I don't actually live in Chicago proper - I live in the suburbs. While I could certainly complete this task in Chicago, I felt it would be way too easy there. I thought it would be more challenging to do it closer to home.

First, I thought about what draws tourists to the places they go. I came up with three basic types of attractions - natural sites (Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, etc.), man-made sites (Eiffel Tower, Great Wall of China, etc.), and places of amusement (Disneyworld, Six Flags, etc.). Could I find examples of these somewhere in the suburbs I live in or near? The answer, surprisingly enough, was yes to all three, and in the same suburb.

I packed my bag and started off at the Pace Bus Center in Schaumburg, Illinois, as per the task's stipulation that I begin at a transportation hub. I took the #606 Pace bus to a Motel 6. This is ironic because I took the 606 bus from home to get to the Pace Bus Center in the first place. I checked in, tasked, watched some cable TV (I don't have that at home), and went to sleep.

After morning checkout, I got on the bus again and went to visit Spring Valley, a 135-acre wildlife and nature preserve, historical interpretation site, and nature center. I have lived fifteen minutes away from this place for six years and had no idea it existed. I signed the guest register as my New Orleanian tourist alter-ego, and talked to the very nice lady at the reception desk about how I was visiting Schaumburg to get away from the 70 degree weather and Mardi Gras crowds "back home". I had an awesome time exploring the nature center and doing a little trail hiking, but due to the time of year and the 16 degree temperature, I was the only visitor. On my way through the parking lot back to the bus stop, I met Kumiko and Yoshii, two lovely Japanese ladies whose husbands were attending a business conference. I went back into the nature center with them for a while and looked at the exhibits again, but declined to go back out on the cold, snowy hiking trails. They politely asked that I not take photographs of them.

The bus took me to Woodfield Mall, which is (if you believe the hype, and I have a hard time with it) Illinois' largest tourist attraction. It was late afternoon and I was getting hungry, so I chose the most absolutely touristy place to eat - Rainforest Cafe. The only other people eating there were two stroller moms and their irritating offspring, and a family birthday party, neither group very touristy. In lieu of being able to mingle with tourists here, I went to the information desk and asked the ladies there some questions about the mall. They looked at me without answering and simply pointed to a binder on the counter, which had various maps and printouts in it, including a sheet of mall facts. I also saw the brochure for the free Pace-sponsored trolley shuttle that takes people to all of the nearby points of interest - I have never ridden on this trolley, but it seemed like a pretty touristy thing to do, and it would also get me to my next destination. IKEA! They were ten minutes away from closing, but I got some quick photos. And did some scouting for possible future tasks. ;)

I rode the shuttle from end to end, and since I started in the middle of the route, this probably took about an hour all told. Since I was the only passenger the entire time, I had a fun conversation with the trolley driver about how we had a streetcar in New Orleans that looked a lot like this trolley, the weather in New Orleans, the reasons for my (alter-ego's) visit to Schaumburg (the tourist attractions and escaping nice weather/Mardi Gras). It was fun to just kind of make stuff up on the fly and try to stay in the mindset of my chosen tourist character. I got off the trolley at Gameworks, which is a huge two-story video game complex. Schaumburg also sports a Legoland, but it was closed for the day and costs like thirty bucks just to walk around inside, or I totally would've gone there instead. Gameworks was pretty sparsely populated with mostly teenage kids. The guy at the front counter was abrupt and not at all interested in talking to me. I played a few games, then got on the 606 bus and headed home.

Conclusion - I was pretty pleased to be able to complete this task entirely in Schaumburg. There are actually tourist attractions there! Who knew? However, this being the off-season, there weren't many other tourists, and the staff of some of the attractions was disinterested and even slightly rude. I had a good time developing my tourist persona and shocking people with the thought that I had left 70 degree weather to come to freezing cold Schaumburg ON PURPOSE. Oh, the horror! :)