USA Travel Guide

Chicago can be a little chilly come mid-February, I think I once called it life-sucking, but that’s all the more reason to bring along your sweetheart to keep you warm. Truth is we love Valentine’s Day in Chicago. You can go super-fancy with it, some of the nation’s best restaurants are in town, or you can be a contrarian romantic with a deep dish date at Gino’s.

Valentine’s Day Packages in Chicago, Illinois
The Magnificent Mile is typically considered the go-to destination for the upscale Chicago vacation, whether you’re talking hotels, dining or retail. Fact is, we’ve got a favorite spot just off the Mile that will treat you to a luxury stay without all the, you know, monetary sacrifice.

The Silversmith Hotel & Suites
A Jeweler’s Row icon and champion of old guard hospitality, The Silversmith fits the Valentine’s Day hotel bill just right by not being too expensive but still delivering a memorable, boutique experience. From the moment you enter the lobby, you feel like you’ve done more than just found a hotel – you feel like you’ve gotten away.

Sweet Heart Chicago
The hotel’s Valentine’s Day package focuses on an enchanting night:

• Luxury suite with whirlpool tub
• Chilled champagne and fresh strawberries
• Long stem roses
• Breakfast in bed for two

Learn more about Valentine’s Day packages at the Silversmith Hotel.

Got something less windy in mind? From San Diego to Nashville, our coverage is ever growing. Hunt down more Valentine’s Day packages and hotels here.

At USA Travel Guide, we don’t often feature traveling shows or exhibits, especially if show dates are no more than a couple days each. This is because we like to recommend hotels and all that, and with traveling shows that always feels a little silly. However, and this is the official vocabulary, exceptions can and will be made when the particular show in question is awesome!

Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular is awesome in the truest sense of the word: it inspires awe. It is a jaw-dropping, mouth-gaping, eye-bulging spectacle sure to thrill men and women, the young and the old, and probably some higher-functioning animals. As special effects and CGI take over the big screen, here’s a place where you can still experience the astonishing impact of live animatronics.

What is it, already? Walking with Dinosaurs is a full-length arena show featuring 15 life-size animatronic dinosaurs. The fearsome and stirringly lifelike creatures have the entire arena floor at their disposal as your live guide, Paleontologist Huxley, regales you with the fascinating history and current scientific thinking on each of them.

Much more than a walking museum exhibit, however. Huxley interacts, plays with and challenges the majestic dinos, who respond so naturally it’s hard to believe it’s not real. As one incredible creature after another takes to the arena floor – allosaurus, stegosaurus, the gigantic brachiosaurus (life size, really!), utahraptors and the king of them all, tyrannosaurus rex – you might find yourself shaken with amazement.

If I haven’t impressed upon you the gravity of this experience yet, that’s because you haven’t seen these animals in action. Remedy that by checking out their videos. Nothing can really do justice to the thrill of sitting in those stands, but here you’ll get an idea of what’s in store.

The only negative I can muster about Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular is the price. In this economy, you can find a lot of other uses for $30-60, but I’ll pay it anyway. It is so worth it! Learn more about this show.

Walking with Dinosaurs is a traveling show visiting several arenas throughout the first half of 2010. Here are some choice selections with our hotel recommendations:

January 5-6, 2010
Hampton Coliseum
1000 Coliseum Drive
Hampton, VA 23666
757-838-5650
Hotels: Crowne Plaza Hampton Marina

January 15-17, 2010
Mississippi Coast Coliseum
2350 Beach Boulevard
Biloxi, MS 39531
228-594-3700
Hotels: Ocean Club at Biloxi

March 24-28, 2010
Thomas & Mack Center (UNLV Campus)
4505 S. Maryland Parkway
Las Vegas, NV 89154
702-895-3761
Hotels: Holiday Inn Las Vegas

July 21-25, 2010
Madison Square Garden
4 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001
212-307-7171
Hotels: Crowne Plaza Englewood
Crowne Plaza Times Square

July 28 – August 1, 2010
Allstate Arena
6920 N. Manheim Road
Rosemont, IL 60018
847-635-6601
Hotels: Hilton Garden Inn Chicago / Magnificent Mile
The Silversmith Hotel

We got such a great response back in June when we covered the Body Art Expo in Pomona, California, that for next year we wanted to be ahead the game. The sensational tattoo, body art and lifestyle convention is hitting the road in 2010 with four major destinations on the tour. Time it right and be in Pomona, San Francisco, Houston or Chicago for an unforgettable show.

