Need some new ideas for interesting, fun family field trips on the North Shore? You can go north, south, east or west in our communities and you will find small museums, interesting shops, beautiful gardens and parks, and many great ethnic restaurants.
Take a half-day or just an hour or two to make our very own North Shore your destination for a special family outing. Mibs has chosen one itinerary to start you on your way.
The Make It Better pick for a Best Family Field Trip is one that is taken annually by fourth graders at Hubbard Woods School and is a perfect combination of easy transportation, interesting shops, and a good restaurant, very manageable for children and parents. Start on a Metra train from your community to Main Street in Evanston. Walk west on Main Street about one half block, to Dave’s Down to Earth Rock Shop, which is both a gift shop and a museum of fossils, minerals, dinosaurs, and native American artifacts. There is something for everyone in this Evanston landmark.
Across Main Street is Ten Thousand Villages, a shop where everything sold is part of a worldwide movement of support for artisans in developing countries. Browsing at Ten Thousand Villages feels like wandering through open markets in foreign countries. You’ll find everything from folk art, to ceramics, textiles, baskets, toys, musical instruments and toys.
After a morning or afternoon of fossil hunting and discovering unique items handcrafted by artisans around the world, have lunch or an early dinner at Lupita’s Mexican Restaurant, conveniently located on Main Street, across from the Metra Station. Lupita’s is perfect for families; the food is good, the price is reasonable, and there is live music on most Friday and Saturday evenings.
Too many tortillas? Time for a siesta? Catch the next northbound train home, and you might just have five minutes for a little snooze.
