Thank you for reading the Lake County, Illinois blogs the past year. We would like to take this opportunity to gather some feedback from our readers, as we are looking to enhance our blogs in 2009. The past year we blogged about such places as: Six Flags Great America, Gurnee Mills, Long Grove Historic Village, Lake County Forest Preserves, Farmers Markets and much more. Please use the comment section on this page to answer the below questions or email your answers to anthony@lakecounty.org.

1. Which Lake County blogs were your favorite this past year? Why?
2. What attractions or events in Lake County would interest you that we have not covered?
3. Have our blogs been helpful to you in planning trips around Lake County?
4. Have you visited any attractions or events because of our blogs? If so, which ones?

Thank you for your feedback.

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Right now, as I write this, I am in heaven listening to the sounds of the season. I actually tried to attach a video so you could listen too...but unfortunately the file is TOO big. Let me describe - think of Hark the Herald Angels Sing being played by the combination of a guitar, a harp and a mandolin all wrapped into one instrument...JUST BEAUTIFUL!


Where did I find this beautiful music? Long Grove’s “Celebrate the Season” is going on right now. There are activities planned from now until January 1st.


This was an especially fun place to visit for me as I got married in Long Grove on December 16th (let’s just say a few years ago…okay?) and it brought back so many fond memories. The wonderful thing about “fond memories” and Long Grove is just that…the village takes you back to a time long ago…carriage rides, carolers, and so much more.


If you haven’t experienced Long Grove, you must. If you haven’t experienced Long Grove in the winter, take advantage of the activities that are going on right now. And if you haven’t experienced Long Grove, in the winter, AND in the evening, it is a delight! You should try to go back for dinner. Well let me rephrase that…you should play and shop during the day and stay in the village for dinner...I would recommend the Tavern (my rehearsal dinner venue); however there are others as well!


The decorations are exquisite. My photos just won’t do it justice because I was taking pictures of lit decorations during the day; however you are able to see the garlands, wreaths, trees and more from other shots I have.


Everyone is in the spirit there! I ran in to see the Santa Breakfast at Seasons of Long Grove and couldn’t believe how excited the kids were to see Santa, eat an amazing breakfast and have one of Santa’s elves making balloon animals and ornaments for fun. It was so warm, I felt as though I was walking in on someone’s Christmas morning!


Next, I sauntered over to Mangels. This is where I saw Bill Robinson “King of the Dulcimer” and his friends. Honestly, the music you hear above touches you – if I hadn’t been in the spirit of the holidays before that, I am now. I walked away with one of his CD’s. I couldn’t resist. You can learn more about him (great guy) at http://www.billrobinson-dulcimer.com.


I had to tear myself away from the music and walked around the store. If I had a shopping cart, it would have been full of all of the decorations I wanted to take home for this season. There were gingerbread homes, nativity scenes, Mark Roberts’s fairies (these are the elfin Santa’s you see in the photos) and oodles more to choose from.


Goodness, it isn’t fair that I focus on only a couple attractions in the town; however there just isn’t enough time to go over each store. You have to take a few moments and look at the Long Grove website (http://www.longgroveonline.com/countryside_holidays.html). There is a link for all of the holiday programming and stores will be open until 2pm on Christmas Eve.


This weekend, don’t miss the Nutcracker tea at Seasons, chamber music at Timmy’s Sandwich & Ice Cream, live music Thomas Swenson/Ellise Steglinski or Jimmy Liggett at Beans & Leaves and much more!


Don’t forget to top the day off with a wonderful carriage ride. It will be the highlight of your holiday season!

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As I had previously only been to visit the Chicago Botanic Garden during summer months, I was intrigued as to what I might find when I heard about the winter-themed Wonderland Express exhibit. I showed up to the garden last Friday afternoon during the cold snap, the bright sun casting a pleasant glow but doing little to alleviate the seventeen-degree chill. I marveled at the partially snow-covered sculpture out front before crossing the bridge over the icy river and bustling into the exhibit building.

