Why bother traveling with kids?

My husband is going on a trip to two Midwestern locales this summer for conferences.
I thought I would come along to Madison Wisconsin and Ann Arbor Michigan
Don’t get me wrong these places are great.
I searched and searched on the web looking for stuff to do for kids in Madison.
There’s a great parks department offering swimming.
There are fantastic public libraries.
There’s a Children’s museum.
A zoo too.
But, then I thought, why shlep the kids all the way up there. I’d be on my own with two kids under 5. We can do all this stuff here in Chicago without the hours-long drive, expenses of staying in a hotel and the like that goes with travel.
I’ll take time off from my work, care for my kids and take them around to a lot of fun stuff here in Chicago.
Is that a defeatists attitude or what?
Well, maybe when they’re older, maybe.
OK, well maybe I could make this a kind of challenge or adventure!
We’ll see…