Long Grove, Illinois and Superdawg

Long Grove, Illinois and Superdawg

We were staying in downtown Chicago for a convention and got up early, heading out to the quaint village of Long Grove, Illinois. I had been here almost 15 years ago and had some positive memories, so I thought it would be a nice little trip to experience the holiday season. Long Grove sits about an hour north and west of Chicago in Lake County. At one time the village was hopping with boutique stores and a half dozen restaurants, although we found it to be a little quieter on this cold winter day.

On arriving in town, we parked in one of the large city lots and headed over for a delightful lunch at The Village Tavern in Long Grove. We sat in the bar and away from all of the kids/families in the main restaurant. We couldn’t have been happier with The Village Tavern. We had a cup of chili and a massive burger. Both were heavenly! And the ambiance in the bar area was very nice.
After lunch, we wandered around town popping in and out of the little stores. We bought some carmel popcorn at the Long Grove Popcorn Shoppe. And in the general store, the Farmside Grocery and Winery, we bought some drinks to take with us. After spending a couple of hours wandering around, we headed back in to Chicago.

On the way into downtown Chicago, we stopped at the foodie mecca known as Superdawg. I'd been to the Wheeling location several times on work business trips, but this was a first to that original temple of meat in tubular form. Delightful! I can clearly see what an iconic institution Superdawg is to Chicagoans.

Instead of taking the highway back into the city, we took the old Milwaukee Avenue. It was fascinating to see the neighborhoods change from Polish to Latin to hipster. We come to Chicago often but never has the chance to see anything outside of downtown or the suburbs of Wheeling and Deerfield.

After watching some football in the hotel, we went to Weber Grill for dinner. We ate in one of the booths right by the kitchen and it was really loud! But our steaks were excellent! After dinner, we went to the AMC East 21 theater complex and caught the Harry Potter, the Deathly Hallows, Part I film. All in all, a damn fine day in Chicago.

The covered bridge in Long Grove:

The shops in Long Grove:

Superdawg:

Blog written by Laura and Lance; http://justanothertravelblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/long-grove-illinois-and-superdawg.html

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Chicago Botanic Garden

I always find that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas goes by extremely fast. It’s probably because of the holiday parties, shopping and plus my wife and I like to get out and enjoy the communities’ holiday festivities. Lake County is a great place for festive holiday fun, with so many great events the entire family will enjoy; another reason why Lake County is perfect all year round!

The dazzling Vernon Hills Winter Wonderland Holiday Light Show is open daily from 6pm – 10pm. It is a great tradition for my wife and I, as well as many families, as you drive through an amazing collection of animated lights and decorations on the ground of the Cuneo Mansion & Gardens. When you go through the Light Show, you will receive a raffle ticket at the ticket booth that you take to any participating Vernon Hills store for a chance to win a $50 gift card in their holiday raffle. I have included my “behind the scenes” look at this year’s Light Show at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubZr8BpUetQ.

My wife and I enjoy Long Grove Historic Village anytime of the year, but this is the perfect time to rediscover Long Grove. The events in Long Grove this holiday season include weekend carolers, a visit with Santa, horse-drawn carriage rides, plenty of live holiday entertainment and much more. Overall, it’s a great place to spend an afternoon walking the cobblestone paths, shopping and enjoying a meal at Seasons of Long Grove or The Village Tavern.

Downtown Antioch is another great place to enjoy the holidays. Horse drawn carriage rides are free every Saturday with a $25 sales receipt from a downtown merchant or $5 per person. Santa’s Enchanted Castle is open daily through December 23rd and visits with Santa are free. If you head to Downtown Antioch to do some shopping or enjoy their holiday festivities, I highly recommend having lunch or dinner at David’s Bistro. The food is absolutely amazing! I enjoyed lunch there the other day and had the Stuffed Bistro Chicken, which was very good. The food presentation was great, as well as the atmosphere, and I will definitely be eating there again.

