O
bsessed with ‘Americana’ and on a mission to eat
BIG food, every year our family sets off on a two-
week road trip through the US. On returning home
from 2015’s hot and sticky Louisiana adventure,
we unrolled our map of the States to plot the next move. 2016
had to be a northerly state, in the hope that the climate would
be kinder. “Wisconsin,” I pointed out to my husband, “Isn’t that
the home of cheese and beer?” and with that we were sold.
A road trip with young kids (my daughters are aged seven
and four) might not seem like the most relaxing and easy of
vacations. However, with careful planning, factoring in jetlag
and age appropriate activities, you will all have the time of
your life. Rental website Airbnb has also made trips like this
much more accessible, offering affordable accommodation
options, especially if you need multiple rooms. We stayed in
some amazing Airbnb rentals on our road trip, from a huge
family home in the cornfields outside Madison, to a trendy loft
conversion in Milwaukee. All for half the price of a hotel room.
Ten months after planning our trip, we were counting
down the hours of the long, 15-hour flight to Chicago, our
gateway city to Wisconsin. Normally I restrict our road
trip to one state but we couldn’t land in Chicago and not
explore the Windy City. A friend had remarked that Chicago
is a “more manageable New York City” and this felt like
an apt description. We based ourselves downtown on the
Magnificent Mile and easily marched from eatery to attraction.
A Chicago-Wisconsin
Adventure
Nicola Burke
shares her family’s
road trip in Northern America
Chicago has so much to offer the family traveller, from the
world class Adler Planetarium to the Chicago Children’s
Museum and fun of Navy Pier. To acquaint ourselves with
America’s third largest city, we took in the glorious view
from the Observatory at 360 Chicago. From here you can
appreciate just how great the Great Lakes are, with Lake
Michigan stretching out for miles. Another unique way to
explore Chicago is on its waterways. We took a 75-minute
architecture boat tour on the Chicago River, which unlocked
the secrets of many of the city’s sensational buildings. It
took a small bit of bribery to get my kids to stay still for the
duration, with the promise of a trip to the American Girl store!
As always when travelling with young kids, you need to
intersperse sightseeing with playgrounds. Chicago has some
incredible city parks, from Millennium Park with its interactive
sculptures, to Lincoln Park, which even has a free zoo. We
also spent a large chunk of our time in Chicago exploring
its famous cuisine. From a delectable deep dish pizza at
Giordano's to an Italian beef sandwich drowned in gravy at
Al's, there were not enough hours in the day to take in all the
food the city has to offer.
Following a fun four days in Chicago, it was time to embark
on our Wisconsin adventure. A 90-minute drive north is
Milwaukee, home to world famous brands including Miller
Beer, Harley-Davidson and of course the ‘70s TV show
Happy Days! The latter is celebrated with a statue of Henry
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