adventureGuideTravel

Make An Unforgettable Trip To Illinois State Parks

Being a pure nature admirer, you can’t restrict yourself from exploring scenic natural reserves. And here is the significance of hiking through the natural beauty of Illinois state parks! Plan an astounding trip to national parks near Chicago to take pleasure in beautiful nature. If you are a newcomer in the city or come for outdoor visiting, check out the following list of traveling places in Illinois, the real treasure of nature parks.

Channahon State Park

If you are making a small visit to Chicago yet want to get acquainted with the beauty of nature parks, you can reach out to Channahon state park within an hour. The park is named after its meaning, i.e. meeting of waters, situated between the Kankakee River and Des Plaines. If you are fond of having time at the calm riverbank, you should certainly include this place in your must-visit list.

Shawnee National Forest

If you plan to explore hiking trails Chicago, look no further than Lusk Creek Canyon amidst the rocky cliffs of Shawnee national forest. Get lost in the deep woodland along with visiting Pomona natural bridge, a true hidden gem naturally formed through erosion of water. Guarantee your visit to native wineries for having a perfect relaxation after a hectic day of trekking. 

Starved Rock State Park

This is one of the finest picturesque state parks in Illinois filled with sensational natural sculptures and hiking trails Chicago that you don’t to miss. This park is stuffed with incredible natural waterfalls, including wildcat, St. Louis French, and Kaskaskia canyons. Freeze yourself at some of the nearby staying places to experience the beauty more deeply in person. 

By now, you have realized how exciting it is to visit Illinois in most of the seasons for grabbing a mixture of varied experiences.  

AccessoriesGuideSwimming PoolTips & TricksTravel

Get In The Swimming Pool With Good Trunks

People love to swim but they don’t like to buy swimwear. It can be a real chore, especially if you don’t have a fabulous body. You can overcome this problem if you know something about how to pick out the best swimwear for yourself. This is a real struggle for plus-sized women as there are not many swimwear options from them. However, with one piece swimwear by Jets, plus-sized women also get to choose from a wide range of swimwear that are trendy and comfortable.

You might do best by picking out the kind of trunks you prefer. One type is known as board shorts. These are medium length swim trunks that come in a variety of colors. The board short actually flows to the knee. Another type of trunk is the bikini. This is a popular sort for people who like to get tan. It’s small and versatile. A lot of people feel a bikini makes them a better swimmer.

Another thing you need to think about is the material for your trunks. Choose one that best fits your needs. Nylon or polyester gives you a swimsuit that dries quickly. You may prefer that if you plan to use your trunks for shorts. Also, nylon and polyester won’t be as likely to fade.

Lately, there has been a trend to buy suits that rival the look of the 50’s swimwear. These are called monokinis or tankinis. You want to choose a cut that flatters your figure and shows off your assets. You might want to pick a style that elongates your body if you are short. Or you might want to pick a style that will help reveal parts of your body you don’t want to show off. Heavy hips and thighs can be hidden by skirts or fancy shorts.

Today you can buy swimwear that flattens your belly. Designers have developed special panels that can do this for you. They like to use lycra support panels. These devices will make a tremendous difference in your silhouette. You can either minimize or maximize your figure.

Women with a small bust can go for a style that has a lot of detailing around the bust. This might mean an oversized ruffle or a large bowl. These adornments won’t make you look ridiculous if the suit if made properly. Small busted women might also want to go for a small print or a triangle-top bikini.

A good trick is to look through magazines or catalogs to get a general idea of what styles appeal to you, and what you think will look good on you. You might want to mark the pages or the individual pictures and look at them again later, to see if you still feel the same about them. You might even want to take the pictures along to the store when you shop for your swimwear.

The most important thing is to put the right amount of time into looking for a new pair of trunks or swimsuits. You don’t want to rush this. If you are willing to spend some time in the fitting room, you will find the right product for you. Remember the swimsuit or trunks have to love your figure as much as you do.

Travel

Travel Nightmares: Lost Luggage

I travel frequently for my job, so it comes as no surprise that I’ve run into more than my fair share of travel nightmares. But the worst story from my travels comes from a trip last year before Christmas, when my boyfriend and I went to visit his family.

The flight from Seattle to Sacramento is a relatively short one, but apparently can be fraught with unknown perils for your luggage. We had a large bag full of clothing that we needed to check for our flight, since we preferred to carry on the presents that we had bought for his nieces and nephews. When we checked the suitcase, I watched the airline employee put the correct tag on the bag. I had flown to Sacramento previously, so I was sure that the airport code on our tag was right.

