On the road: Pampering for expectant parents

Chicago

Baby love

Parents-to-be, trust us experienced moms and dads when we say get away before your little darling arrives. The dana hotel and spa's Babymoon Package is designed to ease stress and discomfort for expectant parents. It includes two nights in the hotel's Tranquil Suite, including an in-room array of Chicago's best snack food, a specially designed pregnancy pillow and cigars for the dad-to-be. Once unpacked, you'll enjoy dinner at aja then it's off to the spa for a mother-to-be massage that uses specially blended oils and massage techniques to alleviate the pain and discomfort associated with pregnancy.

660 N. State St., Chicago. The Babymoon Package costs $866 for a two-night stay and add an additional night costs $299. Call (888) 301-3262 or visit danahotelandspa.com.

Free bird

Think spring and register now for the Free Family Workshop: Spring Birding for Families at Lurie Garden in Chicago's Millennium Park. An expert will first teach participants how to use binoculars and look for birds, then stroll through Millennium Park and search for birds that live in Chicago year-round as well as migratory birds that pass through in April. Kids must be at least 6 years old and accompanied by an adult.

9 a.m. Saturday, April 16. Meet at Cloud Gate (the “Bean”) in Millennium Park. To preregister, call (312) 742-8497 or visit millenniumpark.org.

Plaster your walls

The largest vintage poster show in the world, the International Vintage Poster Fair, blows into Chicago with international exhibitors featuring more than 10,000 original posters from the 1890s through the 1980s, including a featured exhibit called “Sex Sells!”

Preview from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 25; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 26; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, March 27, at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St., Chicago. Preview tickets cost $45 with weekend admission $15. Call (800) 856-8069 or visit posterfair.com.

Midwest

Put some zip into your life

Zipline tours are the soft adventure trend of the decade and now you can include one in your next visit to Lake Geneva, Wis. Lake Geneva Canopy Tours offers a two- to 2½-hour eco-adventure of flying through the forest over eight ziplines, crossing four sky bridges and climbing three spiral staircases. Guides share information about the area's ecology, biology, geology and local history. There isn't an age limit, but participants must weigh between 70 and 250 pounds.

Hours vary seasonally. Rates are $30 to $85. Online reservations are recommended for the Full Canopy Tour, but not required. No reservations needed for the Dual Racing Zipline. Call (877) 947-9271 or visit LakeGenevaCanopyTours.com.

Ready for your close-up?

Who needs to trek to Telluride or Toronto for a world-class film festival and all the accouterment? Drive to Michigan's Ann Arbor Film Festival, the longest-running showcase of independent, experimental and artistically inspired films in North America. Celebrating 49 years, the event offers bold, high-caliber work and special programs featuring independent filmmakers and artists with more than 50 in attendance. All told, there will be 188 films, videos and performances. Before or after screenings, take time to explore Ann Arbor's cafes, museums and other attractions.

Film screening and event times vary Tuesday to Sunday, March 22-27, at Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor, Mich. Single screening $9, $7 for students and seniors; passes run $45-$125. Call (734) 668-8397 or visit aafilmfest.org.

Clip art

Scrapbookers have found heaven is in Marengo. Memories INNhanced Bed & Breakfast, a rambling 1876 house in McHenry County, caters exclusively to avid scrapbookers who gather with friends and family to design their own personalized scrapbook pages with photos and mementos. The scrapbook weekends standard package includes five family-style meals catered by a local restaurant, plus snacks and beverages. Each person gets a large work table with a comfortable chair and access to cutting, embossing and texturing machines, computers for design assistance, tools, devices and supplies.

Weekend packages run Fridays to Sundays year-round at Memories INNhanced, 405 E. Washington St., Marengo. Rates are $300 per person. Call (815) 568-7040 or visit memoriesInnhanced.com.

Worth the trip

Spring break vacationers who have procrastinated may want to check out Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort in Orlando with an average savings of $250 for a three-night stay. The Spring Break Package includes a two-bedroom villa with full kitchen and dining area for the price of a one-bedroom villa; $100 resort credit, which can be applied to a host of amenities on-site, including family-themed restaurants, miniature golf, waterslide, lazy river tube rental, championship golf courses and more; $75 gas card; and waived resort fees. The resort has a 12-acre lazy river pool with cabanas and seven pools, seven restaurants, four golf courses, nature walks, arts and crafts, on-site movies, a mini golf course and a Gatorland Show.

The package is available for stays through April 30, and nightly rates begin at $160. To book the vacation package and for terms and conditions, call (888) 465 4329.