Along with the rejuvenating heat came the pleasing familiarity of instrumental holiday music, and I decided to take a stroll through a greenhouse near the entryway before checking out the main exhibition. Once inside the main hall, the cozy lighting and pleasant music engulfed me, and it really did feel like I had stepped into some sort of wonderland. Trains on wooden tracks chugged overhead and by my feet, and the scent of evergreen stood out amidst the foliage all around. Tiny flakes of foam snow dropped from the ceiling, and I stepped forward into a model train version of what Chicago might look like if Santa Claus lived here rather than at the North Pole.

Among the bridges and trestles, pines and flowering plants, miniature Chicago landmarks stood replicated in astonishing detail, all crafted from natural materials. Past a small forest of White Spruce Pines I marveled at the recreation of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House, and rounded a bend to come face-to-face with a Kashmir Cypress, a tree whose branches resembled hanging ferns. I followed the sound of rushing water to a magnificent waterfall that cascaded down a ledge near a series of elevated train tracks. I peered into a semi-hidden cove to admire some architecture and saw something shoot past me on the track below before disappearing into a forest glen. After a short wait I was again treated to what I thought I had seen- a ladybug on wheels riding the rails. A nearby sign explained that it was one of several "Ladybug Cars" that intermingled with the locomotives in the woodlands.

Across the path I encountered what to me may have been the pinnacle of the exhibit: Chicago's Navy Pier, constructed in fantastic detail, complete with rotating wooden Ferris Wheel. Soft lights nearby led me to a recreation of the Chicago Picasso, brilliantly constructed from plant matter. The sound of the "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" theme guided me towards a version of Soldier Field as it might appear were it home to gingerbread players.

All the landmarks displayed were striking in their craftsmanship, and I spent a good deal of time admiring each to notice their many subtleties. The Museum of Science and Industry stood amidst light pink flowers beneath a pine cone edifice, and the Baha'i Temple radiated magnificence beneath its dome gourd. The sights, sounds, and smells were a wonder to behold, and I would recommend the exhibit to art and nature fans of all ages.

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If you haven’t made plans to go to the Festival of Lights in Zion? Change your plans, you HAVE to go!

Mark, Maggie and I went last night. I was a little hesitant because we started the evening at 7:30 p.m., which is right around Maggie’s bedtime, but why not?! You only get to see your daughter look at Christmas trees, lights and Santa through the eyes of a two year old once!

We turned the corner from Sheridan onto Shiloh and saw some lights on trees. Try to think about how some cities light their trees down their main streets; you can follow the light strand on some trees making big zig zags all over the tree. Not here…the green lights illuminated the trees – just amazing!


The first house we came upon was Zion’s historic “Shiloh House”. The decorations were beautiful. My picture doesn’t do it justice, but there were candles and lights in every window. There were multiple trees and wreaths throughout its Victorian inspiration. It was so warm and inviting. We passed other homes that were really festive too.


We made the turn and saw the entrance to Kringle’s Kingdom. The trolley was sitting out in front, inviting you to enjoy so many activities.


We drove by the entrance and headed toward the drive-thru display first. We passed many light displays that I wanted to take home with me. Take a look at the elaborate lighting on this little bridge. It was just beautiful. Maggie wanted to jump out of the car right then!


We drove under an archway of snowflakes to enter the winding drive through Shiloh Park. There were penguins, elves, Christmas trees, dinosaurs, teddy bears and even a moving jack-in-the-box. You had to drive really slow and keep your eyes moving back and forth to either side of the car. So much fun!


After our drive, we walked through Kringle’s Kingdom. Imagine this…an outdoor pool complex has been taken over and it is HEAVILY decorated for the holidays. There are over 450 lighted evergreen trees and more than 75 displays. The only way I can explain the displays are “life size” dioramas. They were incredible.


