I think I’m finally getting back into the right time zone! My body seems to adapt pretty well to the time change while I’m there, but I have such a hard time getting back into routine when I’m home. Now that I’m starting to feel like my head is on straight again, I would to share with you all the fun and adventures that we had in Chicago.
The trip started early Saturday morning. Jeremy and I rode up to SeaTac with my parents in anticipation of our 8:40am flight to Chicago. My dad is one of those guys who strongly believes in being to the airport 2 hours before any flight. The line through security was very long and the line for Starbucks seemed just as long. With all the standing in line, things worked out pretty well so we weren’t waiting at the gate too long before boarding.
Once we arrived in Chicago, we reunited with my sister, April, and my brother-in-law, Andrew. It was an exciting greeting full of hugs and chatter! We were glad to be together and looking forward to all the week held for us. Once we claimed our bags, we made our way to our hotel. We stayed at the Comfort Suites on North Michigan Ave. This was a prime location because it was near public transportation and the Magnificent Mile where all the shops and restaurants are. We set off to find dinner once we had gotten settled into our hotel rooms. We decided to celebrate our first night in Chicago with deep dish pizza. Our dinner destination was Lou Malnati’s. We had discovered this pizza chain by watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Bobby had challenged Lou’s son, Mark, to a deep dish pizza challenge and Mark won. We figured anyone who could beat Bobby Flay must make good pizza! Oh boy, were we right! Deep pizza is so thick that it only took one yummy slice to fill me up! We walked around a bit and got some frozen yogurt for dessert at Froyo. Once back at the hotel, my parents decided to call it a night so the kiddos decided to go back out and explore. We had two locations in mind – the Hershey store and the Ghirardelli store! April and I split a chocolate cupcake at the Hershey’s store that was almost like a brownie! The Ghirardelli store gave out samples of their new pumpkin caramel chocolates (we went back almost daily for those free samples).
Day two started early… maybe a little too earlier… We weren’t sure how long it would take all of us to get ready, so we got up at 5:00am… We were ready to go by 6:15am. My parents were not… I think I was a little excited to get the day started. Each morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then headed off to find good coffee else where. I’m not a coffee drinker but those that are in the group needed another source for their morning java. We got our CTA passes which allowed us to ride the “L” all week. We made our way over to the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower). We got there a bit early so we made a stop at Starbucks. The Willis Tower Sky Deck is amazing! At 103 stories up in the air, you sure can see a lot! Plus they have built plexiglass ledges off the side of the building so you can actually step out on them and look down below. It’s really quite a sight! After the Sky Deck, we went out to Wrigley Field for some photo opportunities. From there we made our way to the Navy Pier. We rode the Farris Wheel and got to see the Chicago skyline and be right up against Lake Michigan. We took at a walk through a stain glass museum and then played mini-golf in the shadow of the Farris Wheel. The day ended with dinner at the Weber Grill. It was amazing! I’d never seen a Weber Grill Restaurant before! The whole restaurant is themed around Weber grills, the food is made on them and the store is decorated with them! We did more walking on the Magnificent Mile after dinner and got more froyo at Froyo! Sunday was the only day we had my dad with us all day so we packed it in with as many touristy opportunities as possible!
To keep the length of this blog manageable, I will have to leave you with a cliff hanger! I’ll continue the play by play of our trip to Chicago in upcoming blogs! Stay tuned!
Amy Scott's Thoughts 