Travel: Chicago part 1

 

 

Happy end of September!  Where I will be talking about our spring break trip to Chicago nearly...6 months ago.  There was once a time I wrote these promptly and this year is not that time.  Nor was last year, I believe. (Fact check: I wrote about our 2022 spring break trip to St. Louis...3 weeks later.  2022 me was on top of things.)

Today I'm covering the why, the where, and the first 2 days of our trip.  Tomorrow will be our final two days.  Lots to say, Jamba Juice to share (pictures of).

Why?
Why Chicago?  Because, despite living just a few hours away, we hadn't been to Chicago since...2004.  We were not married (not even engaged) but Matt's cousin was getting married downtown Chicago and I got to tag along with his family.  It was very fancy and we saw the Bean right before it was dedicated or officially opened or something.  That was 19 years ago and despite having taken the train to New York City FOUR TIMES in 8 years...we never went back to Chicago.  SO, it was about time.  

Where We Stayed
In St. Louis Matt's brother and SIL introduced us to Embassy Suites and now that is our preferred chain for city travel.  We stayed at the one near the Magnificent Mile but it was also close enough to Millennium Park and the train station that we walked there too.  Their breakfast is fantastic and they have complimentary drinks & snacks happy hour that can bulk up your grocery store supper, in a pinch.  Also, the SUITES aspect was helpful because 3 nights in a standard hotel room would get old (I need to READ after my kids are asleep, thank you).  

Matt & I had a bedroom (with a fantastic view) and the boys shared a pull out couch in the living area.  We had a mini fridge, coffee maker, and, for some reason, THREE sinks (which meant one in the bathroom, one for brushing teeth by the mini fridge, and one in our bedroom where I could do my make-up without hogging the bathroom).  Other than the pool and breakfast both being NUTS every time we did either (and a line for drinks every night)...had an excellent stay, would stay again.  We paid for a city view but still got a sliver of Lake Michigan too.  Also, I got to be nosy on the people in the building next to ours.  I am always nosy about real estate.  

Now, onto what we did!

 

Day 1 (Sunday)
We had gone to church on Saturday night and Sunday morning drove to the South Bend airport to pickup the furthest East point of the South Shore Line into Chicago.  We always boarded our NYC Amtrak in the middle of the night so it was refreshing to do in the daylight!  But note: South Shore does not have a snack bar on board nor could we find any quick food at the airport so packing a lunch would be helpful.  We did South Shore instead of Amtrak because it was significantly cheaper; the boys were completely free with a paying adult!

We boarded and got 4 seats facing each other.  Great! No notes!  Then found out 5 minutes before the train stopped about an hour later that there was maintenance happening on the line and that we'd be getting off to get on a bus.  I had completely ignored all the alerts about this because I didn't think anything happening at that stop had anything to do with us.  So we packed up quickly, shuffled to the bus line, and then got on a charter bus.  On the charter bus for about an hour and then back on another train.  This was chaotic, especially when it was completely unexpected.  I would do the South Shore again but not until this track maintenance is done.  But we still got the Millennium Station in downtown Chicago pretty much right at our expected time!

Got off the train in Chicago and since we had a bit of time to stall before our check-in time and it was only about ¼ mile out of the way...we went right to the Bean!  We had only seen it 19 years earlier from the balcony at the reception overlooking it, this was our first time up close.  It was VERY busy but also cooler than I expected.  It was fun to do something right away on the trip.   

Then it was onto the Embassy Suites.  Less than a mile from the train station but Matt was carrying the heavy duffel with ALL our clothes and we had one child who refused to carry anything, even his backpack, and another who kept getting distracted by all the Tesla's we saw.  Despite it being around 50°, Matt & I were both sweating by the time we got to the hotel.  Luckily they let us check in a bit early (30 minutes or so). 

 

We took some downtime (of course I read) and then walked to Navy Pier for supper at Giordano's.  When we travel we mostly try to eat places we can't eat at home (besides on actual travel days...on 12 hour driving days or at an airport, Wendy's is just fine).  I found out after I planned to go there that we have a Giordano's at home now but...it still felt appropriate for Chicago.  Plus, a reason to visit Navy Pier.  I remember going a few times with my family in high school.  We saw Lake Michigan for the first time since last July! (That one took me more than 6 months to write!)

One child wanted to swim back at the hotel, the other deemed it waaaaay too busy.  I drew the short straw in supervising the swimming kid.  It was loud.  

Day 2 (Monday)
Off for a full day of exploring Chicago!  We walked about a mile to Willis (Sears) Tower on a very meandering path.  We could have done the L but it seemed easier just to walk.  And we managed to walk past a few landmarks inadvertently like the church where we went the day after Matt's cousin's wedding and the "Penny Buildings" as deemed by my sister over 20 years ago.  We couldn't have planned that route better if we tried!

We had tickets for Willis Tower and went through all the security and lines but it all kept moving.  I hadn't been up there in about 25 years and it was fantastic views.  Boys were impressed.  We had done Empire State Building with them on our last New York trip but Luke was 5 and Sam was just a baby so neither remember much from that.  They enjoyed it. 

We did the glass boxes twice because we liked the first time so much and there was such a short line for them.  Strangely, we got the same one both times.  

 

 

Then it was downstairs where we had Shake Shack for lunch on the ground floor of Willis Tower.  Always appreciate some Shake Shack (the 4th city we've had it in)! Then back out to explore!  We walked past the Flamingo statue which, of course, I enjoyed.  Ended up back at the Bean where it was slightly less busy.  Hit up the Maggie Daley Park which is between the Bean and Lake Michigan.  My sister had recommended it from her recent trip with her kids and my kids loved it.  We had been walking A LOT but being free to just run around a playground lets out energy in a different way.  Even stranger, we ran into one of my good friends from high school there completely randomly.  

 

We played over an hour and walked back to the hotel for some downtime and just sitting.  Matt's watch reported that we walked over 9 miles this day.  Then it was back out to check out the Magnificent Mile, where we could walk to from our hotel.  Really, we had just a few stops we wanted to make.  There was a Harry Potter exhibit thing that we weren't going to pay to do (it was expensive) BUT the gift shop was open to all so we walked around there and bought Luke a keychain.  Then visited the Lego store (always) and made our minifigs.  And, finally, visited my beloved Jamba Juice where we made our smoothies and a yogurt parfait most of our supper.  This was the only Jamba Juice we saw on this trip, a real downside to Chicago over New York. But it had still been...6 months (in the Charlotte airport) since my last one and it was delicious (Aloha Pineapple, always).

Then it was back to the hotel in time for happy hour and I'm pretty sure some leftover pizza for supper (yay having a microwave).  Pool time and getting everyone to bed!

It had been a busy two days with lots of sitting (day 1) and walking (day 2) but already managed to fit in many Chicago sites!  The weather was cooperating (for April) and Chicago was just a delight. The rest of our trip coming tomorrow!