Travel tips for the US in June and July? Any hints appreciated.

[cooder]

Hi guys, we're looking forward to travelling to the US again in mid June until mid July, visiting my son and his wife.
They are living in Columbia / Missouri. We've been there last time in Aug 2015 for their wedding and now we are blessed to have a Grandchild coming, I'm getting elevated from 'old fart' to official Grandpa, woohoo. The must be an official badge that comes with it, right?
We got some greatly appreciated travel tips and insider hints from you guys on the forum back then when we've been to places like San Francisco, New Orleans, up the Mississippi, Memphis etc.

This time we are flying into Chicago and will stay with family for about two weeks, after that we are ball parking to maybe travel to New York and then make our way to Chicago to fly out again. We haven't really put any details and travel itinerary in place, just hoping to get some hints and ideas what you guys would recommend off the cuff.
Any suggestions and comments appreciated!
Things we are interested in:

• museums, art, architecture
  cool and unique music shops
  some nice markets, vibrant suburbs or quarters to check out (and which ones to avoid... )
  hints for accommodation that doesn't break the bank and also doesn't have us ending up in a dodgy area and place
  ideas for how to get around. For example: Is the train journey from New York back to Chicago worthwhile?
  what towns and places would you guys recommend checking out in that Missouri/New York/Chicago 'triangle'?
  what cool music clubs would there be in New York and Chicago and places? Not so much late night techno clubbing (we've outgrown that and with my Grandpa badge I won't make it into those, after bedtime etc...  ), more like blues and jazz and stuff.

Thanks! Looking forward to the trip!

[cooder]

Also: which part of town / suburb would you guys recommend to stay in NY and Chicago as we likely will be staying there a few days?
As a comparision: while in San Francisco we stayed in Height Ashbury in a reasonable price AirBnB and that was a great location. In New Orleans we stayed in a hotel close to French Quarter and Frenchman Street, that was very cool.

[matmosphere]

I've never spent much time any of those places but I know that there is some cool Frank Lloyd Wright buildings around Chicago and it's suburbs.

It would be a few hours out of your way but Falling Water is in the middle of Pennsylvania. It's off the main highway you'd take between Missouri and New York.

The Andy Warhol Museum is in Pittsburgh. Cincinnati and Indianapolis have good art museums. Philadelphia has an excellent Rodan Museum.

If I remember correctly Chuck Berry's bar is in St. Louis, and I'm sure it's a fun place to catch a show. He used to play there every week until he died.

[EBK]

If you are visiting both New York and Chicago, you could consider comparing pizza from both places.  Very different styles.  Sorry, I'm a foodie, so I'm no good at recommending useful things like where you should stay or how you should get around. 

Another (not useful at all) foodie thought:  If you were up for a very pricey but memorable dining experience in Chicago, I would have recommended that you check out a 20-course dinner of molecular gastronomy at Moto (slightly above $500 USD for just my wife and I, several years ago).  But, alas, they have closed.  My favorite course was a Cuban sandwich wrapped up tightly in Kale to look like a cigar and served in an ashtray with black and white sesame seeds as "ashes".  Seriously!

[thesmokingman]

Field Museum in Chicago is practically a must ... hard to say no to a superdog and a can of Old Style

[timbo_93631]

Awesome.  Grandad badge is a mark of highest honor!

RE Travel tips:  I've never been to any of those spots, but while in Chicago go see Joel Paterson play.  He has regular gigs around town that he lists on is Instagram posts.  He is just amazing.  Maybe go to NY via Detroit and see Third Man Records, I think tours of the vinyl pressing plant are $15, and who knows you might bump into Jack. 

When you get to make a trip over here that sees you heading south from Chicago I'd suggest you go very far south, then east to Tupelo and see the little house where Elvis was born and the accompanying museum, then drive and drive to my place, hang out a day, then onto Savannah and Tybee.  It is really special, and not very rowdy, a perfect locale to show of your new grandad badge.

[jubal81]

That was 2015? Yikes, where does the time go?
Exciting news. Congrats, bud!
The train here costs about the same as flying, but it would give you the experience of seeing the countryside. Plenty in Chicago and New York to keep you busy.
It's probably a 5-hour drive, but Dave's guitar shop in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, is truly epic. I think he still schedules tours of his upstairs private collection. Downstairs you can find Rics, Gibsons, Fender and walls and walls of PRS.
If you like chocolate, you have to find a Portillo's in Chicago and get a chocolate-cake shake.

[bcalla]

My niece lives in Chicago and we did a family trip there about 7 - 8 years ago.

There is a terrific architecture tour in Chicago.  It's a boat ride on the Chicago River through the heart of the city and the guide describes the history of the city through the architecture as you ride past.  You can read about it here.

You would probably also like the Museum of Science and Industry.  When we were there the lower level was dedicated to an HO scale model train layout that replicated a section of downtown Chicago.  I think that exhibit is still there, but you should check.

Also, if you spend any time in Chicago, you have to go to Chicago Music Exchange.  Visit their website, you'll agree.  I made 6 people with no interest in musical instruments hang out there for an hour or two while I went room-to-room gawking at everything.  I even got to play a $27k Strat.

[marmora]

Lifelong Chicagoan. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[cooder]

Awesome guys, thanks so much for the replies and suggestions, really great to hear your personal angles!
I will certainly scartch my brain and google a bit more now to figure what way we're heading! And then realistically we will keep suggestions that we can't check out this time for the future as we certainly will head up to the US more frequently as far as the money allows.

