Chicago, Illinois: Attractions, Dining, Happy Hours...

December 2018, Weekday-weekend, 2-days

Chicago, Illinois 

We spent two days walking around Chicago during our one-night stay just before Christmas. Many people think Chicago is an expensive place to visit; however, we found many low or no-cost things to do! Be sure and click the labels at the bottom of this post to find even more information from previous posts.

Transportation

We took the Pere Marquette Amtrak roundtrip to/from Chicago Union Station and Grand Rapids, Michigan. The scheduled time for this trip changed a few years ago, which gives more time in Chicago. We actually prefer the previous times, although the new times work, too. It is a 4-hour train ride: 6AM - 9:08 AM from GRR to CHI, and 6:30PM - 11:34 PM from CHI to GRR. Chicago is in the central time zone, and Michigan is in the eastern time zone. We have used public transportation during previous visits to Chicago; this time, we only walked after arriving.

Pere Marquette Amtrak train

To redeem points for this Amtrak route, the cost is 1,208 points for a one-way ticket. The fare from GRR is usually usually more than the fare from CHI, so I always use points for that leg of the trip (we usually visit before we have enough points for 2 roundtrip tickets). The one-way cost from Chicago to Grand Rapids was $28 per person. Unfortunately, the AAA discount I used to get is not currently active with Amtrak. Our trip was uneventful both ways. 

Screenshot of pedway map downloaded from Internet

Free Chicago walking tours ~ underground pedway winter tour

I learned about the underground pedway system while researching activities for this trip.  I was surprised I had not heard of this before. I recognized the pedway system symbols from previous trips to Chicago, and I did not know what they meant before this trip. The tour guides are volunteers, and the tours are free (other than tips). There are more tours available in addition to the winter tour that we chose. Just do an Internet search for "free Chicago walking tours" to find them. 

Pedway sign and symbol underground

Cape Canaveral/Titusville, Florida ~ Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex

February 2018

Inside Apollo/Saturn V Center

Kennedy Space Center ticket cost and discounts

Following are the daily admission costs listed on the Kennedy Space Center site before tax.

• Child age 3 - 11: $40
• Military child: $37
• Adult age 12+: $50
• Military adult: $46
• Senior 55+: $46. Senior tickets need to be purchased at the ticket window upon arrival; they are not available online.

Discounts found elsewhere, pre-tax.

Best deal for Kennedy Space Center found in
Florida's Space Coast vacation planner

Old Mission Peninsula and Beulah, Michigan / Northern Michigan Wineries & Jolly Pumpkin Brewery

November 2016

This post is a brief update with some information we learned during our last visit to a couple of northern Michigan wineries and breweries.

You can find more information about Michigan wineries and breweries in the following blog posts: May and June 2016, May 2016 (Grayling), May 2016 (Cadillac), May 2016 (Petoskey), October 2015 (Grayling), October 2015 (Petoskey), May 2015 (Tahquamenon Falls), March 2015,  and October 2010. 

Black Star Farms wine taste glasses being discontinued

Black Star Farms

We have a couple of the old style Black Star Farms wine glasses, which we purchased several years ago. The glasses came with six tastes at the time of purchase, and then we could get five free tastes every time we visited with our glasses thereafter. Keeping the glasses wrapped in a small carrier in the trunk of our car has been a good thing for us, and Black Star Farms - we always bought at least two bottles of wine every time we stopped in one of their wineries for a taste! During our most recent stop at Old Mission Tasting Room, we learned they are discontinuing complimentary tastes with these glasses at the end of 2016. The person who provided us with our sample tastes did not tell us this; when we paid for our purchases, the cashier asked us if he had told us the glasses were being discontinued.

Traverse City and Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan / Breweries, Wineries, downtown, area information

May and June 2016

L. Mawby Winery

Following is information about some of the breweries and wineries around Traverse City and Leelanau Peninsula. We visited these locations during our stay at Traverse City State Park in May, and during our stay at the new Hotel Indigo in June.

How do you decide which wineries and breweries to visit?

There are so many choices in the Grand Traverse Bay area, that it is difficult to decide which wineries and breweries to visit. Especially, in only four or five days time. We made our decisions based on value, prior visit experience (if any), and proximity to where we were staying or traveling.

Michigan Brewvine Passports and TC Ale Trail Atlases

Factors that impacted our value perception were the Michigan Brewvine Passports, Traverse City Ale Trail Atlases, and I had won free tastings for four at L. Mawby Winery via Michigan by the Bottle.

Traverse City and Leelanau Breweries

We visited Rare Bird Brew Pub by bicycle from Traverse City State Park. It was pretty easy to get to the pub, other than the ride down Eighth Street with traffic. There was a bicycle rack on the sidewalk in front of the brewery. The atmosphere inside was pleasant and comfortable. They had many brews on tap, although only a few of them were their brews. This location is listed on the Traverse City Ale Trail, and they have discounts in the Brewvine Passport. After this stop, we had planned to stop at Big Toe Brewery next door, for the extra credit stamp on the Traverse City Ale Trail; however, that brewery has gone out of business.

The Benefits of Pre-Trip Planning

Since I am a planner and I am very well organized, I tend to do a lot of research before any trip. Also, I prefer to have this type of thing out of the way beforehand, rather than doing it after we have left home! I am sharing a few suggestions that have served me well. Feel free to share your ideas, too, and let me know if you have any questions.

Take a look at the online Visitor's Bureau 

I always search for the visitor's bureau online for the area I will be visiting. I search by city, state, county, or any other keyword specific to the area we are traveling to. For example, when we visited the Gulf Coast in Florida, I searched for "Florida panhandle visitors" along with the names of the towns we were going to visit.

I then fill out the online form for any free brochures, maps, discounts, etc. for things we are interested in. I prefer to have items mailed because I am not a total smartphone user, and we sometimes make notes on printed maps of the area. Sometimes, I opt-in for email notifications, and sometimes not. I usually unsubscribe after our trip. I have found that doing this often makes us aware of things we did not know about, and you can find discounts, coupons, promotions, and information about special events.

Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico

Before we visited Albuquerque, New Mexico, I submitted a request for a visitor's guide to be mailed to me (this always makes a good magazine for the plane ride, too). I found a coupon in the guide for Holiday Inn Express where we had planned to stay. The rate was $30 less than the AAA rate I had booked online! Amtrak often has coupons in their printed guides, which are not available online. Unfortunately, we have never found one for any of the routes we traveled, although I have seen them for other areas. We received many coupons when we visited Wisconsin Dells by subscribing to their emails and requesting a travel packet. These are just a few samples of things you can receive with a bit of research.

Amtrak Roundtrip from Grand Rapids (GRR), Michigan to Chicago (CHI)

December 2014, Friday - Saturday

We have ridden the Amtrak along this route several times. Two previous reviews can be found at the following links: January 2014 and January 2012.

Friday morning departure from Grand Rapids, Michigan on Pere Marquette #371

Our departure from Grand Rapids was uneventful other than the trouble we had getting to the train station. Fortunately, we had left for the train station early. I did not research the GRR train station before our trip since we have been to it several times. The station address was not printed on our boarding passes, and there was no information on the website during the reservation process that said that the train station had moved to 440 Century Avenue SW.