SITES SEEING
Time to rev up your wheels for a one-day road trip
After months of cleaning closets, doing puzzles and enduring other quarantine activities, it may be time to venture out into the world again. Even after receiving the vaccine, some still are wary of embarking on major adventures. But there are many opportunities for one day escapes via a car to locations that are doing their best to provide a safe experience.
The information listed here was accurate at press time but if new restrictions are placed statewide, check admission policies. Masks are required for indoor areas and social distancing is expected at all times.
Here are five one-day getaways to consider this spring and summer. Estates for all
Rockford, located about a 90-minute drive from Chicago, has two interesting attractions that were once private estates. John Anderson, a Rockford businessman, wanted to transform his homesite into a Japanese style garden. He enlisted the assistance of Hoichi Kurisu, a renowned designer who transformed the 12 acres into beautiful gardens with a Sukita-style guest house.
Anderson and his wife donated the gardens and guest house to the Rockford Rotary Charitable Organization in 1998 and it now exists as a not-for-profit entity.
The gardens include water features, pagodas, stone lanterns, water basins, arbors and bridges. Admission is $11 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $9 for students. Entry to the gardens at 318 Spring Creek Road is timed to control crowds, so make advance reservations at andersongardens.org.
While in Rockford, consider a tour of the Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens, the creation of Robert Hall Tinker who built the Swiss Cottage surrounded with 27 acres of gardens, including a Victorian Rose Garden. The Tinker family donated the land and cottage to the Rockford Park District and it was opened as a museum in 1943.
Walking through the gardens is free but guided tours of the home require reservations and a fee of $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for children. For more information and reservations for the home located at 411 Kent St., visit tinkercottage.com.
Botanicals and faith
Escape to the Chicago Botanic Gardens, which is a short 30-minute drive from Chicago at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe. Marvel at the 385 acres featuring 27 gardens, including a bonsai collection, a conifer garden and a waterfall garden. Visit www.chicagobontanic.org to learn what is currently in bloom so you can be sure to see your favorites at their peak.
There is also a 40-minute narrated tram tour that provides an overview of the gardens for $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5 for children. Admission to the park is free but there is a $25 parking fee. In order to control crowds, advance registration for timed entry is required. No one will be admitted to the park without advance registration through the Botanic Gardens website.
While in the area, consider a stop at the Bahá’ì House of Worship at 100 Linden Ave. in Wilmette. The unique nine-sided building is the only Bahá’ì temple in the United States and the oldest in the world. Bahá’ì principles are communicated throughout the building’s design. To illustrate the Bahá’ì belief in the unity of religion, the architect brought together elements of religious architecture from around the world. The Temple’s arabesque panels embrace natural light during the day and illuminate from within at night, creating a “Temple of Light and Unity.”
The nine circular gardens with round fountains serve as outdoor rooms for prayer and are open to the public. The temple visitor center, however, remains closed at this time due to COVID.
For information, visit bahai.us.
Nature at its wildest
James Aikman says it was a dream that inspired him to create Aikman Wildlife Adventure at 125 North County Road 425 E in Arcola, Illinois, about a two-anda-half-hour drive from Chicago. There are two options for viewing the animal collections. Guests can drive along a main loop through 20 acres of animals in the drive-through park. This portion of the park includes herbivores like camels, zebras, bison, elk, sheep, llamas and emus. There is also a walk-through mile long path through five acres that is more like a traditional zoo. This section features predators like hyenas, wolf dogs, porcupines, owls and reptiles. There is also a petting zoo. All animals in the park were born and raised in captivity in the United States, including many from the Midwest.
“If we can’t provide a better quality of life for them with a larger habitat, we don’t take them,” Aikman notes.
Currently, the park is only open on Saturday and Sunday but beginning Memorial Day, the park will be open Thursdays through Mondays and closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Admission for both the drive-through and walkthrough park options is $11 for 13-yearold through adult and $8 for children 12 and under. There is also a small group behind-the-scenes-adventure available by reservation. More information can be found at aikmanwildlife.com.
For an interesting side trip, download a map of the 17 murals in Arcola and drive by these historic art pieces painted by sign painters from Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States in 2012. Arcola is also home to a large Amish community, which means shops with Amish made furniture and Amish baked goods.
Embrace Lincoln
It is worth the three-hour drive from Chicago to Springfield to see the stateof-the-art full immersion museum at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum at 212 N. Sixth St. The unique exhibits include a Holavision visit with ghosts at the Ghosts of the Library Exhibit and a look through Lincoln’s eyes at the Union Theater where there are layered digital projection screens. The Civil War in Four Minutes exhibit stuns viewers by showing the many battles won and lost as well as the astronomical casualties that were part of the Civil War.
To control crowds, all entries are timed so reservations must be made in advance at the website www.presidentlincoln. illinois.gov. All guests are screened and temperatures are checked. Masks are required. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $6 for children.
While in Springfield, check out the historic Illinois State Capitol Building, which has several pieces of art and is the home of the state legislative branches. Other Lincoln sites, like his historic homes, are also located around town but tours have been suspended at the present time. Updates about opening these sites can be found at nps.gov.