Clips From Last Years NPPL Chicago Open & Living Legends V

Introduction

When asked to plan a trip to somewhere in the world that I would want to travel someday. Many places came to mind such as New Zealand or Australia but I wanted to go somewhere where I can engage in some of my favourite activites. Considering I love to play paintball, Chicago was the prime choice for paintball games and tournaments. I plan to spend a month in Chicago and neighbouring cities plaing in some of the top paintball tournaments on the continent! The first will be played in Peoria on May 5th. The second will be in CPX paintball park in Joliet, Illinois. This tournament is called Living Legends V and takes place all weekend starting on May 18th. The third will be played in a field near Fort Wayne, Illinois. When not playing in these tournaments, I will roam around the city finding some of the best attractions and activities in the city!

The 5 A's of Travel and Tourism

Attractions-Biophysical: Within Chicago and surrounding cities, there are a variety of biophysical attractions. One of which would be Lincoln Park. This park spans across 6 miles of the coast line of lake michigan and contains beaches, biking and hiking trails as well as horseback riding trails. Another biophysical attraction within Chicago would be Foster Avenue Beach which also spans along the coast of lake michigan.
Cultural: As well as having biophysical attractions, Chicago and neighbouring cities contain a lot of cultural attractions. One of which that I plan on visiting would be the Field Museum of Natural History. This museum was founded in 1893 and contains over 20 million artifacts. Another Cultural Attraction would be Willis Tower (used to be Sears Tower). This tower became open to the public 1974 and is 1453ft (452m) tall. On a clear day, you can see up to 50 miles (64km) over four different states.
Access- When in Chicago, Taxi's and public transit are popular methods of transportation. For my trip however, I have chosen to rent a car to help save some money and make more different destinations easily accessible for myself.
Accommodation- Within Chicago, there are many forms of accommodations ranging from very cheap motels to very high end hotels that cost hundreds of dollars to stay at nightly. For my trip I have chosen to stay at hotels that are reasonably cheap.
Activities- Throughout my trip, I will be engaging in a variety of activities. The main one being paintball tournaments. When not participating in large tournaments, I have chosen to spend much of my free time exploring different areas of chicago, visiting museums such as the Field Museum of Natural History, visiting beaches, roaming around the city experiencing every day life of someone living in Chicago. I have also chosen to play in some recreational games of paintball at some of the more local fields to witness the variety of fields.
Amenities- Some amenities that I will require during my trip is a cell phonoe capable of constant communication with home. Being in a new plave to me for so long, I would like to have methods of communication to my family. I would also like to always have a map or GPS. In somewhere as crowded as Chicago, I would like to have some kind of navigation so I always know where I am compared to where I should be

My Trip Budget

• Breakfast: $5.00 - $10.00
• Lunch: $5.00 - $10.00
• Dinner: $10.00 - $30.00
• *all tournaments require pre-registration and will be paid for ahead of time*
• Paint for tournaments (total cost): $300.00
• Hotels (total): $1,406.00 (May 1^st – May 30^th)
• Car rental: $750.10 (May 1^st – May 30^th)
• Various museums and attractions: $400.00 (total)
• Spending Money: $375.00 (total)
• Money for health care (in case of emergency): $400.00 (total)
• Extra money: $450.00 (total)

Total cost of the trip should come to roughly $4700.00 including flights

Travel Motivators and Barriers

Travel Barriers: One large travel barrier that applies to both my self and many other “budget travelers” is that this trip may cost quite a bit more. Through booking cheap flights and hotels however, the cost is still reasonably low. Another travel barrier that may apply to many travelers is that many of the activities I have chosen to participate in are more sports related and much more competitive than a relaxing stay at a beach or resort. One final travel barrier that is a reasonably large one is that when in Chicago, you will probably be in very crowded places alot of the time.

Travel Motivators: A major travel motivator is that when I'm not participating in paintball tournaments, I have planned to visit some of the nicest areas and attractions in one of the United States most popular cities. Chicago is filled with interesting attractions that I plan to visit in my spare time. Another Travel motivator is that the paintball tournaments I have chosen to play in are some of the most popular and high level tournaments on the Continent.

Climate During Visit

Just like in many other aspects of tis trip, Chicago and neighboring cities are so close to home that the climate should not be all that different compared to southern Ontario in this time of year. The average temperature in Chicago in this time of year is about 15 degrees celcius, which is pretty close to a temperature that Acton may face in May. The average rainfall in May is about 86mm in Chicago where they encounter an average of 12 wet days within the month (+0.1mm). This climate should make the weather very easy to acustom to compared to what I would normally face in Acton and should leave nice weather to play paintball in.

Culture Shock

Due to the fact that the Chicago so close to home, I do not expect much culture shock. Language and food is very similar to that in Canada. The one thing I must prepare for is the traffic and population density. Acton is not a very populated town so being in a city like Chicago would be pretty different. To prepare for this, I could spend more time in Toronto to help adjust to being around so many people all the time.

