A Long Weekend In Chicago

It has been awhile since the family and I have gotten out of the state. In fact, it has been too long! Well, December wasn’t really that long ago, but I am ready for a weekend away. I was reminded this week about the last time we went away for the weekend when we made the short flight up to Chicago. An hour in an airplane isn’t long at all!

It was a few years back, and we left Nashville on a Thursday morning, it was raining, of course, and we only hoped the sun would be shining when we got to our final destination. We may have made a small sigh of relief when we arrived because we had big plans for the day and they involved a small road trip, and a sunny bright sky was necessary. We rented a car, just for the day because I had read that downtown parking rates were outrageous, and headed a ways out of town to Six Flags. Our amusement park days were about to be revisited now that the boy was a bit older and able to ride on some big rides! He wasn’t quite big enough for all of them, but he did have his first taste of corkscrews, loops, and tunnels, all at super fast speeds. I couldn’t bring myself to sit next to him for fear that he would be too afraid, resulting in an instant panic from me, so he sat with daddy; he was able to turn his head back mid-ride to let me know that he did not like this! (In a few year’s time, he has now changed his mind about super-coasters, he will get on them without a second thought.) Once again, we made it to an amusement park when it wasn’t busy, this trip being the Thursday before Labor Day weekend. Off season traveling is still one of the best times, in my opinion.

(One set of these legs belongs to my guy) The boy was not yet big enough for this ride…

but maybe a ride with an overly excited mommy while on this kiddie coaster will make him feel like he isn’t missing out.

The park was a bit out of the way from where we stayed but it did put us close to Lake Michigan and close to a yummy Irish pub-style restaurant. We were very happy with the day trip and the fact that we could just turn our car rental in that evening and get shuttled to our downtown room, where we would spend the rest of the trip almost solely on foot.

I hadn’t expected to find ourselves at the beach when the excitement of the day was over.

I remember the water being cold, and there was a couple lounging on the beach wearing sweaters and shorts. Also, It was windy, but oh so many seagulls!

Hotel check in and lobby drinks, bonus!

Day two, Friday. After only a small amount of trouble checking into our room the night before, we awoke to another great day. We made our way to the famous Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruises. My guy and I had made this trip the year before, without the boy, and we knew he would love to see all of the buildings from the river, so we had to do it again. I highly recommend this cruise. A great bit of history on Chicago, good commentary, and you get to look at buildings, while on a boat!

It was early and a bit chilly this September morning.

Great architecture and some wonderful reflections as we made our way on the river.

Bridges are always a favorite of mine, and we went under a few.

Looking back at the city under fog as we made our way to the end of the cruise. They fog was more out toward the open water, so fortunately it didn’t interfere with what we saw as we were at the heart of downtown.

If you are a museum person, I think Chicago has some great ones. We got a city pass online before we went – currently selling for $89 per adult, a little cheaper for children. It has coupons for admission to four of the main museums and admission to the Skydeck at the Willis Tower, definitely worth the money! You have nine days to use the tickets starting with the first day of use, and it takes you past any ticket lines that there may be to get into the attractions. A great purchase!

So we finished up our Friday at the Science and Industry Museum, and I must not forget that night for dinner, Giordano’s Pizza, the biggest pizza I ever did eat!

Okay, now I really wanna go somewhere. Thinking back on family trips gives me a travel itch that just has to be scratched! Since I have almost three more days left to tell you about in Chicago, I will continue on in another post.

To be continued…