Majestic Star Casino & Hotel

This casino is at the same dock as the Trump Casino and to be honest the boats are depressingly similar. I was shocked at how dirty this place is. There are machines packed into every possible spot and people on every machine even during the week. The crowd is crazy, smelly, sweaty, and desperate, not the kind of people I want to be trapped on a boat with. I couldnt even find a common area to just sit for a minute, Im sure all available floor space was being used for money sucking machines.

Taste of Chicago Restaurant

This is an awesome festival for those who love food. There are stands from a huge variety of the restaurants youd find in the city. In theory this sounds like heaven but when you get there you realize it is quite the opposite. The lines you stand in are so long you cant hit more than a few tables in a day and the tickets that you buy to trade in for food (dont even get me started on the line for those) are really expensive. If you actually try this you need a plan, what worked for me is going in a group of six, we figured out what tables we wanted food from based on the list on the internet, and counted up how many tickets wed need. Then we stood in line for them, and afterwards we spread out each taking a table (or two) and meeting back at a designated eating spot to pig out on our smorgasbord.

Six Flags Great America INC

This is a great park for those who like thrill rides. Im not a big roller coaster fan, although the Batman is the most intense minute you will ever experience, a definite must try. There arent a whole lot of rides that dont make me vomit at this park, but its still a pretty good time. The games and shops add to the lure and the Moose Lodge makes a great burger. They also do a great job with their Halloween Fright Fest, so that adds to the fun. Its a great thing to do on occasion, but Im looking forward to trying the new waterpark.

Navy Pier

This is the coolest movie theater Ive ever seen. The screen is HUGE, and the rows of seats are set up stadium style so you never have to worry about a big head in front of you blocking your view. We took my 4 year old to see Beauty and the Beast, which shes seen a million times, but she was still entranced with the huge images. It was a wonderful, and expensive, classic to see on this amazing screen.

Joffrey Ballet Studios

I saw this ballet company perform The Nutcracker, and it was incredible. This wasnt my first time attending the ballet, but it was the first time I was sucked into the magic so completely. The music was incredible, the dancers amazingly graceful. It was definitely something everyone should experience.

PROS: great performers
CONS: expensive to see

Saint Joseph Hospital

The staff at this hospital is the most uncaring group of health care professionals Ive ever met. I stayed at the Diamond Headache Clinic on the 9th floor, the people who were from the Diamond Clinic were wonderful, and the people who worked for the hospital were awful and so unprofessional with absolutely NO bedside manner. The room was filthy, the people were just plain mean, the food was at times inedible, and the heating system in the room was not working correctly and was unbelievably loud. I hated absolutely everything about this place, but most of all the people (did I mention that).

First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre

This is an awesome place to check out a concert. The covered outdoor facility keeps those in seats out of the elements and those in the lawnwell, not so out of the elements. However, the lawn is a great place for lounging and dancing. Several of the performers head back to a lawn stage for a few songs to show those fans some love. Keeping the venue open like this helps tremendously on the echo factor which is completely eliminated, the sound is great. What I love the most though is that this is the cleanest place that Ive ever been to a concert at.

Joe's Sports Bar

Joes is huge bar that specializes in both sporting events and concerts. They have over 100 televisions with 14 satellites so you can catch pretty much any game there. The stage is set up on the other side of the bar, separated by the main area. Theres a small bar in the middle so the people in the front dont have to make their way all the way to the back for a drink, a great idea. While the place is packed during a show you can slide over to the bar on the other side, sit down and have a drink while resting, then head back over to the crowd for some more show. Its big and awesome, a great combo for a sports bar/concert spot.

Maxim's Restaurant

Maxims serves what I call nightmare food. Theyre the kind of place that passes around bread baskets table to table all day long, the place where the food displays feature a fly or two, the kind of place where the laminated menu looks like it was printed up in the 1970s and is now wildly discolored (you know the kind of stuff nightmares are made of). I went with a safe bet, a salad, it was awful. Even McDonalds can do salads right, come on. This place rates a 0 on everything, class, ambiance, food, service (awful waitresses), styleyou name it, they get 0.

O'Hare International Airport

Ive been to several airports and I have to say that OHare is by far the coolest one Ive ever seen. Its not just an airport, but an entertainment venue as well. There are always some of the coolest air exhibits on display, a childrens interactive aviation museum, and an even athletic club with pool. There are more than 40 places to eat and tons of little shops along every terminal. I love the way its almost like a whole other world in there. A world where a magazine costs $10 and a candy bar is $3.50, but another world none the less. I think its an experience just to walk the airport; I always go hours before my flight. And heres an interesting fact, O'Hare is self-supporting and receives no local taxpayers dollars.