Thank you! You have all convinced me to stay in the area we'll be spending our time in. We'll only be there for three days and I don't want to spend hours in the car each day. I'm going to try PL, but if I'm not successful, we'll just suck it up and save the money somewhere else. Can't wait!

I respect your opinion, sable_ca, but I lived in Chicago many years ago and have friends who continue to live there. They are still riding the subway/El.

We have taken the El on a regular basis in Chicago, no problem, especially to an event like a baseball game. Last time we stayed it was around $30 per day to park, but it was valet. Transformers 3 was being filmed literally outside the front door.

We stayed at the River Hotel on Lower Wacker. It shares an entrance with Club Quarters. The rooms were small, very European looking, but it worked out great for us.

DH's grandma lives not too far from O'Hare, so we always stay downtown when we visit because we want to do things in the city.

Here is a link that might be useful: River Hotel Chicago

I live in Chicago now. I Ride the El/subway twice daily 5 days a week and have for 28 yrs. We also ride it on weekends. I've never had a problem. DH and I don't ride it, however, after dark.

Bestyears, before you get to Bloomington it is IU not UI (or University of Indiana) from someone who bleeds black and gold and loves to beat IU!

Are you looking at Butler or University of Indpls or IUPUI? That makes a difference where you stay in Indy, the last two are downtown. Harry and Izzy's is great in Indy for a meal, the canal walk is nice, and the Children's Museum is top rated for all ages.

Bestyears,

Check Club Quarters. It is near the corner of Michigan & Wacker and is very close to where you wish to be. My employer has a membership with Club Quarters, where we have to book a certain number of room nights per year and in return, we [usually] get really good rates we can share with family and friends. So if you're interested in checking it out, PM me and I'll give you my employer's name - while we can share our discount with anyone, I'm not really comfortable posting their name here.

I stay at Club Quarters all the time for work and it's just fine. It's clean, but the rooms are small, although they do have larger rooms, but the price increases accordingly. It's about a block away from the Millennium parking garage someone else mentioned, and the hotel validates so the parking is a bit better than advertised. Seems like for a two-day stay recently, I paid $44 for parking after hotel validation. I was there the other day and was in that garage for 6 hours and paid $28 (no hotel validation).

Hopefully you still have time to check Club Quarters and you find it is a good deal for the dates you'll be there!

Kimberly

Here is a link that might be useful: Club Quarters

oops, thanks mmomof2, wouldn't want to make that mistake in front of anyone there! Yes, we are also going to Butler, IUPUI and UI. We are staying at Fairfield Inn & Suites on West Southern Avenue -I think I double-checked that it is close to the universities, but if I messed up, pls let me know! Any general feelings about these schools? I am excited to see IU because I hear Bloomington is a great college town. But I've also heard Indianapolis is a great city, so anxious to see those schools as well. Will definitely put Harry & Izzy's on the list.

Kimberly, thank you so much. That is so sweet of you. I'll go take a look at it, and get back to you.

Hi Bestyears: RN is right - it's IU or Indiana. I hope your DD loves Bloomington!! It's a beautiful campus and a great college town. What does she want to study?

Be sure to stroll down Kirkwood Ave. near the Union to downtown. Good, inexpensive food can be found at The Trojan Horse for Greek, Mother Bear's for pizza and salads and Scotty's Brewhouse for burgers. (Not all are on Kirkwood, but fairly close). There are decent hotels on the bypass (SR 37 & 3rd Street) although B-town is only an hour south of Indy.

Bestyears....hi again. The hotel you chose in Indy looks nice and is by the airport but it's sort of isolated. Have you checked rates downtown? There are several options in the Fairfield, Courtyard, type hotel. There are even really nice rates at the new JW Marriott on occasion. It's so easy to get in and around Indy that I think you'd like being closer to some activity. Staying downtown puts you within a 5 minute drive to IUPUI, 10 minutes to UofIndy, and 15 to Butler, and walking to countless restaurants.

Thank you panko -your recommendations are going on the list too. There's a reasonable Fairfield in Bloomington, with good Tripadvisor reviews, so we were thinking of staying there. Any input on that? DD doesn't know honestly know what she wants to major in, so mostly we are trying to look at schools with lots of options. IU has a number of things she has expressed an interest in: recording arts, entrepeneurship, management, interior design.... and of course it has a reputation as one of the better public universities.

Hi again panko -oh so glad you wrote, yes we like to be in the middle of things. We are looking for a Marriott property because of their "Stay two...." special right now, but you're right there are lots of options. Let me go look on their site and see if I can figure out which ones are 'downtown'.

kimberly, I emailed you!

