Smokies trip, Chicago

Dear ILs,
We are visiting Smokies for this Thanksgiving. We ll go hiking the mountain. I need suggestions for things I must be taking ( Other than winter clothes, eatables etc) and a list of "must visit" places there.
IF any of you have already visited the place, please suggest me. We are going by road from Houston. 14 hrs, with a halt at Mobil.

The next month it ll be a trip to Chicago. So I also need to know "must see" places there. I am a nature loving person. Human's creations also thrill me. Downtown I ll be going anyways. So I ll get to see sears towers and go on a boat ride. This is my first time. Please share with me you ideas.

Ok guys I am back from the trip. So I think I can answer this myself for future readers.
At Smokies you have easy, moderate and difficult trails to trek on. For the difficult ones, one needs the trekking equipments. I went without any, so had to skip those ones.
Book in advance for the hotels. Gatlinburg is the place you ll be staying at.
3 Days are needed, atleast two to have a feel of Smokies.
Send a PM if you have specific queries. LEt me try answering them.
A good experience overall.

I went in winter, so could see the snowfall, but the temp was -3 deg Celsius..

It was quite a feast to eyes seeing fall colors all around...

Hi Meenloch,
I hope you enjoyed your smokey mountain
trip. We went to smokies in 2005 spring.
We drove from New Jersey.We stayed in
Maggie valley,North Carolina(near cherokee)
which is on the
other side where you stayed(Gatlinburg)
Actually Gatlinburg,TN is more expensive
But we enjoyed the window shopping there.
Did you play mini golf? That was the first
time I played mini golf in Cherokee.
I enjoyed the ever smoking mountains,
that is why it got the name.We walked
around the QUIET WALKS and enjoyed
the sounds of nature like smooth flowing
of creeks and sirping of birds.It was early
spring, so weather was perfect.
Have you climbed over the domb?
Oh, my nostalgia was wonderful.
I have nice nostalgia

Vidhya,
Good you had fun. Indeed the place was at Nature's lap. I will be posting some of the common fotos here very soon as a picassa link.

Hi,

Chicago is a great place to visit. the main attractions are: millineum park, navy pier, buckingham fountain, shedd aquarium, museum of art, sears tower etc. all these are in the downtown area and within walking distance. although if you are visiting in dec it may be really cold and some of the attractions like boat ride may not be available. also the magnificent mile is lined with great shops and i believe it is decorated beautifully for christmas.

enjoy your trip!
Mythraeyi

Hi,

Chicago indeed is a beautiful - very lively. Other than the places mentioned by Mythraeyi, I would like to add the Science museum - we feel it is one of the best, the planetarium and one of our favorite places is the Bahai temple - you will not regret going there. Also the architectural tours are offered on foot as well as by boat. Both the tours have their own charms, If you take the boat, be prepared with warm clothing especially if it rains or snows and as such you are on the water front, the walking tour boasts of taking you in the first ever built elevator! Only thing I would suggest is book your tour first thing in the morning so that you can plan your day, they are offered at regular intervals and tend to fill up also. The parking is prohobitively expensive, if you are going with freinds who can drop you off, good, else you can park at a spot for the whole day and walk around.Else the best alternative is to book your hotel in downtown and the parking will work out a little cheaper and yes do take warm clothing, no doubt about it - it is the windy city and tends to be very cold. The huge metallic ball art work in the millnium park is done by an Indian and is an intersting piece of art The other place a lot of us go to is the Venkateshwara temple in Aurora. The lakeside drive is good and if you do not get a chance to go there and if you do visit Devon street (Indian street), you will see some of it. The downtown is all walkable and is always almost filled with people. Hope this info is helpful to you! It is really a beautiful city, very intersting and you will love it.

Have a great time!