Our first stop in Chicago was a few days before our proper stay. We
broke up the
drive to Milwaukee by making a slight detour to the Museum
of Science and Industry. We arrived just shy of 1 p.m. and stayed longer
than I expected, leaving more than four hours later. Edith and Atticus liked the
interactive parts -- climbing into a combine, playing in a kid
zone. We probably could have spent more time there, but we were worn out
and still had a 90 minute drive ahead of us.
We
arrived in Chicago "for real" a few days later. First stop: Pequod's, a
deep-dish pizza place recommended by a friend who grew up in the area.
It ended up being my favorite meal of the trip, thanks to the
caramelized crust and the not-too-heavy-on-the-cheese personal pizzas.
After
checking into our hotel and parking the car, we walked the few blocks
to Navy Pier. It was so miserably hot, however, that we walked nearly to
the end and then immediately turned back to the hotel for some a/c and
the pool.
We ventured out later that night to go to
Portillo's for some Chicago-style hot dogs. Then we walked down Michigan
Avenue to take a look at the river and turned back.
The
next day wasn't any cooler. We walked the two miles to Adler
Planetarium, making short stops at the Bean and Maggie Daley Park /
playground. Luckily the planetarium was cool and quite nice. We spent
around four hours there, mostly in a large kid area that Edith and
Atticus loved. Lunch was tasty too, with nice views of the city and the
lake.
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| The Bean |
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| View not far from the planetarium |
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| Space potty! |
We made a brief stop at the Field Museum, but by
this time we were all hungry, tired and irritable. We shared a deep dish
pizza at Lou Malnati's a few blocks away before calling it a day.
Saturday
was our last full day in Chicago, and the weather was finally lovely.
Without kids, we may have eaten at Rick Bayless's Frontera Grill.
Instead, we ate lunch with the kids at Frontera Fresco, the cheaper,
quick-service version in a Macy's food court. My chipotle chicken torta
was gigantic, spicy and delicious -- the the arugula on top was maybe my
first vegetable all week. Oops.
We had planned to get a
day-pass for the Chicago Water Taxi to explore the city by river and
then meet some friends for supper. Instead, they suggested meeting us to
take the taxi too. They showed us around Chinatown (where I was happy
to order an avocado smoothie) and then to supper at a barbecue
restaurant (where I was startled to enter the women's restroom and see a
life-size mannequin of a man at a urinal). We stayed on the water taxi
as we said goodbye to our friends, and then Paul and Atticus went back
to the hotel as Edith and I went in search of our traditional vacation
Christmas ornament.
Paul like Portillo's so much that we went for lunch the next day before taking off for home.
I
hadn't been to Chicago since before we moved to Brooklyn in 2007, and
during our three days in Chicago, I was constantly comparing it to New
York. Chicago is grittier and more industrial, but in parts prettier,
with a large lake-and-river culture and plentiful plants along the
street. Edith says her favorite part was the revolving doors, but I like
the energy and friendliness.
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| Hotel pool fun |