The Body Art Expo is a lot of things. It’s a raucous party, it’s a get-together with friends old and new, and it’s a celebration of a culture that goes beyond skin, heritage and upbringing. But most importantly, it’s a place to meet more than 300 tattoo artists from renowned studios all over the nation. Talk to them, watch them work, and finally see what they can do for you.

You don’t have to get a tattoo, or even have one, to enjoy the Body Art Expo. You can kill lots of time simply admiring the artwork, whether it’s pinned up in an artist display or it’s walking around on the back of a scantily-clad female (who tend to show up in droves).

Extracurricular entertainment is non-stop. Concerts, live demonstrations, food, drink, dancing and a full host of contests keep the hall buzzing all day. Tattoo contests you expect – they reward 19 categories – but that’s really just the beginning. There’s a fashion contest, hot stud contest, hot babe contest, “win a tattoo” contest and all kinds of prize giveaways for you less competitive types.

Prices for the 2010 expos haven’t been listed. The 2009 tickets cost $50 for three days, $25 for 1 day, so expect something like that. Each event runs from Friday to Sunday with one, two, and three-day passes available. Of course, all dates, prices and whatnot are subject to change. Learn more here.

There are four conventions in the first half of 2010. Below you’ll find the date and address information, along with hotel recommendations by USA Travel Guide:

Body Art Expo in Pomona, California
January 22-24, 2010
Pomona Fairplex
1101 W. McKinley Ave, Pomona, CA, 91768
Hotels: Radisson Suites Covina Hotel

Body Art Expo in San Francisco, California
March 19-21, 2010
Cow Palace
2600 Geneva Ave, Daly City, CA, 94104
Hotels: Holiday Inn Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel
           Holiday Inn Express Fisherman’s Wharf

Body Art Expo in Houston, Texas
May 21-23, 2010
Reliant Center
One Reliant Park, Houston, TX, 77054
Hotels: Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown Hotel

Body Art Expo in Chicago, Illinois
June 25-27, 2010
Navy Pier
600 E. Grand Ave, Chicago, IL, 60611
Hotels: Silversmith Hotel & Suites | Hilton Garden Inn Chicago Magnificent Mile

As the events draw nearer, we’ll probably be back for a follow-up blog, but for those of you who have to set your vacation days early in the year, keep the Body Art Expo in mind. Have a great time!

The travel industry produces a prodigious portion of mankind’s ecological footprint, which is why USA Travel Guide loves to feature “green” or eco-responsible hotels, resorts and attractions as much as possible. When we looked to do a piece on Chicago’s Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, we found we couldn’t have timed it better. The esteemed museum is soon to celebrate its 10^th anniversary, and that means great one-time-only programming for guests.

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in North Chicago, Illinois is a “Green Museum”. While all that technically means is that the institution employs eco-sustainable practices and features conservation-minded architecture, the Peggy Notebaert follows the path of many green museums that opened in 1990s by focusing its subject matter on conservation and the natural environment.

Don’t worry. It’s a lot cooler than I just made it sound.

Several permanent exhibits and an ever-renewing catalog of traveling exhibits explore the precarious relationship between nature and the manmade. Extreme Green House, for example, lets visitors examine a 100% green bungalow, complete with hands-on kiosks and activities for the curious-minded. The outdoor exhibits are among the most popular, including the 17,000 square feet of rooftop gardens and the restored native prairie land.

In addition to those exhibits meant to fascinate, educate and even implore, the museum features traditional animal and science exhibits, beloved by children and adults alike. The butterfly haven and bird sanctuary are year-round favorites, as is the animal lab, where scientists and volunteers study a variety of animals in public view.

