30 THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD DO IN GREATER CHICAGOLAND
OK, here’s the story. I made a listing blog for Kelli. I asked some guest-listers to help me out, so her brother created Jeff’s 25 Things Everyone Should Experience in Northern Wisconsin. Kelli and I decided to make our own list for Chicagoland.
1. Get a picture taken:
- By the Batcolumn at the Harold Washington Social Security Administration Building Plaza.
- On the Michigan Avenue Bridge by the Wrigley Building.
- Reflected in the Bean at Millennium Park.
- By the Picasso Statue in the Daley Center Plaza.
- By the statues of Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, William Shakespeare, Hans Christian Andersen and Eugene Field in Lincoln Park.
- By the Monument with Standing Beast by the James R. Thompson Center.
- By the headless statues in Grant Park
2. Watch the sky show at the Adler Planetarium*
3. Buy and eat:
- Frango Mints at Macy’s (Marshall Fields).
- A cheezborger (but not fries!) at the Billy Goat Tavern.
- Carmel corn at Garrett Popcorn Shop.
- Pizza at Pizzeria Uno.
- A hot dog at Superdawg in Norwood Park.
4. Take a tour of Graceland Cemetery
5. Look at all the embedded pieces of famous buildings in the Tribune Tower.
6. Tour the Museum of Science and Industry.
7. Visit the Lincoln Park Conservatory
8. Buy a book at Bookman’s Alley in Evanston
9. Climb Mt. Baldy at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
10. Play both courses at Par-King in Lincolnshire. Black Course Red Course
12. Ride the El train around the Loop.
13. Ride the Ferris wheel on Navy Pier.
14. Ride the Metra to Des Plaines, eat lunch at the Choo-Choo and tour the McDonald’s Museum.
15. Walk the bog trail at Volo Bog State Natural Area.
16. Buy a sandwich at Boloney’s and eat it while watching a movie at The Catlow theater in Barrington.
18. Tour the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.
19. See the eagles on the Illinois River at Starved Rock State Park.
20. See the window displays at Macy’s and the giant tree at the Daley Center Plaza at Christmastime.
21. Take a tour boat ride on the Chicago River.
22. Visit the John Hancock Center observation deck.
23. Visit Brookfield Zoo in December.
24. Walk a corn maze.
25. Photograph a Monk Parakeet nesting colony.
26. Visit the Chester Gould-Dick Tracy Museum in Woodstock. The museum no longer exists. I did stick my head in the door once and saw that there wasn’t much to see. I also photographed the entire Chester Gould exhibit in the McHenry County Historical Museum.
27. See a movie at a drive-in theater.
28. Go to Woodstock for the Groundhog Day ceremonies.
29. Walk on the Effigy Tumuli at Buffalo Rock State Park.
30. See a race at the Rockford Speedway.
Of course, the only sensible thing to do when you’ve completed one list is to start another one. Here are some more things to do in Chicagoland.
- Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie (I toured this on 11/27/13, but I couldn’t take photos. It was well done, educational and saddening.)
- Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company
- Museum of Contemporary Art
- Museum of Contemporary Photography
- Oz Park
- The Ledge at the Sear’s Tower*
- Grosse Point Lighthouse
- Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum
- Tour Wrigley Field
- See a concert at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park
- Visit the Abraham Lincoln Bookstore