When we arrived in Sacramento, we waited near the baggage carousel for a long time. At one point, the carousel got clogged up in the back, and stopped bringing bags out. After the baggage handlers sorted things out and the bags began moving again, I was certain that we would see our big blue suitcase any minute. The conveyor belt stopped again, and airport employees assured us that all of the bags like laste reisikohver had been brought off the plane.

At the airline’s counter, a harried employee who had already lost his voice dug through computer records in an attempt to find our missing bag. He was able to track it down as having been sent to San Diego. For those not familiar with airport codes, Sacramento is SMF, while San Diego is SAN. I was utterly baffled as to how this mix-up could have occurred. But I thanked my lucky stars that we had carried on the presents for all of the kids, and gave the airline employee the information he would need to have our bags delivered to Stockton, where we would be staying. He assured us that the bags would be delivered that night by 8 p.m., and that they would not just leave them on the porch.

We stayed up talking to my boyfriend’s mom well past 10 p.m., hoping that any moment, the doorbell would ring, and our clothes would have arrived. Finally, after checking the porch one last time in case our bag had been left outside, we all began to prepare for bed. A few minutes later, we heard my boyfriend’s mom open the front door and talk to someone. Our bag had finally arrived, and had the delivery driver not seen someone moving around inside of the house, he was planning to just leave it on the porch.

Although lost luggage is an occasional result of traveling with checked bags, this has been the only time this travel nightmare has happened to me. We were fortunate, and got our bag and its contents before we needed to go out shopping for replacement items, but not everyone is so lucky. This incident has changed the way I pack for travel, though, always ensuring that we carry on at least some essentials so that we are not left without clean clothes and toiletries if our luggage decides to take a side trip without us again.

adventureGuideTips & TricksTravel

Travelling Young

I remember my very first Caribbean cruise like it was yesterday. In fact it was about 18 years ago. 

That first one however was a real eye-opener for me. I was about 40 at the time and it was early in the first day of the cruise that I realized that I was one of the youngest passengers on the ship. Actually, during that entire trip I only saw about five people that appeared to be younger then I was. 

I remember someone telling me before I left on that first cruise that most passengers on cruise ships were “newly wed or nearly dead.” Of course I laughed it off, but soon came to realize that he was pretty well right on. Except for the newly wed part. On this particular trip I didn’t run across any of those. 

There were about 1300 passengers on the ship and I’m sure about 100 of them were in wheelchairs. Two people died during that 10 day cruise. 

 

 

Of old age. 

I know that’s true because I saw them take the bodies away by ambulance at two different ports. Later I found out what had happened. One stroke and one heart attack. 

Its safe to say that most of the people on the ship were retired. They had probably worked most of their lives in order to enjoy going on cruises and other holidays once the working years were over. Many of the ones I talked to were on their first cruises. Some were on their very first real vacation. 

To me there is something really wrong with that picture. Of Course people who are retired deserve great holidays. They’ve worked hard and saved their money for that reason. But to me it seems that leaving the fun times until you retire is not necessarily the best thing to do. You are gambling that your health will still be good when its time to put up your feet. 

My approach is quite a bit different. It was actually that very trip that convinced me that I was not going to wait until retirement to travel and take in the world. Since then I’ve been on 11 more cruises. By the way, I found out later that the cruise line my agent chose for me that first time catered to the over 50’s. Since then I have found the cruise line of choice for the younger partying crowd. 

 

 

I’ve also been to 4 Club Meds, Vegas 6 times, Hawaii twice, and to Switzerland and Cuba. I still work full time and probably will work until I’m 65. My theory is to do all my holidaying now while I’m in excellent physical condition. Its much more fun to arrive at a Caribbean island, put on your backpack and go exploring on foot then it is to have someone push you around in a wheelchair. 

Of course all this is expensive and I’m not able to save too much for retirement. I’m prepared to accept that however. If I can’t afford to travel when I retire, then that’s fine. I’ll do the things that don’t cost much. I’ll go for long walks along the river, write a book, learn how to fly fish or volunteer somewhere. 

Life is extremely unpredictable and I have no desire to work for 50 years and gamble that I will still be alive or in good enough health to take advantage of all the spare time that retiring will leave me with. 

Traveling had become a hobby to me at one point and nothing gives more pleasure than a trip down the countryside or to the nearest hill station to make you feel good. I still want to run atop the hill or mountain as I am young at heart, unfortunately my health does not keep up with me so I want to have limbs that are functioning till my last breath and not dependent on anyone. I call over friends for company and we have a list of the best AARP senior tour travels in 2020, though of course it won’t be as gala as the previous ones as age won’t permit any of us.