Highlights from My Childhood Town

Rockford is a pretty quiet town. Their biggest claim to fame is Cheap Trick. Everyone seems to have some connection to them... My stepsister went to school with one of their daughters. When you make a turn near the highway you see of their mother's house; sometimes she's in the lawn weeding or something.

My favorite things to do are going to Midway Village or going out to eat. It's well known for its huge Swedish population and Swedish pancakes are the best here. Also a good Italian population, mostly families that were from Chicago but wanted to live in a smaller town. Italian restaurants are also pretty good here.

Rockford has also been listed as the worst town to live in America. Which I think is amusing because after living in Rockford I moved to Madison, WI, which is the #1 town to live in the US. See for yourself.

Quick Tips:

Rockford's offical website is www.rockford.il.us

Their offical newspaper is the Rockford Register Star at www.rrstar.com

The Visitors Bureau website is super cool and lists pretty much everything there is to do in Rockford: www.gorockford.com

Best Way To Get Around:

Car, car, car. I think most people in Rockford are unaware of its mass transit system. It takes a while, but if you feel like trying it, there's 39 fixed route buses that operate about 17 routes Monday thru Saturday and 5 routes at night and on Sundays. Their website is www.rmtd.org.

Walking around is super safe. But it takes a while to get anywhere. Use a car if you have one.

My grandmother used to work in what used to be the Clock Tower Museum so I spent much time here while growing up.

The Clock Tower Resort is the best hotel in Rockford and conveniently right by the highway as you come into town. There used to be a huge clock museum (the largest in Illinois and I think the US) but has been sold off in bits and pieces. But henceforth the name.

There are nearly 250 guest rooms, most of which have balconies or patios. All rooms come with on-demand films, Nintendo video games, ironing boards, dataports and hair dryers. About 20 suites are bi-level with a bedroom upstairs and a living room down. The prices are reasonable and somewhere around $100 per night.

There's a video arcade for the kids (many quarters spent there as a kid). Lots of places to exercise - 2 volleyball, basketball and racquetball courts. Two outdoor and one indoor pool, a playground, 9 tennis courts and a fitness center. There's a small theater and outdoor gardens, 3 shops and 2 lounges, and 3 restaurants.

Additionally there's 3 banquet / meeting rooms that seat up to 175, 400 and 1,500. One of my cousin's threw her engagement party here - I remember it going quite well although the kissing made me ill... I was 5.

Anyway, a great place to stay. Lots to do within the resort and located near lots of other restaurants, shops and major streets.

www.clocktowerresort.com

Growing up in Rockford and being of Italian descent, my family spent a lot of time at Lino's. Still one of my favorite restaurants anywhere.

I hadn't been to Lino's since I left Illinois 15 years ago. I thought maybe it wouldn't be as magical (can a restaurant be magical?) but it was still there - that excitement of just being there.

Why? The decorations and themed rooms are so cool. Bits of Italy are everywhere. The Leaning Tower Room has a fountain in the foyer with a big round table and a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Village Room has walls painted of Lake Como and the Colosseum. The best children's party I went to was there and we sat in a whale-sized booth that was enclosed to look like a castle complete with windows and a tower.

The prices are cheap, the food is not. All entrees come with bread, salad, coffee AND dessert (I think the prices are from when I was a kid too - $8 for everything? wow.). There's all the Italian classics: spaghetti, mostaccioli, ravioli, gnocchi, manicotti, lasagna... Then there's: veal cutlet, New York strip, sirloin, salmon, meatball sandwiches, various pizzas... The charming thing is the included dessert - ice cream, sherbet or spumoni. Always spumoni.

Hands down the most popular place in town - make sure to make a reservation. Turning up sometimes will get you nowhere.

Hasn't changed a bit since I was a kid, I just appreciate it more.

Directions: get on State Street. And it's 2 miles west of Interstate 90/Bussiness US20/State Street exit.