Open year-round, only the cold-averse could find a time not to visit the Nature Museum, but right now the moment is particularly opportune. From October 23 to November 1, 2009, the museum will celebrate its 10^th anniversary with 10 days of free admission and special family programming. Animal adoptions, recycling drives, charity walks, guest speakers, children’s games – every day brings a new event. View the calendar.

If you can’t make a free day, don’t fret. Regular admission is only nine bucks, and besides, you should be donating at least as much on free days anyway.

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park across from the Lincoln Park Zoo. Learn more.

A green museum deserves a green hotel. The Hotel Indigo Vernon Hills is a boutique North Chicago hotel with an extensive sustainability program covering everything from the bottling standards of the in-room bath amenities to the construction of the hotel itself. Read more about their green initiatives.

Have fun and stay cozy in Chicago, IL.

There are few places in the United States more densely-packed with visual wonderment and historical fascination as Chicago. You can pick your favorite: Buckingham Fountain, Sears Tower, The Mart, Shedd Aquarium, Wrigley Field. But for my wife and me, it has to be the original Second City in Chicago.

The quintessential comedy troupe, Second City is both inspiration and aspiration for my wife, herself a stand-up comedian and improv actress. It’s like our own comedy Mecca. A journey to Second City Chicago is, simply, a part of one’s life.

I suppose I could have done a piece on Second City Chicago any time, but it was actually a short-season summer attraction that just caught my eye: The Second City’s Neighborhood Tour.

How refreshing it is! Take a top-notch tour of Old Town Chicago with the whiplash humor of the Second City as your guide. There’s no better tour guide, and there’s no better back drop than the rich history of Chicago.

The tour sticks to Old Town with a strong focus on the Second City theatre and past players. You’ll learn a little about the history of the neighborhood and a lot about the people that used to work and live there. Find out what Second City alumni like Harold Ramis, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Steve Carrell, Tina Fey and others did with their time off-stage.

It’s like a history and celebrity tour all rolled into two hilarious hours. It is, however, a limited time engagement. Second City Neighborhood Tours are held Sundays and Wednesdays through October 4^th, and with only 15 per group, they will sell out. Order your tickets here.

The tour ends in The Second City’s main theatre, so why not synergize your night and follow the tour up with a show. The Second City performs every day but Wednesday and almost always has a couple of shows going (between the two theatres). The current headline production, America: All Better!, has raked in glowing reviews.

View schedules, pricing and more.

Whenever talking history and Chicago, we always recommend the Silversmith Hotel & Suites. Located in the historic Silversmith Building on Jeweler’s Row, the Silversmith hits just the right spot. It’s affordably luxurious, not extravagant, and the beautiful building and location are second to none.

Have fun!

Registration for the 2009 Chicago Marathon is sold out, and area hotels aren’t far behind. This post is a little early for us, but with rooms going every day, we want to make sure you participants and spectators can find a good hotel deal for the Chicago Marathon.

This year the 45,000-participant run takes place on Sunday, October 11 starting near the famous Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. Located near the park (you runners could do it on foot), our friends at the Hilton Garden Inn Chicago / Magnificent Mile are offering terrific advance reservation rates right now. Scenic accommodations on the Magnificent Mile starting around $195/night are pretty rare to find, but you’ve got act on this. Visit the hotel.

We wanted to include two more of our faves in Chicago but they’ve already sold out (!), so if you haven’t started thinking about your hotel rooms for the 2009 Chicago Marathon, don’t delay any longer.

Oh, and have fun!

Marathon Web site.

We’re back in the Windy City already for another spectacular event. In fact, as events go in this country, you won’t find one bigger.

The Chicago Air & Water Show is the oldest and largest show of its kind in the nation, and at well over 2 million live attendees, it is one of the largest spectator events in the world. Aerial acrobatics, death defying parachute maneuvers, water ski tricks that even the Fonze wouldn’t risk – the show is a tribute to spectacle.