Awesome.  Grandad badge is a mark of highest honor!

RE Travel tips:  I've never been to any of those spots, but while in Chicago go see Joel Paterson play.  He has regular gigs around town that he lists on is Instagram posts.  He is just amazing.  Maybe go to NY via Detroit and see Third Man Records, I think tours of the vinyl pressing plant are $15, and who knows you might bump into Jack. 

When you get to make a trip over here that sees you heading south from Chicago I'd suggest you go very far south, then east to Tupelo and see the little house where Elvis was born and the accompanying museum, then drive and drive to my place, hang out a day, then onto Savannah and Tybee.  It is really special, and not very rowdy, a perfect locale to show of your new grandad badge.

Thanks so much for the kind offer, Timbo, blown away! If we make that far south this time I will certainly have to order and grab some special P 90s or so from you! The Tele set you made for me is still my favourite in my Thinline.

That was 2015? Yikes, where does the time go?
Exciting news. Congrats, bud!
The train here costs about the same as flying, but it would give you the experience of seeing the countryside. Plenty in Chicago and New York to keep you busy.
It's probably a 5-hour drive, but Dave's guitar shop in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, is truly epic. I think he still schedules tours of his upstairs private collection. Downstairs you can find Rics, Gibsons, Fender and walls and walls of PRS.
If you like chocolate, you have to find a Portillo's in Chicago and get a chocolate-cake shake.

Cheers Jason, sounds like great ideas! I don't think we'll go to LaCrosse this time, but I'll make a note for sure.
You're sure that chocolate-cake shake is legal...? It's sounds just like a slippery slope...

My niece lives in Chicago and we did a family trip there about 7 - 8 years ago.

There is a terrific architecture tour in Chicago.  It's a boat ride on the Chicago River through the heart of the city and the guide describes the history of the city through the architecture as you ride past.  You can read about it here.

You would probably also like the Museum of Science and Industry.  When we were there the lower level was dedicated to an HO scale model train layout that replicated a section of downtown Chicago.  I think that exhibit is still there, but you should check.

Also, if you spend any time in Chicago, you have to go to Chicago Music Exchange.  Visit their website, you'll agree.  I made 6 people with no interest in musical instruments hang out there for an hour or two while I went room-to-room gawking at everything.  I even got to play a $27k Strat.

Awesome, thanks for the time sending those links and ideas! I was wondering about the Chicago music Exchange as I saw a youtube video from there. Left me floored.
The boat tour sounds great too! And modell scale train. Count me in.

Lifelong Chicagoan. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Thanks marmora, I will send you a PM soon, very kind. We will most likely stay several days in Chicago, I think before we fly out on 12 July.

Also wondering: what place would you guys recommend to be on 4th July? Would there be some fireworks in NY or so?

[ahiddentableau]

+1 to the Field Museum.  If you like art I highly recommend the Art Institute of Chicago.  Very fine art museum, right up there with the Met and MFA Boston.  Grant Wood's American Gothic.  That Seurat painting that everyone loves but nobody knows the name of (I'm kind of ashamed I don't know its name).  Fine impressionist gallery.  And that famous painting of the lonesome diner at night that you've seen a million times but nobody knows the name of (Edward Hopper, Nighthawks)  Also recall a decent collection of arms and armour if you're into that, and nice Asian gallery.

If you like roller coasters, Cedar Point really isn't that far away.  Kind of the Mecca of that sort of thing.  Good times.

[pickdropper]

If you are interested in Suburbs of Chicago, Oak Park is worth checking out.  It's just west of the city and has some interesting architecture (Frank Lloyd Wright's studio is there and does tours).  There are also a lot of Wright's houses there.  It's pretty easy to get downtown from there as well.  It's not known for having a ton of modern hotels, but there are places to stay should you want to.

[gordo]

I think you guys have Chicago covered.  I spend half my life working in the South Loop so I know virtually nothing about the surrounding area (which is a damn shame).

As mentioned the Art Institute is very cool and the Architecture tour on the river is a must see.  I live here and I've done it a number of times.  Millennium Park and the Bean are cool to see.  If you're a beer/food guy the Goose Island Brewery is pretty cool and you won't find pizza, italian beef, or hot dogs anywhere else that are like here.  Just don't ask for ketchup on the hot dog or you might end up sleepin wit da fishes.  Noam sayin?

[pickdropper]

I think you guys have Chicago covered.  I spend half my life working in the South Loop so I know virtually nothing about the surrounding area (which is a damn shame).

As mentioned the Art Institute is very cool and the Architecture tour on the river is a must see.  I live here and I've done it a number of times.  Millennium Park and the Bean are cool to see.  If you're a beer/food guy the Goose Island Brewery is pretty cool and you won't find pizza, italian beef, or hot dogs anywhere else that are like here.  Just don't ask for ketchup on the hot dog or you might end up sleepin wit da fishes.  Noam sayin?

There are a bunch of good breweries with taprooms in Chicago.  Revolution is fairly popular.

[gordo]

^yes, and I understand Lagunitas is really good as well.  There's also a ton of them in the suburbs with Scorched Earth in Algonquin being absolutely mind blowing if you're into Porter (Coalminer is outstanding).