What an amazing weekend! Rob and I decided to go to Chicago for the weekend - I bought him Neurosis (one of his favorite bands) tickets for his Birthday and we used it as an excuse to escape the realities of life for a few days. On Friday, we took Isaac to Jackson to stay with his Grandma Sherry and Grandpa John for the weekend.
We spent the night there and enjoyed a hearty breakfast before departing for the Windy City. We checked into our hotel, The Ohio House - seriously good deal on a hotel that was close to everywhere we wanted to be!
We then took off for Rush street to check out Urban Outfitters and the Burton store - yay!!! Customers were lounging on the 3rd floor, playing Guitar Hero III. I should have played, but was too shy/timid. Jon will be disappointed... 
We stopped by the Water Tower and took a pic
My only request of the whole trip was to get popcorn - delicious! I made Rob take the bag away from me so that I could enjoy it for the rest of the weekend! The half hour wait in line was worth it!
Navy Pier was the next stop - we walked to entire time, by the way! We were getting a bit hungry, so we picked up a bite to eat there and I replenished my energy with a little Starbucks!
After eating, we walked through the stained glass display. There were some amazing pieces to view, most of them from the late 1800s and early 1900s!
My only request of the whole trip was to get popcorn - delicious! I made Rob take the bag away from me so that I could enjoy it for the rest of the weekend! The half hour wait in line was worth it!Navy Pier was the next stop - we walked to entire time, by the way! We were getting a bit hungry, so we picked up a bite to eat there and I replenished my energy with a little Starbucks!After eating, we walked through the stained glass display. There were some amazing pieces to view, most of them from the late 1800s and early 1900s!We cheated and took the trolley back to State St. and walked back to the hotel where we freshened up a bit so that we could go to the Hancock Building for dessert.
We arrived at the Hancock Building around 10:30pm, waited in line for about half an hour for the elevator up to the 96th floor and waited for another 15 minutes or so to get a table.
Unfortunately there weren't any tables open, so we were placed at the bar along the glass wall. While we enjoyed our Tiramisu, this is the view that we had! Whoever said that 'patience is a virtue' couldn't be any more right! I think that we had the best seat in the house. It was amazing to look at Chicago from the sky vs. the ground! It was experience that we will never forget!
Sunday morning: with the time change, we thought we had slept until 11am, Michigan time, but it was only 9. So, we got dressed and enjoyed a greasy breakfast at Rock N Roll McDonald's!
The view from the inside
Rob, enjoying his breakfast in the comfy chairs
The view from our seats
We confided with our Fodor's Chicago Book and after taking the bus to Soldier Field, we enjoyed a two mile walk from Soldier Field, through Grand Park, and ended at Millennium Park. We had beautiful weather and wonderful views of the lake!
Here we are in Grant Park
Millennium Park
The Cloud Gate sculpture, aka the Bean. According to the city of Chicago, permission is needed to publish any images of the structure. If I wind up in jail, this will be why!
Sneaking a picture of our reflection
Under the sculpture
Over the river
After our fun walk, we went to Pizzeria Uno for lunch. Rob was finally able to enjoy his deep dish pizza that he was craving. After lunch, we visited the places that we hadn't been to yet, like the Lego Store and the Hershey's Store. That was the best hot chocolate I have ever drank! We shopped for a little while longer, then went to Rainforest Cafe for a quick dinner.
After dinner, we were able to rest for a bit before going to the Neurosis concert. The concert was held in an old auditorium (without seating - ugh!) and I made sure that Rob was standing right up front! We were able to get a picture with the keyboard player, Noah.
By Monday morning, we were exhausted! We had made plans to visit the Field Museum, but I was way too tired of walking, and that place is huge! We are going to wait a couple of years and take Isaac there (Abbie can tag along, too). I think that we will enjoy it more seeing it through his eyes. We showed Isaac pictures of the Lego Store and he wants me to take him to Nana's house so that I can go to Chicago and buy him something from there. Hopefully he will still enjoy playing with Legos in a couple of years and we can factor a Lego purchase into our budget.
The view from the insideRob, enjoying his breakfast in the comfy chairsThe view from our seatsWe confided with our Fodor's Chicago Book and after taking the bus to Soldier Field, we enjoyed a two mile walk from Soldier Field, through Grand Park, and ended at Millennium Park. We had beautiful weather and wonderful views of the lake!
Here we are in Grant Park Millennium ParkThe Cloud Gate sculpture, aka the Bean. According to the city of Chicago, permission is needed to publish any images of the structure. If I wind up in jail, this will be why!Sneaking a picture of our reflectionUnder the sculptureOver the river After our fun walk, we went to Pizzeria Uno for lunch. Rob was finally able to enjoy his deep dish pizza that he was craving. After lunch, we visited the places that we hadn't been to yet, like the Lego Store and the Hershey's Store. That was the best hot chocolate I have ever drank! We shopped for a little while longer, then went to Rainforest Cafe for a quick dinner.After dinner, we were able to rest for a bit before going to the Neurosis concert. The concert was held in an old auditorium (without seating - ugh!) and I made sure that Rob was standing right up front! We were able to get a picture with the keyboard player, Noah.
By Monday morning, we were exhausted! We had made plans to visit the Field Museum, but I was way too tired of walking, and that place is huge! We are going to wait a couple of years and take Isaac there (Abbie can tag along, too). I think that we will enjoy it more seeing it through his eyes. We showed Isaac pictures of the Lego Store and he wants me to take him to Nana's house so that I can go to Chicago and buy him something from there. Hopefully he will still enjoy playing with Legos in a couple of years and we can factor a Lego purchase into our budget. On our way home, we stopped in Michigan City and visited a couple of Outlet Stores. Rob picked out a couple of outfits for Abbie that are not pink! We finally met Sherry in Kalamazoo and made it home in the rain/snow mix. Isaac is excited to be back home. I think that he has played with every single one of his toys today, which explains how I got this done!
1 comments:
Well written article.
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