Lived in/near the city most of my life, so the idea of going into the city isn't exactly a vacation.
Anyone have an idea for a great girlfriends weekend getaway?
The wine trail in SW Michigan - it's only about 90 minutes from Chicago, beautiful, fun, and the lake Michigan beaches are beautiful there.
Oh, and Sundara Spa in Wisconsin is amazing!
I suppose it depends on what type of weekend you're looking for, but if you're in to the outdoors, hiking, campfires, etc., I would highly recommend White Pines Inn in Oregon, Illinois. It's less than 2 hours from the suburbs. They have wonderful little cabins that you can rent and their on-site lodge has amazing food. There are lots of things to do in the surrounding towns and it's just a great little getaway.
I recently went to the Chocolate Festival in Long Grove. It was so cute, very old world & tons of fun shops that I didn't want to take the kids in. They have the Strawberry Festival in June.
Also Geneva (not Lake Geneva) is fun. Tons of fun shops that are not kid friendly. You have to go to Little Travelers, you can spend a couple hours there. There is a very popular hotel there that for some reason I cannot remember.
I ditto Lake Geneva, Galena & Starved Rock.
GALENA, IL! Fun, shopping, great food, Spas, bars, historic sites and tours, they even have a night time "ghost tour" - something for everyone!!
Hubby and I got away to there last summer in July, for a weekend, had a couples massage at the Clover on Main day spa (http://www.acloveronmainspa.com/) I later had a pedi and a hair cut and style, while hubs had another back massage. I bought some new sandals and a beautiful and unique dress for a wedding, we ate some great food and toured some local historic sites, as well as watching a live Blacksmith demonstration, and bought a wall-mounted pot-rack from the Blacksmith shop. We have another weekend planned for this year, weekend of June 17th. We stay right downtown, at the Desoto House Hotel, and you can park in their garage and then walk everywhere in town. Really is a neat place, like modern convenience but stepping back in time all at once.
Madison, WI. Beautiful lakes/biking paths. FABULOUS Farmer's Market on the Capitol square every Saturday morning...one of the top 5 markets in the country...it is huge! eat your way around the square. State Street is fun to walk down for shops/bars/restaurants. Get ice cream at the Union (made there) and sit on the patio overlooking the lake. It's all very fun.
Lake Geneva is close, but seems so far away from the city. Grand Geneva has spa deals, I think, and there are lots of other inns and hotels to stay at.
My daughters and I do girls weekend out in Chicago, why don't y'all come to St Louis.
I have been told it is not nearly as boring as someone who lives here thinks it is. :)
Lake Geneva, Galena, Starved Rock. Kohler spa in Sheboygan, WI is supposed to be awesome though I haven't been there.
For a girlfriends weekend Galena, Illinois would be great. From Chicago it is about a 3 hour drive.If you love antiques it is a place for adventure.
Galena is gorgeous! I spent five days with my husband there a few years ago on his leave from Iraq. It is very adult oriented and we had a great time - such beautiful landscape!
pretend you are a tourist - how would THEY find a place to go? They would google it.
So, my favorite way to google travel things to do is http://www.randmcnally.com
through this we found a great sculpture park in Mt. Vernon, a museum in Lockport and so many more things! We have gone to 31 states in the last 10 yrs and there is so much to do in every one of them. That site has helped us find many of them.
