Catch up with your girlfriends at a comfy yet luxurious three-bedroom villa at the Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa in charming and historic Galena, Illinois. Nestled on 6,800 acres of rolling hills, Eagle Ridge is the ideal all-season retreat for ladies looking to play, dine, shop >>

Early spring is very sweet in Northern Indiana, when maple sap is turned into rich golden syrup. For family fun, hit the road and visit one or more places where demonstrations of tree tapping and syrup making connect us to the past and, even better, give >>

Celebrate holiday traditions from around the world via the diverse museums of Chicago. Start your journey in Sweden with the stirring Santa Lucia procession, sponsored by the Swedish American Museum. This shortest day of the year celebration honors the eponymous saint with a parade of children >>

You can do the tour in a day — visiting the wineries of the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail and sampling everything from a full-bodied Chambourcin at Hedman Vineyard to a sweet Ruvanesque at Inheritance Valley Vineyard. Only minutes apart, the 12 wineries offer a delicious escape >>

Located at the confluence of three rivers — the Mississippi, the Missouri and the Illinois —Alton, Illinois, is known as “one of America’s most haunted small towns.” It sits on the Meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway, 33 miles of road cradled by the >>

Just blocks away from Chicago’s famed Magnificent Mile sits a historic, charming street that boasts some of the most glamorous shopping in the country. With Hermes, Prada and Vera Wang to name a few — Chicago’s Oak Street is where any shopaholic should come for a dose >>

For lots of gamesters, Vegas just isn’t in the budget this year. But don’t let your poker face turn into a pout. Chicagoland’s Grand Victoria Casino, just 40 miles west of the Windy City in Elgin, Illinois, could be the place to catch a lucky break >>

It’s spring, and on the farm that means one big news flash — baby animals.Yes, baby chicks, ducklings, piglets, calves, lambs and goat kids are frolicking all over The Children’s Farm at the Center in Palos Park, Illinois, just south of Chicago. The Center, a sanctuary >>