Back when he was an Illinois state senator, Barack Obama made an appearance on WTTW Channel 11’s restaurant review program “Check, Please!” The show never aired… until tonight. Local viewers can check out the full episode on Channel 11 tonight at 8pm or the rerun on Tuesday (that’s Inauguration Day!!) at 4pm. Meanwhile, here are two clips from the shelved episode.

The movie Groundhog Day (1993) with Bill Murray is one of my favorite movies. It was filmed in the town of Woodstock IL, just a half hour from where we’re living. Groundhog Day is an annual holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on February 2nd in which a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck or marmot, emerges from its burrow to predict the weather. If the groundhog sees its shadow it will retreat into its burrow and winter will continue for 6 more weeks. This traditional event takes place in several towns across the USA and Canada, but the most famous groundhog is of course Punxsutawney Phil. The movie takes place in the town of Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania, but was actually filmed in Woodstock.

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Yippee! 😀 I got my Illinois driver’s license today, and it only cost $10. We got to our nearest DMV facility in Deerfield at 8:30 this morning and were the first ones in. They checked my papers at the desk, I paid $10 at the cashier, did the written test, the driving test, took a picture, my license got printed, and we were outside at 9:15!! It only took 45 minutes! More »

Just a few weeks ago it was still unseasonably hot here in northern Illinois, but the last week it has been freezing cold with lots of snow. I can’t remember ever experiencing such low temperatures. More »

Today is Groundhog Day, and this reminds me of our visit to Woodstock IL in December, where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed. There are events today in Punxsutawney PA and Woodstock IL for the event. More »

Here is a list of 10 cheap things that you can do on your visit to the Windy City. From walking along Michigan Avenue and seeing the lake from Navy Pier, Chicago is a great city. Here is my list of top free (or cheap) things to do in and around Chicago:

1. Stained Glass Museum, Navy Pier
2. Millennium Park
3. Field Museum of Natural History
4. Eli’s Cheesecake World
5. Magnificent Mile
6. Museum of Science and Industry
7. Illinois Beach State Park (Zion)
8. Shedd Aquarium
9. Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe)
10. The Spindle (Berwyn)

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Today we had a drive around the Chicagoland area and had two interesting stops: we saw the spindle of cars in Berwyn, and toured the Eli’s Cheesecake World factory. More »

Illinois Beach State Park was established in 1948 and dedicated in 1965 as the nation’s first nature preserve. Today we visited the Southern Unit of this 4,100 acres state park near the Wisconsin border. More »

Today we visited Woodstock, IL, to see the set of one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day (1993), featuring Bill Murray. Groundhog Day was filmed here 13 years ago, but everything still looks just as in the movie. You can retrace Bill Murray’s footsteps from Ned’s Corner to Tip Top Bistro to the place where he stepped into the puddle, then across the street toward Gobbler’s Knob in Square Park. More »