The spectacle comes from humble beginnings, but it’s been a hit since year one. The first event took place in 1959 as part of a local summer camp’s “Family Day”. The operating budget was only $88. Regardless, it struck a nerve, and the next year the Air Force Thunderbirds and Golden Knights Parachute team joined the show, garnering a massive crowd. Just two years in, a summer air and water show in Chicago was de facto tradition.

Rousing the locals is one thing. If you want to attract an audience of 2-3 million, you’ve got to blow people away. Ever year, they do just that.

Find yourself a grandstand seat at North Avenue Beach (arrive early for choice seating) or find your own cozy hangout just about anywhere along the lakefront. Montrose Harbor offers a great vantage point. At 10:00 AM, the action starts, and it won’t let up until the end.

This year’s feature performers include daredevil stunt pilot Sean Tucker of Team Oracle, famous for his deep catalog of unmatched maneuvers. The Lima Lima flyers will show off their precise formation work. Air Force Reserve member Ed Hamill performs a narrative journey through the history of flight shows. The Navy Leap Frogs get a different kind of air with an exciting parachute routine.

The show is far from over. Still to come are the annual favorites and show regulars since 1960: the Thunderbirds and the Golden Knights. The Thunderbirds are the official air demonstration squadron of the U.S. Air Force, an elite team on par with any in the world. Their pulse-pounding performance always awes the crowd. The Golden Knights is the nickname for the Army Parachute Team, another incredible unit operating at the top of the discipline. It’s formation jumping at its finest.

All this is joined by gnarly waterfront entertainment (this is the air and water show after all). Water skiing, speed boating, jet ski acrobatics – they do it all.

The 2009 Chicago Air & Water Show takes place August 15-16 over Lake Michigan in Chicago. Grandstand seating is available at North Avenue Beach, though the event is easily viewable virtually anywhere along the coast. Seating is admission-free. Unless you just can’t get enough, plan to attend only one day, as the events are the same both days. Learn more.

For hotels in Chicago, we’re fans of the Hilton Garden Inn Chicago – Magnificent Mile. The location is choice for any number of Chicago vacations, including this one, and you won’t find a better value on the Magnificent Mile.

Have fun!

It’s the greatest music festival of all time, and you still don’t have tickets? What are you waiting for? The show is only a month and a week away, and there are still 3-day and single-day passes available, but you want to act soon on this. We’ve got the hotels, but it’s up to you to get out there.

Revamped in 2005 after a six-year hiatus, an only moderately successful run in 2003 and yet another cancelled tour in 2004, Perry Farrell’s Lollapalooza is finally back and going strong, having eschewed all the image-conscious drivel that ultimately killed the first run and now just focusing on what’s really important: the music. The show is bigger than ever: 70 acts, 8 stages, 3 days, and as eclectic a lineup as ever before.

Obviously there’s just too many to list, so you’ll want to check the schedule, but if I had to yank out a few favorites: Tool, Rise Against, Coheed and Cambria (so good live!), Los Campesinos!, Ida Maria, Kaiser Chiefs, The Killers (though Day and Age was a big step backwards), TV on the Radio and, of course, Jane’s Addiction. (Seriously, Perry, happy you’re back, but where’s the album?)

Unfortunately, one thing they haven’t learned after years of struggle is that one of the biggest problems with late-90’s Lollapalooza is the high ticket prices. The only 3-day option still available will set you back $205, or you can buy single-day tickets for $80. All three days are still available. At least with 70 acts taking the stages, you can’t they aren’t offering a lot of choice for your money (and there’s no “convenience fee”, which was created so that the venue could “conveniently” place an extra two bucks in its pocket).

Lollapalooza 2009 will be held August 7-9, 2009 in Grant Park, Chicago. Learn more.

Two hotels near Grant Park for you:

The Hilton Garden Inn Chicago Magnificent Mile Hotel offers a quick trip down to the park at surprisingly approachable prices, given the Michigan Avenue address. Brand rep and business-minded atmosphere keep your rates down, and they offer free high-speed Internet, so you can get back to the room and blog about the shows each day.