I would probably stay at one of the hotels downtown versus where you have reservations. The airport area is more industrial and not the most attractive part of Indy! Downtown is a nice area with lots to do within walking distance of the hotels. You both would get a better feel for the city as perhaps some place she would want to live. Did you watch the Super Bowl? Indy and Butler got some great press from Jimmy Fallon then. I think some of the clips are still on his site.

My family has long standing ties to Purdue so I probably am not one to talk to about IU! Several of my kids classmates are there currently and most of them come from picky, educated families so I am sure a great education could be gotten there. I believe that the freshman year is a exploratory type year there with general ed classes in an attempts to select a major.

Butler is known for Pharmacy and Education, perhaps a little more along the line of Miami of Ohio than the other Indiana schools. IUPUI--a hybrid education from Indiana/Purdue. U of Indy--PT/OT have good programs.

While I just had a niece graduate from IUPUI, I do have thoughts about the school I need to share. My youngest DD went to a college much like IUPUI that was 5 hours from our home this year. The campus would empty out come Thursday pm/Friday am as most everyone lived within 1-2 hours or so from school. It made for some long weekends, lonely times, and a daughter that will not be back there next year. (She was on a full ride academic/sports scholarship, so ouch!) IUPUI is building more dorms but I think it still is predominantly a commuter college.

Just ask if you have any more questions.

Just want to say Bon voyage to you, best years. Only three years ago ds2 and I went on a two week, ten- school whirlwind trip through the northeast and Midwest. It was incredibly hectic, but was one of the most memorable trips we've taken--- and this particular kid and I have traveled from Japan to Costa Rica together, so that's saying a lot! Enjoy the trip... This is a wonderful present of time and opportunity you are giving your daughter.

What a marvelous trip you've outlined, I live in NW IN and you'll no doubt be passing near where I'm at. I am not a Chicago person, too hectic there. My one daughter grad. from IU in Business/Interior Design and loved the school, they are known for business. Two others grad.from Purdue and really liked it there. She's just going to be so far from home, OUCH on the 'out of state' fees, Can't she find something in the state of TX? There are so many wonderful colleges but my 4 kids only had the choice of a IND. college because of cost, that was 20+ yrs. ago. I am sure she'll make the right choice if she sort of knows what she wants to major in, lots of colleges are known for diff. degrees. EX> Purdue is known for engineering and IU for business. Best of luck on that long trip, drive safe and let us know all about it when you return.

Have you checked the Hotel 71 in Chicago? It's a boutique hotel and has just been remodeled. On the river, on Wacker, between Wabash and Michigan. I don't know about parking.

I don't know if you or your daughter are into architecture, but I can't go to Chicago without touring a Frank Lloyd Wright house.

The Fairfield in Bloomington is a great choice. There are also several Marriott properties in dt Indy....the Fairfield and Springhill Suites, along with the Marriott (not to be confused with the JW) are prime locations. There are a couple of Courtyards nearby too.

Good advice from RN about IUPUI.

Every time a new post comes up, I'm flooded with gratitude for this GW source of information!

mmomof2, thank you for the insights. Particularly about some schools emptying out on weekends-that is the kind of information that is difficult to come by without direct experience. We've created a spreadsheet of criteria on all the schools we're evaluating, and you've reminded me to look into that aspect. Thank goodness for the many student reviews available on the internet these days. -I will probably be back with more questions!

kswl -thank you for the vote of confidence. I see this as a wonderful time together, and important for my daughter. One of her very best friends just graduated and is going off to Hawaii for college. It's hard for me to imagine my daughter's last two years of high school without this friend's warm, bubbly personality in our home frequently....So I'm hoping this trip will get her feeling very excited about her own future, and will provide something for her to focus on besides her highschool schedule. Since you took a similar trip, perhaps you can help me with something. I am a little concerned about all the school information running into each other, i.e., "Wait, was that IU or ___?" Did you have that experience? We do plan to take photos and keep notes, but I'm still wondering about that a bit.

susan209, thank you for your kind words and input on IN schools, particularly your daughter's love of IU. We moved to Texas when this daughter was an infant, so while it is all she has ever known, we are not true "Texans." We would really like her to go out of state, to experience life in another part of the country, as part of her overall college education. You are right that it is more expensive, and far from home, but we already have an older child (DS 20) in upstate NY, so we've adjusted to that scenario. Although, honestly, I think I will miss her more on a daily basis just because we have a lot of fun together. My husband retired a few years ago, and we joke that now we are free to move to wherever she goes to school.... usually we are the only ones laughing!

jakabedy, thanks, never heard of Hotel 71! I'll take a look....

panko9 -I found a Courtyard Marriott Downtown -I'm going to switch to that one.

