre companies if you’re into that sort of thing. What kind of stuff do you like?

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What? You can’t get factual answers in IMHO? :slight_smile:

This one’s better in IMHO. Moved.

samclem GQ Moderator

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The Musuem of Science and Industry and the Art Institute are always a must. Navy Pier is a bit cheesy with its hot dog stands and ferris wheel but I always enjoy hanging out there. Millennium Park is also great, and you can take a leisurely walk from there to the Magnificent Mile, where all the expensive shops are. Going to Lake Michigan for an afternoon picnic is also fun. :slight_smile:

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Batavia is kind of a far west suburb, so you’ll likely want to stay in the west suburbs and you definitely will need a car. Are you tied to a La Quinta? If not, you might want to consider looking for reasonable hotels in Naperville, Wheaton, or Warrenville. All are right on I88 and you’ll probably just want to take I88 down to Farnsworth. From any of those suburbs, it’s a short drive. If you definitely want to stay at a La Quinta, just for ease of navigation I’d suggest the Oak Brook one.

As for parking, there is plenty in the loop area, but be prepared to pay for it. It gets pretty expensive depending on where you want to be. I’m usually okay with the Grant Park garage as it is right under Michigan ave and right by the Art institute.

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Samclem, sorry for posting in the wrong forum. I just wasn’t sure which way to go with this. Thanks for moving to IMHO.

Thank you all for the nice suggestions. I’m sure my daughter would enjoy the Magnificent Mile. We may do that for her, and do the boat tour for me.

I’m not opposed to paying for parking, though it does sound like the price is about double what it usually is around here. I think I’ll just go ahead and rent a car, since public transportation might be a bit chancy for the uninitiated. On ER, they’re always taking the el trains. I think that would be a lot of fun, but we might end up in a sketchy neighborhood or something.

I’m not really married to the LQ brand, it’s just that my teacher’s association gets a 20% discount, so the room will be under 90 bucks a night. That seemed like a fair balance of cost and quality. Some LQ’s, though, can be real dogs. Others are very nice. Sometimes, you just take your chances.

I will probably go for meeting my daughter’s friends in Indiana somewhere. I would enjoy the drive into unfamiliar territory. How much do the toll roads cost?

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The El trains are pretty nifty, but they don’t run out the the far suburbs; they only run into a couple of the towns immediately adjoining Chicago, like Oak Park and Evanston. It it a pretty good way to get from downtown to Wrigley Field, though, if you decide to do that.

If you’re going from the west suburbs to Indiana, you won’t really need to use the Indiana Toll Road at all. However, to get from Batavia to Chicago you’re probably best off using the Tri-State Tollway; I don’t have much experience with the toll roads in that area, unfortunately, so I couldn’t tell you how much it would cost.

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Um, no. The tri-state (294) runs N/S through the western burbs, around Elmhurst. Getting from my west suburban home to Indiana (a trip I make several times a year), the ONLY options are to either take 294 down to 80, or to take the Ike into Chicago, then down the Dan Ryan to either the Skyway or 80.

Batavia’s another 15-20 miles west, along the Fox River. To get into the city from Batavia, you’ll come in I-88 - the E-W Tollway (I refuse to call it by its new name!) and continue in on the Eisenhower (290) (free expressway).
The tolls are (about) a buck each if you don’t have I-Pass. You’d probably hit at least 2 tolls between Batavia and the Ike.
Your only option to avoid the tolls on I-88 is to barrel along Roosevelt, North, or Butterfield - each of which can be unpleasant in traffic.

While you CAN get around a lot of places with public transportation, it will cost you much more in time and IMO inconvenience. Bite the bullet, rent a car, and drive and park. Yeah, parking in Chicago is pretty pricey compared to just about anywhere other than - say - Manhattan. But IMO the resulting convenience makes the price bearable, compared to circling the area seeking a metered, non-permitted space.

In the Batavia area, you might swing by Fermilab if you are at all interested in things nuclearphysical.

Of the hotel locations you list, I’d recommend Oakbrook Terrace. It right near several expressways, so you’d have ready access to wherever you go. None of the areas you describe are what would be considered “nice neighborhoods.” I mean, they are all safe. But pretty non-spectacular suburban sprawl. Oakbrook has every restaurant you’d ever want, and a pretty neat/classy mall. It is right off 294, so would be a convenient place to meet the Hoosiers, and a quick shot W to the Batavia, or E into Chicago.