Another favorite attraction of mine is the Chicago Botanic Garden. This is an absolutely stunning place all year round. During the holiday season, there are 750,000 white sparkling lights that create a magical sight throughout the Garden. Inside, a 10,000 square foot Winter Wonderland Express exhibit is in full effect as miniature trains wind over bridges, under trestles, past waterfalls and through more than 80 miniature replicas of Chicago’s favorite landmarks. This amazing exhibit was created exclusively for the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Gurnee Mills Mall in Gurnee and Westfield Hawthorn in Vernon Hills have extended hours for your last minute holiday shopping, so be sure to check out our website http://www.lakecounty.org and “Like” us on http://www.facebook.com/visitlakecounty for daily specials and events. I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and we will see you out exploring Lake County!

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We are a family that doesn't spend too much time at home. It's not that we don't like to be. I think it's because I was raised by entrepreneur parents, like myself, who were always on the go. My parents' philosophy was to expose their children to as many experiences and places as possible, and I seem to have adopted that practice because when I find out about a new place to visit, I make it a point to go there.

When a close friend of mine posted her plans to visit the Wonderland Express, a 10,000-square-foot exhibit featuring miniature trains and more than 80 mini-replicas of Chicago's favorite landmarks now at the Chicago Botanic Garden, I was determined to visit and soon. I was delighted to find out that now through December 21st, admission to the exhibit is free on Tuesdays. After a visit to my local library to pick up a free Museum Adventure Pass, granting me free admission to the Gardens which includes free parking, my Tuesday morning excursion would be free. (for participating libraries and museums, click here) How can you pass up free, right?

I called up another girlfriend and insisted she meet me there with her kids. I forgot to ask her what she thought of it, but I think it's safe to say that we all had a lovely morning. We met at the Garden Cafe, shared a delicious croissant sandwich, and embarked on our journey to the Regenstein Center, just a short walk from the main entrance where the friendly Garden employees directed us past the green houses to the exhibit entrance. We were greeted by a delicious-looking Gingerbread town, complete with circling train, which made me anxious to see more.

Through a short corridor, blanketed with potted poinsettias, we enter the Wonderland. True to its name, I was amazed by the festive atmosphere accomplished by the talented artists who spent hundreds of labor-intensive hours creating this masterpiece, designed by Paul Busse, designer of the Model Railroad Garden. It reminded me of an ethereal land that I had imagined as a child when reading books featuring fairies and their woodland homes. In fact, it smelled like the forest with its beautiful backdrop of bark-lined walls, mini evergreen trees and hundreds of species of plants peppering the scenery. It was thrilling to identify all the different Chicago Landmarks nestled among the gorgeous greenery, waterfalls, and trains, of course. I am not a train enthusiast, but even my two year-old daughter and four year-old son appreciated the circling trains, and when the faux snow began to sprinkle and twinkle in the spot lights, it was magical.At the end of the exhibit, we had the option to view a movie explaining the making of the exhibit and to make a drop-in craft. We opted to create the craft with our restless little ones, tree "jewelry" which was really a mini bird-feeder with dried cranberries and bird seed, but I'm sure the movie would have been interesting.
I was very pleased to see that Wonderland Express at Chicago Botanic Gardens exceeded my expectations. My girlfriend even commented, "You think of the best places to take the kids to." I think that says it all.


Written by Eva Harrison, contributor at Little Lake County. 

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by: Diana Dretske blogger of Illuminating Lake County, Illinois History

In 1937, Malcolm Boyle (1897-1959), a wealthy Chicago contractor, purchased several farms near Wauconda totaling 1,250 acres to create Lakewood Farm.

The rolling topography of Lakewood Forest Preserve (formerly Lakewood Farm).
This view is of the Stockholm addition to Lakewood Forest Preserve, 1989.

Boyle was at the tail end of a movement of influential Chicagoans who retreated to the countryside to build estates and operate farms, mainly from the 1870s to 1920s. These farms were known as “gentleman farms” because the owner’s hired farm managers to run them.

Many gentlemen farmers were executives or owners of Chicago businesses, or the children of prominent Chicago families. Their farms transformed the landscape of Lake County from homesteads with traditional white clapboard farmhouses to estate houses with elaborate gardens designed by famous architects. Among these farms were Arthur Meeker’s Arcaday Farm, Grace Durand’s Crab Tree Farm, Robert Leatherbee’s Brae Burn Farm, and Malcolm Boyle's Lakewood Farm.

In 1939, Malcolm Boyle registered the name, Lakewood Farm, for his working farm with the Lake County Recorder of Deeds. It became a showplace with Guernsey cows, pigs, horses, extensive orchards, gardens and grain production.

Wauconda's Independent Register wrote in 1938: "[Boyle] has remodeled the buildings and is making extensive improvements on the property, including an artificial lake."

Boyle renovated a pre-Civil War house on site

into a country home. Since 1986, this building has been

used for the museum's archives and library.

One of the existing buildings Boyle improved was a pre-Civil War house. Boyle renovated it in 1938 into a lovely country home, and in 1986 when the Curt Teich Postcard Archives was donated to the museum, the house was adapted into an archives.

This barn was built in the 1920s and renovated by Boyle circa 1938.
This image is from a Lakewood Farms booklet printed, circa 1965,
printed by Howard Quinn, the property's next owner.

The ponds on the property were enhanced and landscaped by Synnetsvedt, and Boyle dredged a wetland to create Banana Lake and then stocked it with fish. He reportedly planned to dredge a small canal from Banana Lake to Bangs Lake in Wauconda (a distance of about one mile).

In 1953, Boyle’s Guernsey “Hagan Farms Merry Song” won a prize at the International Dairy show. The cow had notably produced 15,000 pounds of milk the previous year.

Silver tray trophy "Champion Northern Illinois Jr. Parish Show
Curtiss Improved Stud Service 1956."
For Lakewood Farm, Wauconda. LCDM 2009.21.2

In July 1961, Howard Quinn, owner of a savings and loan in Chicago, purchased the property. Quinn made many improvements to buildings, and in farming and breeding methods for his registered Guernsey and Angus cattle. He also constructed a Butler building to be used as a loafing shed for cows waiting to be milked.

Known by its manufacturer’s name, the Butler building was a pre-engineered metal building.
Beginning in 1968, the Lake County Forest Preserves used it for storing vehicles.
In 1977, the Chicago Bears practiced here before they had a permanent facility in Lake Forest.
The building was razed in 2010.

In 1965, Quinn was convicted of defrauding the government. According to the Chicago Tribune, the property was to be sold to "recoup losses from Quinn's handling of savings and loans funds insured by the federal corporation."

The Lakewood Farm property was one of the first sites designated by the Lake County Forest Preserves' for acquisition. In 1968, the land was acquired, and the farm buildings used to store equipment.

Prize bull barn as seen circa 1965.
This structure would be adapted as the museum's lobby and gift store.

The Lake County Discovery Museum opened its doors at Lakewood in 1976. Previously, the museum was located near Wadsworth on Route 41. Several of the original Lakewood Farm buildings were adapted for the museum’s exhibit galleries, collections storage and administrative offices. The museum will be moving in 2-3 years to Libertyville where it will have larger exhibit galleries, and be able to provide increased access to educational programs and to researchers utilizing collections.

Today, Lakewood Forest Preserve totals more than 2,600 acres, making it the largest preserve in Lake County. During the next couple of years the Lake County Forest Preserve’s planning department will develop a master plan for Lakewood, which will consider how the complex of buildings at Lakewood will be used. This master plan will be approved by the Forest Preserves Board of Commissioners.

This blog was written by Diana Dretska. Here is a link to her blog page: http://lakecountyhistory.blogspot.com

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