It's like a big church festival. On the Waterfront is Rockford's biggest festival held annually the first weekend in September. It's not flashy but the music's good and the food is great. And best of all most of the money spent goes to not-for-profit organizations.

Most people come to eat. There are over 40 vendors and raised funds go to their organizations. Since 1986 over $7 million has been raised. The Northern Illinois Skating Club sells candy and nachos. Guilford High School has cookies and meatball sandwiches. Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary sells candy and chips. RocVale Children's Home sells freshly squeezed lemonade. Various churches sell pizza, chilidogs, cheese fries, root beer floats... And the Girl Scouts sell not their cookies but custards and ice cream.

The music for the 2004 featured Los Lonely Boys, Tesla and Kool and the Gang. Generally features musicians on the downslide but they do their best and turn out the hits we all remember and we sing along.

Various activities include waterfront skiing and a volleyball tournament that you can enter, ski performers, food eating competitions, raffles and face painting for the kids.

Admission / Buttons:
Admission to the Festival is by button and the button's good for all 4 days
$9 in advance /$14 at the gate
Children 9-12 are $9 in advance and at the gate
Children 8 and under are free

2004 Festival hours:
Thursday 5pm - 9pm
Friday 5pm - midnight
Saturday 11.30am - midnight
Sunday 11.30am - 11pm

www.onthewaterfront.com

Looking for a little history and something to do in Rockford? Midway Village is a fun place to go - I was always fascinated by the history displayed here and thoroughly enjoyed it as a child and an adult.

Midway Village is a museum featuring 24 historic buildings including a town hall, fire station, police station, carpenter shop, bank, blacksmith shop, print shop, a hospital, a one room schoolhouse, law office and a variety of homes.

There are five different galleries. At the Local History Gallery you can learn about the Rockford Peaches - remember "A League of Their Own"? Rockford was home to one of the first 4 charter teams from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The Industrial Gallery features Rockford's industries and products that are made locally. The Aviation Gallery is home to the 1928 Greater Rockford Aircraft and Rockford's first aviators are featured. There's the Swedish Singers Gallery and a gallery with traveling exhibitions.

The Old Dolls' House Museum features antique and handmade dollhouses. The Old Millhouse is a working replica of a water powered machine shop.

Admission Prices:
May - September: $5 Adults + $3 Kids (ages 3-15)
October - April: $4 Adults + $2 Kids (ages 3-15) Hours:
closed on Mondays: May - August
closed on Mondays + Sundays: October - April
open during the hours of 11 - 4
daily tours at 11, noon, 1, 2 + 3

www.midwayvillage.com

815.397.9112

Step back in time and explore the Tinker Swiss Cottage.

Robert Tinker was a prominent Rockford industrialist, philanthropist and artist. While taking a 9-month tour around the world in 1862 he was deeply impressed with Swiss chalets and architecture. He decided to create his own cottage to bring some notoriety to Rockford. In 1865 he started work on his 20-room cottage on a limestone bluff and was completed in 1870. The home melds stone and wood to create flowing architecture with beautiful woodwork and eaves and painted murals.

After his and his wife's death, the cottage was donated to the city. There were various debates regarding its future. Some wanted it torn down, some wanted it moved. Dedicated citizens (with then Mayor C. Henry Bloom's support) took charge and opened the doors to a new museum in 1943.

The cottage contains the Tinker family's original furnishings, artwork and household belongings and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

I really enjoyed this place. I think its really fun and curious to walk around someone's home that's been left in tact for over 60 years. It's a rather elegant house and there's a lot of little things inside it - Tinker was a curious man. There's a revolving bookcase that hides secret tunnels. I also love the Tinker library that's in the shape of an octagon, with a walnut spiral staircase and 7 types of wood.

Hours:
Monday: closed
Tuesday - Sunday 1, 2, and 3 p.m.

Admission:
Kids are free in December
Adults: $4.00
Seniors: $3.50
Kids 17 and under: $1.00

www.tinkercottage.com

815.964.2424