Start the day in Skokie at the powerful Illinois Holocaust Museum, which tells the personal stories of Chicago-area survivors and features hundreds of artifacts, including a wooden Nazi railcar. Move on to the Chicago Botanic Garden, where you can walk the trails or take a narrated tram ride to view more than 20 beautiful gardens, including the seasonal Model Railroad Garden. Have lunch at the Garden Café, surrounded by picturesque outdoor views. Then get ready to ride the roller coasters and whoosh down a water slide at Six Flags Great America/Hurricane Harbor. For dinner, go wild with the animatronic animals at Rainforest Cafe, located in the sprawling Gurnee Mills outlet mall. Then catch a show at the beautifully renovated Genesee Theatre in downtown Waukegan, a former 1920s movie palace.

Take a morning stroll through the lovely Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, boasting formal Asian gardens and a sixteenth-century-style teahouse. Next, come face to face with Jane, one of the 10 most important dinosaur discoveries of the past 100 years, at the Burpee Museum of Natural History. Have lunch at Beef-A-Roo, a popular Rockford-area restaurant chain known for its great cheeseburgers and shakes. Then head over to the Midway Village Museum, featuring a living history Victorian village and museum of Rockford history. Or splash the afternoon away at Rockford's Magic Waters Waterpark, one of the largest water parks in Illinois. For dinner, get a taste of Rockford's Swedish heritage at the Stockholm Inn (be sure to try the Swedish pancakes with lingonberries). In the evening, catch a show at the ornate Coronado Performing Arts Center or the outdoor summertime Starlight Theatre at Rock Valley College.

Start the day at the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center in Ottawa to observe tugboats navigating through the Starved Rock Lock & Dam and take in the beautiful sights on the Illinois & Michigan (I&M) Canal. Have lunch at Starved Rock Lodge before you set off to explore the thick forests that hold lush canyons and sparkling waterfalls at Starved Rock State Park in Utica. Hike the trails, take a guided horseback ride or hop a trolley from the Lodge for a tour of local historic sites. Bald eagles can be viewed in the area from January through March. Later, take a cruise on the nearby LaSalle Canal Boat, a replica of the mule-pulled canal boats that traveled along the I&M Canal during the mid-1800s, with onboard guides dressed as pioneer-era crew and passengers. The nearby Lock 16 Visitor Center features I&M Canal exhibits and a café.