|
|
Members Login Here
How to Join Newcity 
chicago home
classifieds rentals/real estate newsletter signup promotions 
events calendar
bars & clubs restaurants specials best of chicago 
food and drink
film and video music and clubs stage sports words art features |
|
|
 Culture Club | Wine & Dine | The Twilight Zone | Out & About | Take Me out to the Ballgame EASY RIDERS Snappy suggestions for places you can drive in a day The Twilight Zone Branson, Missouri Distance from Chicago: 550 miles, around 9 hours. How to get there: Take 1-55 south. Once you hit St. Louis, take 1-44 west toward Tulsa and after 100 miles or so, take U.S. 65 straight into Branson. Money matters: Show tickets can run anywhere from $10-$50. Where to stop: Meramec Caverns. The old Route 66 mainstay is easy to find, thanks to numerous signs dotting the highway, advertising the interior’s cool temperatures by painting the logo to look a bit frosty. And guilding the lily is nothing new for these caverns, home to seven levels of amazingly beautiful limestone formations, as the stalactites are done up with mini lights to give them extra oomph. Just follow the signs, or it’s off I-44 near Stanton, Mo., (800)675-6105, www.americascave.com. Don’t miss: The Hillbilly Inn, offering “fine lodging & vittles,” and featuring the famous “concrete pool,” 1166 W. Highway 76, (800)535-0739 Branson, Missouri is either the most interesting place in the world—or the most frightening. Call this the redneck’s Las Vegas, it has more theater seats than all of Broadway combined, and it might be a culture vacuum, but die hards can still find their (or, in most cases, their parents’) favorite performers kicking along. Examples? Everyone has their own theater—from Bobby Vinton’s Blue Velvet to the Mel Tillis Theatre to (and no kidding here) Yakov Smirnoff’s Yakov Smirnoff Theatre. Not scared yet? They’re still putting on the “Lawrence Welk Show,” Andy Williams appears in drag, they give Jim Nabors a space to perform whenever he wants and there’s Osmonds—a lot of them—and we’re not talking Donnie and Marie, it’s the rest of them. Suggested viewing before you go: “Wild Chicago Barnstorms Branson” should offer an illuminating primer on just what you’re getting yourself into with this type of trip. Graceland Memphis, Tennessee Distance from Chicago: About 550 miles, slightly longer than 9 hours. How to get there: Grab the Dan Ryan east to I-57 south, head toward Memphis, then get on the I-55 south toward Jackson, Miss. Get off at the US-51/Elvis Presley Boulevard exit. Money matters: Mansion only: $16; $14.40 seniors and students, $4 children 7-12, under 6 free. Platinum Tour (includes mansion tour, self-guided tours of Elvis’ two personal airplanes, admission to the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum as well as Sincerely Elvis, the King’s memorabilia museum): $25; $22.50 seniors and students, $12 children 7-12, under 6 free. Where to stop: They don’t call Illinois the “Land of Lincoln” for nothing. Take a tour of Honest Abe’s home on your way through Springfield (8th and Jackson, (217)492-4241, ext. 221). He wasn’t the gluttonous freak that Elvis was, but you’ll feel better if you balance the over-the-top kitsch with something significant. Don’t miss: The legendary Sun Studios, 706 Union, where Elvis got his start and names like Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis churned out hits. Tours on the half hour, daily 10am-6pm, (800)441-6249. Also, the Beale Street district—one of many “Home of the Blues” throughout the country, offering a plethora of dining options, live music and quality watering holes. Though it looks like a modest mansion from the outside, it only takes a few steps into the front foyer of Elvis Presley’s famous digs to realize how obscenely decadent the rock star was. Check out the jungle room, TCB basement (with three, count ‘em, three TVs) and the kitchen where he lived, the racquetball building out back where he died, and the “Meditation Garden” where he’s allegedly laid to rest. The Graceland tour is self-guided; visitors are given a headset and cassette and allowed to go at their own pace. The Platinum Tour is recommended, if for no other reason than the mansion tour really only takes about and hour, and for less than $10 extra, you get a ton more King. Call (800)238-2000 for more information. Lumberjack World Championships Hayward , Wisconsin Distance from Chicago: 420 miles, about 7.5 hours. How to get there: Take 1-94 north toward Milwaukee. Take the U.S. 53 exit toward Eau Claire/St. Paul and follow it until it merges into U.S. 63, which goes right into Hayward. Money matters: Tickets $10-$30. Where to stop: Why not a beer? Check into a brewery tour on your way up I-94. See Food & Drink for details. Don’t miss: Get up early to check out the amateur log rolling competition, at 8:30am Friday, Saturday and Sunday—prelims on Friday, semis on Saturday, finals on Sunday. It’s not just for ESPN2 anymore! Where else are you going to get the chance to see large men swinging axes, chainsaws and all other manner of destructive deforestation equipment? And that’s not to mention the absolute joy of seeing tree climbing, log rolling—and competitions for female athletes (lumberjils!). July 27-29, Hayward, Wisc., (715)634-2484, www.lumberjackworldchampionships.com. Metropolis, Illinois Distance from Chicago: 365 miles, 6 hours or so. How to get there: Take the Dan Ryan and merge onto I-57 toward Memphis. Take I-57 south around 300 miles until you hit I-24. Take I-24 toward Nashville until you hit U.S. 45, exit right and follow into Metropolis. Money matters: Mostly free; Super Museum, $3 Where to stop: The Arcola exit off I-57. There's a lot of odd stuff in Arcola, but you should definitely check out America's One and Only Hippie Memorial, 40-foot-long wall of randomness recognizing hippieness. Located at 175 N. Oak. While you're there also check out the Johnny Gruelle Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum. Gruelle, an Arcola native, created the dolly in 1915 and now a museum houses some of the creator's original stuffs. 110 E. Main, (217)268-4908, www.raggedyann-museum.org. Don't miss: The Super Museum features a bunch of completely kitschy, thoroughly enjoyable super junk, including a George Reeves costume from the original TV show. Located at 517 Market St., (618)524-5518, $3. Metropolis, Illinois, population 6,700, might not be Superman's real home, but they don't care! Making the most of the name, Metropolis has got Superman and his cronies (including gal Lois Lane) everywhere, from street signs to telephone booths and beyond. There are a couple of statues that are worth checking out, including one in front of the courthouse and another, somewhat painfully, in front of a local supermarket. The Chamber folks will give you a free sample of Kryptonite if you stop in and ask, and if you need to kill some time, check out the local newspaper, the Metropolis Planet. There's also a bunch of riverboat gambling to be had. Superman, apparently, can't pay all the bills.
LIT 50
SUMMER TRAVEL
VIDEO PARADISO
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment |
