Top 3 or 5 towns? (Chicago, Skokie, St. Charles: neighborhoods, school, architecture)

[Master Jay]

Creo, thank you for sharing.

Definitely places I've never been to.

But perhaps some of the other readers will back up your shoutouts. Maybe some others will go check them out for themselves.

Thanks again for contributing.

[GWoodle]

For downstate in Little Egypt have to nominate Carbondale. With pop of 25,000 largest city in southern IL. With City of New Orleans, Illini & Saluki offers 3 Amtrak trains/day to Chicago on Illinois Central/CN rails. With SIU offers state university. Not having interstate highway holds it back.

Nearby could nominate Mt Vernon. I-64 takes you from St Louis to Louisville. I-57 comes down from Chicago to Missouri. The interstates comingle for a few miles on the west side of town. From the southeast I-24 offers connection to Nashville & Chattanooga. The combination of the 3 interstates create heavy truck routes.

[Master Jay]

GWoodle, preach on!

But I will have to take your Mt. Vernon, and tweak it, and through out as my possible 4th:

Vernon HILLS... Easy route, via Milwaukee Avenue (Hwy 21). A mall, with nice strip malls around it, including the newish Mellody Farms.

A great assortment of restaurants and shops. Nice parks. Decent library. Very safe and clean. In between my top town, Libertyville, and Lincolnshire.

[Kraftask]

I'd add Oregon, IL to the list. It kinda has a mini Galena feel plus it's surrounded by state parks & cool rock formations. Very scenic this time of year. I'll probably head over to Castle Rock next week to check out the fall scenery. Oregon's motto used to be, "Why go farther?"

[Kraftask]

Lol the guy that mentioned Rockford. Well i guess if you'd wanna see an alternate history of what Milwaukee would look like on river front instead of a lake front, Rockford would be worth checking out.

[Master Jay]

Kraftask, good to see you.

Thank you for sharing.

Hope all is well.

[Kraftask]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Kraftask, good to see you.

Thank you for sharing.

Hope all is well.

I'm doing well. Another town i thought of that i like is Pecatonica, IL. They have a nice bike path & a little bike shop with a friendly owner & a quaint little downtown. I used to take my daughter trick or treating there every year because they were one of the few towns that would do it on the weekend before Halloween but this year a bunch of Karens complained so they moved it to the 31st. Now it looks like Rochelle, IL is the only town around here that still does trick or treat on the weekend.

[Master Jay]

Kraftask, you are a great father!

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by Kraftask

I'm doing well. Another town i thought of that i like is Pecatonica, IL. They have a nice bike path & a little bike shop with a friendly owner & a quaint little downtown. I used to take my daughter trick or treating there every year because they were one of the few towns that would do it on the weekend before Halloween but this year a bunch of Karens complained so they moved it to the 31st. Now it looks like Rochelle, IL is the only town around here that still does trick or treat on the weekend.

Sycamore Pumpkin Fest

https://sycamorepumpkinfestival.com/

Wednesday, October 25, 2023 thru Sunday October 29
This city-wide event features delicious food, three indoor arts & crafts shows, a historic house walk, two carnivals, the Pumpkin Run 10K, and other fun-filled events! Visitors simply cannot miss the showcase of hundreds of pumpkins creatively decorated by local youth and adults alike displayed on the courthouse lawn!

Visit the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival Committee's official website for more information.

[Little Egypt]

If you want something truly different, I recommend the Makanda Vulture Fest.


https://www.facebook.com/MakandaBoardwalkEvents/


I can promise you haven't been to a place like Makanda, or an event like Vulture Fest. Coming up this weekend Oct. 21 & 22.