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My mistake. I was looking at the Google Maps directions from Batavia into Indiana, which route you on E-W Tollway -> Tri-State -> I-80/94, and I got the first two mixed up.

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If you’re renting a car, this hopefully shouldn’t be a problem. When I’ve rented cars here they always come with a built-in I-Pass. If this is the case for you, I recommend just using the toll roads.

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Thanks, everyone. I think I will rent a car. What is walking like in the Loop. Should I park at Grant Park and then walk to the Sears Tower, the Mag Mile, etc.? On Google maps, it doesn’t look too far, assuming decent weather. How hot is it going to be? Humid?

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It’s about a half-mile from Grant Park to either of those two places, and Chicago is pretty much entirely flat, so you don’t have to worry about hills. June is probably too early for the worst of the heat and humidity (that usually comes in July & August), but we do occasionally get a couple of 90-degree days in June. If you’re trying to figure out what to pack, it’s best to check the long-range forecast a day or two before you go.

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[drumming hijack]
Drum God, IIRC, you’re into hand drumming, no? If you have the time for a drum circle getaway, let me know. There should be quite a few in June down by the lakefront - we should be able to find a decent one, or I’ll just invite folks over to my place and we can drum out back. I know actual, skilled drummers, not just festival fairies.

Uh, unless you’re going to be here the *first *weekend in June. If you are, you’re on your own because all the good drummers will be with me in Indiana for the weekend! :wink: [/dh]

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If anyone out there is still following along…

First of all, thanks WhyNot for the kind drum circle invitation. That did not work out for this trip, but maybe some time in the future.

I would like to thank all of you Chicagoans for a wonderful trip. My daughter flew up last weekend and was met by our Indiana friends at Midway. They spent a week together in Ft. Wayne and had a wonderful time. I flew to Midway on Friday and easily found my hotel and hooked up with family members. I then met my daughter and our friends downtown and we saw a wonderful performance of Wicked at the Oriental Theater.

The memorial service for my grandmother went very well and I got to meet lots of family, including people I didn’t know. I got to hear stories about my dad from when he was growing up. I learned more about both my grandparents. On Sunday, my daughter and I found the graves of my both my grandfathers. I really appreciated that.

After the cemeteries, though, we had fun. We went to Millennium Park and enjoyed the gardens and fountains. We saw the lights at Buckingham Fountain and we enjoyed the lights of what has to be the most dramatic and breathtaking skyline in North America. I am very familiar with Houston (just a tad smaller than Chicago), but I had no idea what an experience Chicago can be. It is so totally different. Houston’s freeways are a wheel and spoke system. Chicago freeways are what? Is there any pattern to it. (By the way, I would like to apologize to you, Illinois Transportation Department, for the misunderstanding at the toll booth. In Texas, the cash lanes are for cash. In Illinois, “cash” really means “coin only”. So, since I didn’t have any coins, I had to blow through my very first toll booth in Chicago. Sorry about that.)

We twice enjoyed the pizza of the gods at Giordano’s on Rush Street. Thank you for completely ruining Pizza Hut for the rest of my life. I will never find pizza like that again. That was amazing.

Today, we spent the entire day walking the Magnificent Mile. My daughter was even able to find a few bargains. We went to Navy Pier, which was a total disappointment. What is the big deal there? The rain was a bit of a downer, but it’s not like we’ve never been rained on before. We’ve been laughing at the Chicago natives as they’ve complained about the heat and humidity. Where we come from, this has practically been Christmas weather. Except for the rain, we’ve been very comfortable

Tomorrow, we’re checking out of the hotel and we’re going to go to the top of the Sears Tower. Then, it’s back to Midway and back home.

The most important part of this trip has been spending time with my seventeen year old daughter. She has been wonderful. Lately, our relationship has been a bit strained, to say the least. I had wanted this trip to let us get to know each other again. That has really paid off (of course, we’re not home yet). I have learned (or re-learned) that my daughter is really a lot of fun to be with. She has been totally pleasant, charming, and we’ve had a ball. We have had some very nice conversations about relationships, her boyfriend, and just stuff. Maybe she’s learned that I’m not such a bad guy, either. If nothing else, we’ll always have Chicago.

So once again, Chicago, thanks for a very nice visit. I hope to come back again one day and do the many, many things we didn’t get to on this trip.