How far away from Chicago are you? I can't imagine living any closer, and I'm 30 miles from the bottom of the state. I don't see you as enjoying their company all that much.
Very fair assumption and I will add a bit...........probably a bit more than anyone wants to hear.
I am 205 miles from Soldier Field (Chicago Bears)
I figured Mound City for your location but I am betting you might be a jag north of there
Mound City is 150 miles away from East St. Louis IL.
Here are my trips to Chicago.
1. When I was about 10 our 4-H club did and exchange with a 4-H club based at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. We took a charter bus there.
2. When my wife and I were young and freshly married each summer we went to a zoo, Milwaukee, Omaha, St. Louis and Brookfield.
3. One year while teaching I was the Senior Class sponsor and had to chaperone a bus load of kids to Six Flags north of Chicago.
4. When our oldest son was in 6th grade we went with him on his 6th grade trip to the Chicago Science and Industry Museum.
5. When our youngest son was in 6th grade we went with him on his 6th grade trip to Brookfield Zoo.
6. When my oldest son was probably 10 I wanted to take him on an adventure and make a buck or two. It was summer so I was not teaching and had two days off from the alcohol plant. I bid a hauling job on U-ship to go to city of Chicago junkyard and get a wrecked cop car. I had to plan it out right to avoid traffic. He also had to be back for a little league game at 6PM. I planned to arrive at the scrapyard at 10;30AM but I had trouble finding it. I got there at 11AM as they were taking their 2 hr lunch break. They came back at 1PM and loaded the heap of poop on my trailer and away we went. I got out of town fine but hit the heaviest rain I had ever driven in on the interstate. I had to stop for a bit but we made it home and he made it to his game.
Now I do not regret a single one of those trips and 4 of the 6 were on charter busses.
There is one trip that was a total nightmare. This is the poo that makes me never want to drive in any large city. There was a time period where I was teaching in two adjoining school districts (morning in one afternoons in the other) and was on the school board in my home district. At the end of May is a 2-3 day school board conference for new members in Chicago. That year it was at the Holiday Inn on Michigan Ave which is the heart of the downtown. Well I had to go in to Orion high School in the morning. It was our final day so we could leave at 11:30AM. As all the guys were leaving to go play golf and have refreshments I was leaving for Chicago. I found the place OK but when I went to park it was valet parking which is not something this ole hick has any experience with. I had to pay $25 and hand my keys to a unscrupulous person. I did it and get registered for the conference. The sessions were done for the day by then. I had already planned to drive out to a west suburb to pick up a Mall 11 2 man chainsaw I had bought online. Well this ole farm boy got all turned around leaving the hotel. I was driving for two hours in south Chicago in some areas where I did not belong. I finally found an expressway but by then it was bumper to bumper. I did make it out to the suburb and get the saw. It was late when I got back to the hotel and I had to pay $25 again. On Thursday I stayed put at the conference and stayed there through it's conclusion on Friday around 3PM. I then left but I was not going straight home. I headed to a buddy's farm up in southern Wisconsin to pick up a 2 man Disston chainsaw. It was bumper to bumper for 3 freaking hours just to get to Rockford IL. What a mess. I made it to my friend's in Wisconsin but it was near dark. When I finally got home late that night my wife was pissed. She said "I thought your conference was over around 3PM". I had not told her that I was heading to Wisconsin on the way home.