Chicago's dedication to preserving the lakefront as a public park has created miles of great waterfront park space to hang out at. An unfortunate side effect though is that it limits opportunities for waterfront businesses, such as restaurants. There's no reason we shouldn't be able to have both. Maybe this is just my Chesapeake Bay roots speaking. Where I grew up, waterfront goes hand in hand with seafood restaurants -- picking crabs and drinking beer. For such a vibrant city on the Lake with so many great beaches, Chicago has disappointingly few lakefront restaurants. Those few spots are easy to access by bike or on foot via the lakefront path, but I can think of only one with convenient access by train. The Waterfront Cafe is also a great example of the Chicago Park District leasing a public space to a business to offer Chicagoans a unique experience on the lakefront. I personally wish they would do more of this.

Carfree Chicago is looking for a few writers to explore some local destinations by train and foot and share their experiences with others. If you enjoy day trips and writing and you have a camera, email Lee Crandell at lee@carfreechicago.com to learn about the excursions that need to be covered this summer and how you can write for Carfree Chicago. There's no shortage of great places to explore in our region. Let's help other car-free Chicagoans figure out what those places are and how to enjoy them without a car.

I recently had the opportunity to stop off at Flossmoor on the Metra Electric line to celebrate a co-worker's last day at my office. We hopped on the train after work at Millennium Station under Millennium Park and headed 45 minutes south to Flossmoor, where we enjoyed locally brewed beers on the outdoor patio at the Flossmoor Station brewery and restaurant, which is attached to the Metra station.

Highland Park has one of the most walkable suburban downtowns accessible by Metra train. Back in March, I had a day off and hopped on the Union Pacific North to check it out. If offers a pleasant downtown, great neighborhoods to stroll, some nice lakefront parks, a beach and outdoor concerts at Ravinia.

If you're looking for a nice bike ride from Chicago, you can also ride up the North Branch Trail to Highland Park, or the Green Bay Trail provides a bicycle connection through the other north shore suburbs north from Wilmette.

When I mention that I don't have a car, invariably the first reaction by my well-meaning friends and family is a shocked, "You don't?!?" followed by, "Why not?!?" It's like I've casually mentioned that I removed my own legs. Believe it or not, humans didn't always get around by sitting in a metal box that runs on “dead dinosaur juice.” There are plenty of great reasons to consider going car-free - mainly that cars are the #1 cause of global warming, exceeding even the damage done by coal-burning power plants. Going car-free is definitely the greenest thing a consumer can do.

Knowing this sobering fact, when it came time to replace my car this past January, I decided to see if I ‘had it what it takes’ to go car-free. Not only did I save a ton of money and make my life a lot simpler, I gleaned some tips for anyone else who might be thinking about dumping their gas guzzler as well: