Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Once Upon a Child and Freecycle

I have finally gotten around to the enormous task of sorting and getting rid of all of my daughters' baby and toddler clothes.  I've mainly used freecycle (www.freecycle.org) to pass these items onto families who could use them and keep them out of the waste stream.  Freecycle, if you've never used it, is a really great organization that allows people to give away just about any item (except for food) to anyone who is interested and willing to pick up.  Clothes are generally something that is easy to give away to friends and family or a charity but there are often lots of things that you are not really sure who would want them that usually ultimately end up in the trash.  Freecycle helps you find a recipient for these items.  Based on my observations, just about anything that is offered eventually finds a home.  Freecycle is also a great place to find something you might want for free.  Everything that I have given away I have left on my porch so there is no actual face to face interaction with the person picking up.  They don't need to come into your house or speak with you so it feels a little bit safer than something like craigslist.

We did have a few things that were a bit nicer that I wanted to try to get a little money for such as fancy holiday dresses and winter coats.  We decided to take them to the store Once Upon a Child.  There are multiple locations of this store throughout the suburbs with the closest one for us located at 4616 N. Harlem in Harwood Heights.  For other store locations and hours check their website www.onceuponachild.com.  When we walked into the store we were immediately directed to the drop off location where I filled out a form and someone took our box to sort through.  We were there around lunch time on a Saturday and were told it would take about 30 minutes to look at the clothing we had brought.  They staff said we could either look around the store during that time or that would give us a call when they were done.  The girls had a really good time browsing in the store especially in the toy section.  We had to remind them that we were there to get rid of stuff not add more to our house.  Most of the items in the store seemed to be in pretty good condition.  In addition to clothes and toys, Once Upon a Child also buys and sells a wide assortment of baby gear, shoes, and books.  When we were there they had a large number of Halloween costumes for sale. 

From our box that we brought in, the store bought about half of the stuff for about $36.  We were satisfied.  It ended up being more money that we thought we would get and definitely more than we would have gotten for that stuff at a garage sale.         

Friday, September 14, 2012

Novelty Golf and Games AKA the Bunny Hutch

Over the long holiday weekend we decided to get in one last summer activity and went miniature golfing at the Bunny Hutch, located at 3650 W. Devon in Lincolnwood.  The Bunny Hutch offers two 18 hole miniature golf courses, batting cages, game room, and snack stand.  We went to play miniature golf and had a really good time.  Each hole has a theme and moving parts or some kind of tricky component, which kept the kids engaged and wanting to see what was at the next hole.  We decided it would be best not to keep score since my kids are not the most coordinated (although my older daughter did get a hole in one) and had never played miniature golf before.  At 3 years old, my younger daughter was probably too young to play but she still was completely engaged the whole time and hit the ball around at least a couple times at each hole.  I'm not sure if we just got lucky, but it wasn't very crowded when we were there and we didn't have to wait at any holes, although the people behind us did have to wait for us.  It was also fun to do an activity where both the kids and adults could participate.

Price changes depending on what day and what time you go miniature golfing but it ranges from $7-$9 per person for one of the 18 hole courses.  They are open 7 days a week from April to mid-October.  Check the website for exact hours:  www.noveltygolf.com.  There is a big lot out front with plenty of parking.  The Bunny Hutch is a great way to spend one of the remaining beautiful days we have left this fall before winter sets in. 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Family Vacation - Mackinac Island

We recently got back from the last of our summer travels before school starts - a trip to Mackinac Island.  We wanted to go somewhere that we could drive to, somewhere none of us have been to before, and somewhere that would be relaxing.  We thought Mackinac Island would be perfect since there are no cars allowed on the Island, lots of horses, and cooler weather than we've been having this summer.

The drive is approximately 7-8 hours, depending on where in the City you are leaving from and traffic, to get up to either Mackinac City or St. Ignace, the two cities where the ferries depart for Mackinac Island.  We spent our first night in Petoskey, a vacation town located at the top of Lake Michigan, to break up the trip a little bit and to be able to go to the beach.  We were there for less than 24 hours but were able to take in the amazing views and have a good fish dinner.

The next morning we drove up to St. Ignace, which is about an hour from Petoskey.  We chose to take a ferry from St. Ignace because the girls wanted to drive across the Mackinac Bridge (Mackinac City is on the Lower Pennisula side).  There are three main ferry companies and they all leave from both cities.  All three ferry companies, Shepler's, Arnold Transit, and Star Line, seem to be pretty interchangeable.  The prices, schedules, and departure locations are very similar.  I suggest buying your tickets online before you leave, where you can get a bit of a deal.  Kids 4 and under are free and we were able to find a deal for 2 adults and 1 child for $48.  These are round trip tickets and include handling of your bags from the ferry to your hotel once you reach the island.  All of the ferry companies offer free parking at the dock.  The ferry ride is about 30 minutes.  The girls really enjoyed it.  It is a very scenic trip.

On the Island there are lots of hotel choices ranging from very expensive to affordable.  We stayed at the Harbor View Inn, which is located along the main road a little ways away from the bustling downtown area.  It was perfectly nice, clean, and included a very good continental breakfast every morning.

After our exciting ferry ride to the Island and checking into our hotel, we decided to walk up the Grand Hotel to look around.  The Grand Hotel is the most famous hotel on the Island.  It was featured in the movie Somewhere in Time and claims to have the largest wraparound porch in the world.  If you are not staying at the hotel you have to pay $10/adult to see the hotel and grounds.  It is not a formal tour and gives you access to just about anywhere you want to go besides the guest rooms.  The hotel is pretty historic and despite the steep price to see it we all had a good time looking around.  The girls especially loved running around the grounds.  When we walked through the dining area they were serving afternoon tea and it looked really amazing. 

The next day we spent some time at Fort Mackinac.  It is located right downtown.  The Fort was built around 1780 and was interesting even for our daughters.  Since this year is the 200th anniversary of the war of 1812, in which the Fort played a role, there were lots of interesting events scheduled such as a rifle firing demonstration, music presentation, canon firing, and children's program where a costumed guide explained what it was like for children at the fort and let them play with toys from that time period.  We were actually quite surprised by how much the girls enjoyed the whole experience.

The one other big activity that we did, besides eating too much fudge and ice cream, was to go for a tour of the island in a horse carriage.  The tour doesn't go completely around the island but through it.  It is a mostly scenic tour with some commentary on the history of the Island and some of the landmarks you pass.  I didn't think our tour guide was awesome but overall it was an enjoyable ride.  Many people see the island on bike and my husband and older daughter did rent bikes for a short ride but given the age of our family and biking ability seeing the Island by carriage was our best option.  If your kids are old enough to ride 8-10 miles on their bike I would probably skip the carriage ride and go by bike.  You can rent bikes of all sorts for different durations just about anywhere.

There are lots of dining options on the Island ranging for very good to completely touristy.  There were two restaurants that we ate at that were standouts for us:  Mary's Bistro and the Cudahy Room at Inn at Stonecliffe.  Mary's Bistro is located right on Main Street.  There is indoor and outdoor seating and we were able to sit outside and watch the boats going in and out of the harbor.  The signature dish is spit fired chicken, which is quite good.  The restaurant has a kid's menu, is quite casual, and very family friendly.  The Cudahy Room is a bit more formal and pricey.  It is located in the Inn at Stonecliffe, which is located on the western side of the island a good distance from the downtown area.  The Inn at Stonecliffe was about 2 miles from our hotel and we were planning to take a horse carriage to get there, which we thought would only take about 15 minutes.  That was a big mistake.  We found that if you want a private carriage, you need to request one about 30 minutes in advance and then it takes another 30 - 40 minutes to ride out to the restaurant.  We got lucky and were able to grab the last seats on a shuttle going to the Woods restaurant, which is located right by the Inn at Stonecliffe. Even though it is a long ride, it is a scenic one and really a great way to spend an evening.  The menu at the Cudahy Room includes fish, steak, and chicken dishes and there is a children's menu.  The restaurant is a little fancier than where we would normally take our kids, however it didn't seem like a big deal that they were along.  The food was really good and we had a very nice evening.

Mackinac Island was a great place for us to vacation.  It was extremely family friendly and completely relaxing.  Ever since the trip the girls have been asking when we will go back.