The little trail wound around back and forth and had something new around every corner. Maggie was like a kid in a candy shop. She was so excited to see the lights on the trees; you should have seen her surprise when she saw a train that was her size! She was jumping around for 10 minutes.


Each display had a different theme; many had dolls, teddy bears, mice and the Zee Bee, famous in Zion (high school mascot). They were decorated with lights, tinsel…any holiday decoration you can imagine.


We turned another corner and heard a knock on a window. Are you kidding? Was it really him? Santa Claus was in his home. Maggie wasn’t overly excited to go and see him this year (it’s her age); however he didn’t mind. He continued to wave out his window until Maggie was out of sight.

As we weaved through the displays, we rounded another bend (lit reindeers in their barn) and saw Santa’s sleigh. How on earth did Santa’s sleigh land in the midst of an outdoor pool complex? Well, it landed on the Santa runway! Yep, Santa has his own runway, right there in the midst of Zion. It was marked with flickering red and green lights that lit the strip!

I grabbed a Festival of Lights brochure on our way out to see what else was going on. We had to run home to get Maggie into bed, but we are definitely going to go back for the trolley ride and the story book reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’. I can’t believe how quickly the time went by!

You must go to the Festival of Lights website http://www.cityofzion.com/fol/index.html. They have listed all of the activities and taken photos to get you excited about going! The site says that you won’t find a collection of holiday events like it anywhere in northeast Illinois – THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!! The Festival of Lights will run through December 30th. Generally, the activities begin around 7:00 p.m. although the drive-thru display opens at sundown.

Did you grab your keys yet? Are you in your car? Don’t forget your family and friends. They won’t want to miss this!!

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Doesn’t the song say “Walkin’ in a Winter Wonderland”? Well, we decided to drive!! Cuneo Museum opened the gates to their Winter Wonderland Holiday Light Show this past weekend. My husband (Mark) and I decided to take our two year old to see the display to give us a jump start on the Christmas spirit. The light show didn’t disappoint – it was amazing!

It was Sunday evening and Mark heard that we were in the midst of a snow advisory. His thought…”Should we still go?” My thought…”Woo Hoo – this is gonna be great! Can you imagine the light show in the midst of snow falling? We couldn’t have ordered up better weather!”


We got in the car and headed the short distance to Vernon Hills. The entrance is clearly marked with blue Winter Wonderland signs along Rt 60. We were welcomed by a patriotic display and then immediately moved into the holiday lights, with candy canes and lollipops and even classic television show characters like Mr. Heat Miser and Mr. Cold Miser.


Soon after, our family was singing the 12 Days of Christmas as we saw the partridge in a pear tree. It was fun trying to remember all of the words to the song “twelve drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping” and so on. I must say the light display helped us to remember!


The folks at the front ticketing area told us to turn our radio to FM107.1 and we would be able to listen to holiday music as we drove through the property. I asked if they knew how many lights were lit and they said there were no exact numbers but I think over 250,000 would be a good first guess. Can you imagine?


And the characters!! I can’t name them all, but here are a few; Beauty and the Beast, Madeline, Monsters Inc, Blues Clues, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a giraffe, a moving hippo, polar bears, a rocking horse and SO many more!!


As we were coming toward the end of our route through the Cuneo estate, we saw THE PLACE. It was where Santa Claus makes all of the toys for good girls and boys – Santa’s Workshop!! His sleigh was even waiting outside for Christmas Eve. We couldn’t believe it! And on top of that, Santa had posted signs on how many miles he would be traveling to deliver all of the presents to Mexico City, Beijing, Seattle and Dublin! Wow will he have a busy night!


You can drive through the Winter Wonderland Holiday Light Show evenings, November 28 – January 3 from 6:00 – 10:00pm. It will be closed December 24th and 25th. Admission: $5 per car Monday through Thursday; $10 per car on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.


We were so sad to see the night have to end. But what a great way; Santa was there himself waiving and wishing us …and to all A Good Night!


Now...for that cup of hot chocolate!

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