Bestsyears, yes! The only way I could keep all the schools separate was to take a picture of the school entrance as we were first going in, then take photos with my phone of each item of interest. DS was looking at specific programs and we had developed a list of questions to ask About each school. Most were answered in the info sessions, but a few were not (like the percentage of freshmen who graduate, for one). Having one set of common criteria allowed us to compare apples to apples, at least for some key points.

Anything we had about a particular school we kept in the folder for that school--- and at the end of each day in the hotel room, I would ask my son to name what he especially liked and disliked about the school(s) we visited that day, wrote it down and put it in the folder. Later, when we were home, he would say, I really liked the studio theater with the adjustable ceiling....was that at X school, or Y? And we would go back to that list of likes and dislikes and that would trigger more memories of his visit. It's very hard to keep them from running all together in your mind! So the pictures of each school (separated by either a photo of the entrance or DS holding up the folder) let us know where the pix of one school started and stopped. So many school buildings look alike!

We are on vacation now and just spent 2 nights in Chicago. I love that city --this was only my second time there. My DS (still early, going to be a Jr in the fall) is interested in Univ of Chicago so we walked through it a bit just because we were there. Oh dear. It was beautiful. We live near Boston and I'd like him to stay closer to home! But I can see why Chicago would be a great place to live.

We stayed at the Westin River North, which was very convenient. We walked everywhere (didn't have a car). Well, we took a cab to the University -- about a 15-minute drive from our hotel.

Now we are in San Francisco -- what a difference! Steamy hot in Chicago and today we were chilly in our jeans and jackets!

Hi sueb -oh you're getting me even more excited -sounds like our kiddoes are the same age. DD will be a junior in the fall as well. Univ of Chicago is a fabulous school. Really tough to get into, but fabulous. I lived in SF for about 16 years, beginning my first year out of college. Completely fell in love with that city....
I'll look at the Westin River North too -thanks.

Public transportation - the buslines are excellent. Absolutely do not take the subway, ever. Frankly, I would not take the El (elevated trains) either, although I traveled by El all the time when I was growing up. Sadly, the crime rate in the city has skyrocketed, and a sensible person, especially female, is careful.

I would have written everything sable wrote in her post, and won't repeat - other than to say I just got home from Chicago yesterday after visiting DS's family... which includes my new granddaughter. In the past, we have taken the EL into the city (he lives in the Loop, just south from the river). He told me def. not take the EL. But crime goes up on the streets in the summer too - never walk with your iPhone in your hand, btw.

Anyway, I met a group of lady friends in Chicago to shop two years ago, and stayed at a boutique hotel just over the river. Easy walking for shopping, dining etc.

DS went to college/grad school in Chicago and has been there 8 years. DD1 went to college in San Francisco and lived there 10 years - just moved back here. We've had great cities to go visit!

Have fun on your trip.

Thanks Allison -funny how your children have settled into their college towns. I am actually giving that some thought when trying to steer DD....!

I've decided not to take the El at all. Although we took the NYC subways frequently, after conferring with a few policeman on the street as to safety, I'm not going to risk it. I'm a big believer in avoiding certain situations as the #1 safety tool.

oh jakabedy, I forgot to mention, they have a neat bike tour for the neighborhood with a bunch of FLW homes -although it is exterior only. Neat though!

Nothing to add that has not been said. Just that it is a good idea to park your car and not use it when visiting the colleges.
My main purpose for this was that my DD's could get an idea of what it would be like manuvering around without a car.How is the public transportation? Does the school provide transportation to town etc. Although some schools allow freshman to have cars, most do not advise it.

Bestyears - Are you still going to stay at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown in Chicago? That looks like a good location. Just a block or two up State Street, across from the Embassy Suites, is the most charming boutique, really unusual, called P.O.S.H. Lots of English and French accessories for the home. Were I visiting the city again, that's the first (and only) store I'd head for.

What else in the city are you thinking of seeing? How about the Art Institute, which has the most wonderful collections - and the building itself is beautiful, and has a couple of very nice, reasonable restaurants, and a gift shop best avoided if you love art.

Here is a link that might be useful: P.O.S.H. boutique

Well, I haven't made a firm decision on the hotel yet. I have pretty much decided on the area just immediately north or just immediately south of Wacker Drive. I haven't given up on Priceline yet. I'm just completely stymied by the $40-$50/day parking fees. We don't intend to use the car at all while there. I did find a site called spothero.com, which seems to be able to reserve parking spots for as little as $14/day. I'm still trying to research them a bit to make sure they are okay.

