Remembering John Hughes through travel

John Hughes died yesterday at the age of 59, while out for a walk in New York City.

I was only a few years old when The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, and Weird Science came out, but thanks to repeated showings on TNT and USA in the early 90’s, I grew up watching his iconic films. I wanted to skip school with Ferris Bueller and I had a mad crush on Jake Ryan. So even though Hughes had withdrawn from Hollywood in the last decade or so, I was still saddened to learn of the passing of someone whose movies were such a big part of my formative years.

For other fans out there, the folks over at Jaunted have put together a list of some of the locations used for filming in Hughes’ movies, including Chicago-area sets like the Home Alone house at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka and the Illinois Police Station (formerly Maine North High School) in Des Plaines where Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Emilio Estevez suffered through Saturday detention.

I’m thinking it’s only a matter of time before we see a tour dedicated to revisiting these familiar locations. In the meantime, I’m going home to watch a Hughes movie marathon. That Jake Ryan is so dreamy.

Belgian family recreates “Home Alone” – son left behind on rest stop bench

Next time you run through your checklist of things you don’t want to forget when you go on vacation, be sure to include your kid(s) on the list.

That is where a Belgian family went wrong last week, when they left their son on a bench next to their caravan.

The family had stopped at a French highway rest stop and set up their caravan for the night. When the young boy got too hot indoors, he decided to sleep outside on a bench.

When he woke the next morning, his family was gone, and he was on his own without any money or a phone. His family made the mistake of leaving the rest stop, without making sure their son was still with them.

The boy eventually made his way to a gas station where the police were contacted. His family was stopped about 200 miles away and immediately returned to the gas station to pick up their child.

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