Arrival Accomodations

• From May 1st - 9th I will stay at the Concorde Inn Suites Pekin in Peoria, Illinois. Their address is 2801 Court St Pekin. The nightly fee here comes to $55 per night.
• From May 9th - 23rd I will stay at the Super 8 Mokena Frankfort I 80 in Joliet, Illinois. The address of this hotel is 9485 W. 191^st Mokena. The cost of this hotel comes to $48 per night.
• From May 23rd - 30th I will stay at the Americas Best Value Inn in Fort Wayne, Illinois. It's address is 1401 W Washington Center Rd Fort Wayne. This hotel costs $42 per night.
• During my stay in Illinois, I will also be renting a car to get around and to get to each of the paintball tournaments. I have booked a car rental from Alamo Rent a Car for an economy car which will cost $20.73 per day.
• By the end of the month (May 1st - 30th) the final cost of the hotels will come to $1406.00 and the cost of the rental car will come to a total of $750.10 by the time the trip is over.

Immunizations That Should be Taken Before Travelling to USA

Due to the fact that the United States, especially Chicago are so close to home, there are not many immunizations which should be taken. Three of the top concerning diseases which should be considered are HIV/Aids, West Nile Virus, and Lyme Disease. If you are a traveller planning on travelling to the United States in May, HIV/Aids and west nile virus should not be of to much concern. In the instance of HIV/Aids, if you are a traveller you will probably not be put in a situation where you are at risk of attracting this disease (unless you are a sex tourist...). West Nile Virus would also not be much concern due to the fact that is is transfered by mosquitoes and these insects are not active until late summer and early fall in this area. Lyme Disease however, should be of concern. It is transfered by ticks from deer in the area so exposure can be common in some cases. Unfortunatly there is no immunization for this disease. The only prevention of it is to simply use bug spray and other repelants that may help keep these ticks away. If you do however contact this disease, you may need to spend anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks on antibiotics.

Are There Any Travel Warnings For The United States?

Thankfully, there are no current travel warnings for travellers trying to enter the United States. Unfortunatly, many countries throughout the world have issued travel warnings meant to inform travellers that the country is unsafe for travellers to enter. The United States are not one of these countries so Travelling here should be a safe experience. In case you do get into trouble, the nearest Canadian embassy to Chicago would be found within the city of Chicago itself. Their address is 2 Prudential Plaza, 180 North Stetson Avenue, Suite 2400, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Their phone number is (312) 616-1860 and have an emergency toll-free phone number to Ottawa. This phone number is 1-888-949-9993.

Do Canadians Require Visas When Travelling to the States?

Luckily, when Canadians visit the United States, they do not require a visa as long as they are staying for a temporary visit. This means that as long as you are visiting for less than 90 days, a visa will not be required. Canada and Mexico are the only countries that can have travellers enter the United States without a visa. Passports are still a must but not needing a visa makes your visit much easier to set up and enjoy!

Currency in USA

Just like in Canada, changes in the economy result in constant changing in the value of the American dollar. At the moment, one Canadian dollar is worth roughly $0.98 American. Due to the fact that the Canadian dollar is so close in comparisson to the American dollar, many purchases will be very similar in cost compared to in Canada.

Airline Costing & Flights

Departure City: Toronto, Canada	Arrival City: Peoria, Illinois, United States
Cost of Flight: $538.00
Date of Departure: May 1st, 2012	Time of Departure: 10:00 AM
Airline Carrier: United Airlines
Flight Number: 211(first leg) & 5911 (second leg)
Plane Change: Change Planes in Chicago, Illinois, Continue Toward Peoria, Illinois
www.Flightcenter.ca

Project Bibliography

www.Paintball-players.org  -Website for Information on upcoming Paintball tournaments

www.nppl.com/events -Website for the NPPL (Paintball league) (National Professional Paintball League)

www.pspevents.com/events/ -Website for the PSP (Paintball League) (Paintball Sports Promotions)

www.flightcentre.ca/bookingengine/flights/outbound -Flights to and from Chicago, Illinois

www.oanda.com/currency/converter/ -Currency converter

www.travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1265.html -Information about travel visas

www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/missions/detroit.asp -Information about the Canadian Embassy in Detroit

www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/menu-eng.asp  -Information on travel warnings

www.voyage.gc.ca/contact/offices-list_liste-bureaux-eng.asp -Search for Canadian Embassies

www.cdc.gov/lyme/ -Information on Lyme disease

www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/chicago/practical-information/health -Health information in Chicago, Illinois

www.expedia.ca/Hotel-Search -Hotel search

www.paintballplex.com/static.asp?path=2896 –Website of Paintball Plex (One of the tournaments)

www.cpxsports.com/ -Website of Cpx Paintball Park (One of the Tournaments)

www.bbc.co.uk/weather/4887398 -Weather information for Chicago, Illinois

www.expedia.ca/pub/agent.dll?qscr=cars –Car Rental in Peoria, Illinois

http://www.planetware.com/chicago/field-museum-of-natural-history-us-il-410.htm -Info on the Field Museum of Natural History

http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/chicago-us-il-chi.htm -Website used to find tourist attractions in Chicago