I did look at the Art Institute as a possible place to visit. There is way too much to do in Chicago! We arrive dinner hour time Thursday evening. Friday we have a tour at noon at Loyola. Saturday is wide open and we leave Sun a.m. Honestly, I think we're just going to wing it a little bit. Definitely plan to cover the Millenium Park, waterfront area... I've been collecting names of fun restaurants. We love fresh, perfectly prepared food, more than fancy dining, and have found a few that fit the bill. We may see a show, we may take a water taxi tour, or a hop on hop off tour. We may drive out Sunday morning to see President Obama's neighborhood. I've written down info for FLW home tours.... We may go to a museum or two, but at the least we'll just walk and shop and eat to get a feel for the town.

sable -Darn, girl! Now I really have to find a bargain on a hotel. P.O.S.H. is so up my alley you don't even know....!!!!! Cannot WAIT to go there!

fyi, P.O.S.H. is a very small store.

DS graduated from Loyola, then DePaul (grad school).

Allison, would you mind sharing some of your son's thoughts about Loyola? You can email if you would prefer. One of our concerns about Loyola is that we are not Catholic, and are wondering how big a deal that might be for a potential student. DD is a Christian, and enjoys church, even occasionally attends a Catholic youth group with a good friend.

LOL, Bestyears, P.O.S.H. suits this forum so well! Beware, though. It's a delight. One thing - if you fall for the adorable hotel-silver teaspoons - which I did - some styles have very deep bowls for the "spoon" part, and are not that comfortable in one's mouth. Best just to sigh and eat one's trifle anyway.

And yes, Allison is right, it's a tiny store. Don't expect aisle after aisle of goodies.

I can well understand that if you have just one full day on your own in the city, and your daughter is considering Loyola, you don't want to be indoors in a museum, even if it is the Art Institute. Walking and shopping and eating is the way to go then, a good idea.

It would be helpful to know the dates you are staying in Chicago. If it's when the Air Show (very cool) is in town it could be really packed. I just got an Email from Travel Ticker that had great rates on a boutique hotel right in the middle of the action. Don't know if you have to be a member to see my link. Another thing to consider, if you're pinching pennies, is the awful 16.4% hotel tax we have. It really adds up.

I don't know if it's already been mentioned but Navy Pier is a fun place to spend a few hours.

Here is a link that might be useful: Travel Ticker

francy, yes I've factored in the tax. I learned long ago that it is always horrendous on hotels (and car rentals). We will arrive June 28th and depart July 1st. It looks like the airshow is in August. I'm sure it would be fun, but I am kind of relieved not to have to factor in the additional crowd. I was actually able to get a reservation at Club Quarters through GWer kimberly rkb. She was incredibly sweet to sent me info on that, and it is definitely a very nice place for much less than I had been able to find elsewhere.

We're so excited to finally visit Chicago!

Super!

I've never been to Chicago, so this may be way off base, but usually parking near airports is quite cheap. Why don't you park in a park and fly lot, take the parking lot shuttle to the airport, then the hotel shuttle or public transportation to your hotel. Leave the car in a fenced, locked lot with security and save a bundle? don't know if this is a doable suggestion.

Here is a link that might be useful: airport parking

olychick, not a bad suggestion, but the parking at the hotel we decided on is actually at the low-end of price points, and we are actually a fair distance from the airport.

bestyears, we are not Catholic and I would say we are more spiritual than religious. The children went to Bible Study in elementary school and some JH. DS is actually an atheist, which I find ironic. Guess they didn't see his Darwin fish tattoo before admitting. ;D

He says he received a good education (BBAs, Finance and Marketing), and had no problem finding a job during his last year of school. He worked while attending night school at DePaul (MS, Finance). Went to work for a new company (French owned) last year.

He tended to be tight lipped on his during that time - was paying for his own education with money from his portion of an office building sale - he was really responsible for his education and home purchase during that time, so he didn't have to answer to us. lol

Please don't let the El scare you. My 80 y.o. mom takes it all the time and would laugh to think people avoid it, esp if you are not going somewhere like Englewood (now you SHOULD avoid there!). I used to take it home alone from North Pier at midnight (working). Walking alone under a huge viaduct was scary and not recommended, but the El is fine. We may move back to Chicago (suburbs now) and I would not hesitate to ride the El with my kids.

Given that so many people have gone back to work/gotten jobs over the last couple of years, the el has gotten more and more crowded for those of us who ride it daily.

