Local fun on a budget: Top spots to staycation in the Tri-Cities

More often than not, job demands made it hard to take vacations in which, especially with a family, we would actually be in another state or country for a week or longer.

In fact, I never had a two-week vacation of any sort. Two weekends and a week, maybe, but actually putting two weeks off on my work calendar wasn’t a good idea.

I can’t speak about other occupations, but in the newspaper world, in which my wife and I both worked with much passion, you were buried with work ahead of time just to get a few days off.

As such, we more often stayed home and ventured out to Chicago or other Illinois tourist spots. Even so, I looked forward to the day when I would retire from full-time work so I could enjoy more local places and events.

This sort of upbringing and background made recent survey results about the growing popularity of “staycations” — because of the cost of gas and overall inflation ruining vacation budgets — catch my attention.

As such, it might be helpful to recommend a staycation in the Tri-Cities area, which has always been a good setting to do so.

A recent WalletHub survey about the best cities for “Staycations” lists Chicago in the top 10, confirming my belief that the small towns in the Fox River Valley in the far West suburbs of the city are tops as well.

So, what would be a nice staycation in St. Charles, Batavia and Geneva, or places nearby?

The summers are generally built for young kids anyway, but if taking a staycation with some little ones, you may want to spend a day at Great America, or a visit a Chicago museum, or even a ball game if the kids are fans of Chicago teams.

In the Tri-Cities, it’s fun for everyone to schedule a ride on one of the St. Charles paddle wheel boats, attend events at our libraries or forest preserves, or make a trip to St. Charles Bowl or Funway in Batavia.

Singles or couples without young children certainly can spend a day shopping and dining in any of the downtowns or the Geneva Commons. Third Street in Geneva always gets high marks, but the other downtowns offer interesting stops as well. This sort of thing always feels better when you aren’t working.

A show at the Arcada Theatre, a musical at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, a band at The Venue in Aurora, Sturdy Shelter in Batavia or RiverEdge Park in Aurora provide great entertainment. A community festival, local art show, or visit to any of the history museums is always fun.

Pick a restaurant you have wanted to try, and go try it. Take a walk or bike ride around the Fox River, from Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva to the Depot Pond and Riverwalk in Batavia. Try a restaurant you have not been to in Batavia for lunch before heading back to Geneva.

Take a long walk at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve in St. Charles and marvel at the prairie and woods, as well as historic structures and barns.

Take a car ride throughout the Tri-Cities on both sides of the river to get up to speed about what’s new. Stop in a place you haven’t been. I recently chose the new Ollie’s store on the east side of St. Charles for that very reason.

A movie or night out for ice cream provides a definite vacation feel. Try the Kitchen Sink creation at Colonial Café in St. Charles, or stop at any number of other ice cream spots in the Tri-Cities.

It’s a short ride to Cantigny in Wheaton and the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, both great places to simply walk the grounds, or enjoy the First Division military history museum at Cantigny. If you research and plan accordingly, you can catch wonderful evening concerts on the grounds at both sites.

Outdoor concerts are common on Thursday nights in St. Charles and Wednesday nights in Batavia, or River Park in Geneva.

A national network of RV auto glass experts recently asked more than 3,000 Illinois residents what they consider to be the best short trips in their state when cutting back on vacation expenses.

With 86% saying the classic long-distance American road trip is becoming less affordable for most families, they chose trips to the Galena territory and Starved Rock State Park. A longer one would be to Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois.

Those are all great trips that could be added to any Tri-Cities area staycation. But, for our money, staying put in this area works just fine.

Moonlight brought nostalgia

Though it was disappointing to learn that owners Nancy and Joseph Mennella had decided to close the Moonlight Theatre in St. Charles, we do have to be thankful that they took us on a trip to yesteryear at the 7 S. Second Ave. entertainment venue.

It is not known at this time where, or if, the Mennellas plan to reopen a theater somewhere in the Tri-Cities area, but we also have to wonder if the Moonlight location may find another suitor as well.

Either way, it was enjoyable to write a couple of years ago about how the Moonlight brought entertainment back to a location that more than 100 years ago was the Idle Hour Theatre in St. Charles.

Idle Hour was the place in town to see plays or listen to music, operating as a 325-seat auditorium, prior to Lester and Dellora Norris opening the Arcada Theatre on Main Street in 1926.

When researching the Moonlight a couple of years ago, I learned that John Philip Sousa and his orchestra performed at Idle Hour to a full house, and the last film shown there in 1926 was “The Road to Mandalay,” starring Lon Chaney.

The most interesting note was, prior to seeing magician Terry Evanswood, who grew up in St. Charles, at Moonlight in January of 2024, he noted that a famous magician in St. Charles known as “The Great Maro” likely performed on that stage sometime in the 1920s.

Evanswood, who became a successful magician with more than 10,000 performances in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, had studied the story of Maro closely, and even portrayed him during a cemetery walk event in St. Charles when he still lived here.

Keep those burgers local

In another case of hoping a recently closed business can find a new location in St. Charles, we’d like to see Wahlburgers continue to be a local destination.

The restaurant made famous by the Wahlberg brothers, particularly Donnie of “Blue Bloods,” “Boston Blue” and New Kids on the Block fame, and who lives in St. Charles, had been in its Randall Road location for nearly six years.

Reports indicate the franchise owners couldn’t negotiate a less expensive lease deal to counter rising costs of food and supplies, so the hunt may possibly be on for a new location. They mentioned a smaller spot with more emphasis on outdoor dining and live music. That hopefully shouldn’t be hard to find.

In the category of “it figures,” I had an out-of-town friend coming in and had him excited about a possible stop at Wahlburgers. At least I can show him where it was.

Happy Holmstad results

They may be giving me a little more credit than is deserved, but it was nice to hear some thanks from the organizers of the annual Holmstad Bazaar at the senior living and care facility’s Town Center last fall.

They sent a letter noting that my “thoughtfulness helped reach more Fox Valley residents” for the event through a story in “Talk of the Town.”

I’m glad that helped, but the residents at Batavia’s Holmstad know how to put on a marketplace through a lot of hard work and planning. And it pays off.

More than 713 people attended the fundraising event through the front door, with many other uncounted guests coming through a Home Store entrance on the other side of the Holmstad campus.

The 2026 event passed the 2025 revenue goal of $27,000 by more than $5,000. Though final 2026 distribution figures weren’t available, the funds will be funneled in the same manner as 2025. Nearly 70% went toward scholarships and gifts for graduating teen employees at Holmstad, contributions to the Holmstad Benevolent Care Fund, its Good Samaritan Fund, the Batavia Fire Department and Batavia Library.

The remaining funds went to the Holmstad budget to buy craft supplies, books for the Holmstad library, and other support enrichment programs.

Nothing scary about Boo Boo

Area residents have the chance to take part in a good, old-fashioned sidewalk sale Friday through Sunday, July 10-12, in downtown Batavia.

Called “Boo Boo Days,” the event brings back the summer event that Batavians enjoyed through the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s.

What does the event name mean? It refers to the fact that merchants may have made some mistakes, or boo-boos, in ordering too much product, and it was best to move some of it in a summer sidewalk sale setting.

dheun@sbcglobal.net