The Silversmith Chicago Hotel is located on the edge of Grant Park for an easy walk to the venue and offers an elevated stay for not too much more money. After 8-12 hours in the potentially hot sun (temperatures have topped one hundred in the past), it’s nice to return somewhere inviting for a night’s rest.

Have a great time a Lollapalooza 2009.

(As long as we’re talking music, has anybody checked out the news The Mars Volta album? Seriously, with a band this good, it’s a wonder why anybody else even tries.)

I wrote a short article about the upcoming Olympic Day in Chicago for a newsletter, and I didn’t see any reason not to share it with you, faithful readers. Because it’s kind of what we do here, I added some hotel suggestions to the bottom. Enjoy! 

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In 2009, the modern Olympic Games celebrate their 115^th year of sportsmanship, contest and global community, but the folks in Chicago, Illinois are already looking a few more years ahead with their bid to host the 2016 Summer Games.

With the International Olympic Committee’s vote just months away, excitement in the Windy City couldn’t be higher, and cities all over the nation will be showing their support this June 23, 2009 with fun-filled Olympic Day events.

This year, more than 100 U.S. cities will participate in Olympic Day events, from major athletic competitions to small-scale local shindigs. Chicago is especially eager to show off its qualifications with a number of events, both amateur and professional. Opening the day, summer camps throughout the Chicago area will host morning youth fun runs, ingratiating a younger generation with the spirit of athletic achievement.

The real party kicks off in the afternoon over at North Avenue Beach, the proposed startling line of the 2016 triathlon. On Olympic Day, the beach will host numerous sporting competitions featuring official Olympic and Paralympic events such as beach volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball and kayaking. Additionally, the beach will serve as the finish line for two 3-mile runs, each starting at 6:00 p.m. at Irving Park and near Grant Park.

Also starting at 6:00 p.m. is the North Avenue Beach Celebration Party, a great place for competitors, spectators, families and all supporters to relax and enjoy live concert entertainment from local favorites. For baseball fans, you can even celebrate Olympic Day at U.S. Cellular Field where the Chicago White Sox will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers (ticket information).

Chicago currently competes with Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo for the honor of hosting the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will announce its decision on October 2, 2009, which means there’s still plenty of time to get involved in the effort.

Learn more about Olympic Day and the 2016 Olympic Games in Chicago at the official Web site.

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Drive in the day before for a relaxing evening in Chicago and so you don’t have scramble come Olympic Day morning. Of course, we always love to stay in Chicago, which is probably why we can never stop at just one hotel. Two options for you: 

• Hotel Indigo Chicago / Vernon Hills – Awesome boutique hotel with upscale amenities and the personality to match. They won a design award recently, and the moment you walk in you’ll know they deserved it.
• Hilton Garden Inn Chicago / Magnificent Mile – Get a little more out of your trip to Chicago by staying on the world-famous Magnificent Mile (and without paying an arm and a leg to do it).

Get out there and support your country on Olympic Day in Chicago.

The #9 finisher in our blockbuster feature The 10 Best Amusement Parks in America, Six Flags Great America is no small contender on the world stage of top-notch theme park entertainment. With schools letting out all over the country, it’s time to start thinking about those summer family vacations. Head over to our Summer Family Vacation Guide for our latest stories featuring fun suggestions for where to go with the kids this year.

But back to business…

Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, just north of Chicago, has the thrills to satisfy even the most diehard amusement park fan, plus a full complement of kindlier exploits for everyone else. We love it for the same reason we always tend to love Six Flags parks: variety. Coasters, flat rides, numerous kiddie rides, shows, an adjacent admission-included water park, creative “zones” and fine concessions – it’s surprising for anyone in your group to be left wanting.

While I’m not the coaster enthusiast myself, there are plenty who can’t stop going on about them. The new Dark Knight, an indoor coaster opened just last year, has turned plenty of heads with its partial-dark track and moderate thrill level that’s appropriate for younger folk (42″ minimum, of course). Meanwhile, on the more insane end of the dial you’ve got the Raging Bull, the United States’ first “hyper-twister”, meaning not only is it fast and aggressive, but it also twists and turns about on itself so that you always feel like you’re about to have your head chopped off!

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