I'm fine with tourists staying away from it. My odds of getting a seat, instead of having to stand during my daily ride home, increase!

jmc01, happy to oblige! I hear you..... many moons ago, when I was commuting into the Financial District in San Francisco, my feet used to just ache standing up on the bus ride home after a long day in heels. I have a great memory of one particular evening after a day of stormy weather. The bus was very late because the electric lines (that the bus pulled along), were down in places. By the time it picked us up, there were easily double the usual number of riders. Finally we were loaded up and left the bus stop. But as we approached each hill, the driver had to ask volunteers to get off and walk to the top (it was still raining mind you). There was just not enough power to get the bus full of so many people, up the hill. People were actually great about it, but by about the seventh hill, patience was running thin all around. As we approached the next hill, only a few hardy souls ventured off. Everyone else just maintained their position, carefully avoiding eye contact with anyone. Finally, a youngish guy jumps up out of his seat and yells out, "Allright, that's it! All the fat people off the bus!" And the funny thing is, a bunch of overweight people hurriedly grabbed their stuff and got off! I nearly died laughing...

Bestyears...........what a great story, made me laugh!! I live in NW Indiana and that all sounds like good info to me.

Great story!

DD1 used to NOT get on the bus and head to Shabby Chic on Filmore when school was getting out - did not like the bus full of kids.

Speaking of crime and safety, we had no issues during our few days in Chicago but after arriving in San Fran, someone smashed the windows of our (rental) car and stole our stuff in Golden Gate Park on our second day. Major bummer. It was very, very stupid of us to leave stuff in the back seat in full view -- okay, I say 'us' but it was DH, a normally highly intelligent man who was just in 'vacation mode' and not thinking. Lesson learned! Ruined our day but otherwise we've had a fun visit.

Oh Sueb I am so sorry to hear that! San Francisco welcomed me with open arms when I arrived there as a somewhat naive, recent college grad from rural NH. It makes me feel horrible to think that some punk ruined your day that way. I hope you had an otherwise magical time in the City by the Bay.

best, yes, our kiddoes are the same age. Smart to look at schools early -- wish I had done this with DS #1. My DS who is interested in Chicago is an excellent student and all-around good citizen, so I think U of Chicago may be within reach but who knows -- he liked what he saw, so I think seeing a good "reach" school is good inspiration for the year ahead! He is one of those kids who could get straight A's with just a tiny bit more effort, but I can't complain as his lowest grade this year was a B+. He also plays sports, two instruments, and has a part time job. But enough bragging. I just appreciate him because our first -- though a great guy with many talents -- was a whole different ball game!

Anyway, we had a great time in San Fran other than that one really lousy afternoon. The park ranger that we flagged down said it is, unfortunately, a frequent occurrence there, usually homeless people who then sell whatever they get. Fortunately, it's all replaceable stuff.

My favorite part of the trip, though, was out of the city -- we went to Muir Woods one morning and it was just so stunning and peaceful.

Have fun in Chicago! I think we'll be going back sometime during this coming school year for an actual tour of at least a couple of schools.

While in bloomington, IN try Farm Bloomington which is a farm to fork kind of restaurant, its almost downtown on the sqaure on Kirkwood. I think you are trying a lot of different types of colleges ...small urban, mid rural, big ten...I think your son/daughter will get a good feel for each just by the visits even if she doesnt have a chance to talk to counselors. But remember most of these colleges will be bear bones this time of year and you'll have to imagine them with a lot more people on campus come fall...

Just arrived in Chicago! A bit of a shaky start, due to DD's inexperience with city traffic, and not doing a particularly great job navigating while I drove, but we made it after a few claws and snarls came out from both sides, LOL. Many of the streets our GPS wanted to send us down were closed due to construction, so it was a struggle, and apparently the Chicago drivers behind us didn't notice ourTexas license plates!

We love Club Quarters, thank you Kim for helping with that! Can't wait to head out exploring in the morning, and then on to Loyola!

oh, and thanks pence, that sounds EXACTLY like our kind of place! And yes, we completely understand the bare bones feel of colleges during summer visit. Thanks to the infinite wisdom of our school district, which grants students exactly 1 day junior year and 1 day senior year, for college visits, this is the only option. They hold students hostage to good attendance rates by giving them a pass from finals if they don't have more than a few days out.

Sorry for your luck with our weather. Most of Indiana was near 100 degrees today. Luckily the humidity isn't too bad yet.

Enjoy the time with your daughter.

Wave as you are driving down I65. I'll wave back! ; )

Bestyears - Good luck tomorrow, enjoy, and come back here and tell us all about it!

Welcome to Chicago where we have two seasons, winter and construction.