32 years ago today, we said I do! We celebrated with a little getaway to Chicago. We haven’t been here together in over 20 years, but decided to come back to a city we loved visiting. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the Sox being at Wrigley on Friday for a day game might have influenced our decision a little as well. But, who’s tracking that closely?! After a short direct flight from Norfolk, we checked in to our hotel downtown off Michigan avenue early and headed out for the afternoon in the Windy City.
Our first stop was less than a block from the hotel – the original Billy Goat Tavern! I’m hoping the curse on the Cubs that originated with it’s owner lasts at least for a few hours on Friday! We had DELICIOUS cheezborgers and chips and enjoyed seeing all the cool memorabilia and pictures of celebrities on the walls. What a neat place, and YUM!
We rolled out onto Michigan Ave and took a leisurely walk towards Millenium Park to see “the bean”. As we crossed the Chicago River, we reminisced about the boat ride we took on her many moons ago on a cool architectural tour of the city from the water. The bean is a unique sculpture that looks like – a bean – and has cool distorted reflections of the Chicago skyline.
We literally watched a rainstorm approach us, and Stacey suggested we duck in to the Chicago Cultural Center to escape the downpour. It was a great call, and we snuck in before the heavens opened. It was free and fascinating, with a super impressive Tiffany Dome that was stunning to see.
Those cheezeborgers were a lot, so we only wanted a light dinner. Just as close to our hotel was Chicago’s version of Eataly, so we took a stroll through there. The only other one I’d been to was in Boston, and that was much bigger than this one. Still, we found what we needed and would definitely recommend this Eataly, particularly for the market with all kinds of good looking stuff to cook at home. When we checked in, our awesome receptionist Luigi provided complimentary tickets to “360 Chicago” which offered a spectacular view of the city from 94 floors above Lake Michigan. We ventured up in time to be there for sunset, and the view inside the building was just as entertaining as the one outside. There was some people watching to behold! As we sat and looked west towards the setting sun, there were dozens of “twenty-somethings” posing in front of the window for picture after picture for whatever social media I don’t use. These 3 women in front of us took no less than 700-800 pictures of EACH of them in a span of 15 minutes, and I only exaggerate slightly.
Wednesday turned out to be a great day to arrive, especially on a gorgeous night after the thunderstorms had eliminated the humidity and provided a lovely breeze off the lake. For, Wednesdays include fireworks over Navy Pier at 9 PM, and we found a lakeside spot to sit and enjoy the show. What a fantastic way to end a wonderful day celebrating 32 years of love together! ❤️❤️❤️
Our morning started with an easy walk over to Stan’s Donuts for coffee at what has become a popular Chicago spot since 2014. We sat inside looking out at folks in seats along the sidewalk that were constantly harassed by annoying pigeons. Inside seats were a good call!
Just a short distance from Stan’s on Michigan Ave, we found the world’s largest Starbucks! With the rooftop terrace, it is 5 stories high and HUGE. There were shops, places for tastings, and plenty of other ways to spend your money. A small purchase for us included a special “Chicago” roast of beans that we will try at home. Our walk was quite nice with an overcast sky, low humidity and temps in the 70s!
There was some window shopping, but both these venues were a NO for me!
Our lunch today would be at Mr. Beef, the inspiration for the show “The Bear”. If you haven’t seen The Bear, and you can (Hulu), you absolutely should. If your hesitation is that you don’t want to watch a show about food and chefs, let me allay those concerns. The show is about humanity. It is about every range of emotion from grief to joy and everywhere in between. In short, it is about life, and it is EXTREMELY well done. My only complaint is that it is streamed, causing those like Stacey and I to binge watch because we can’t get enough. We are left hoping and praying and waiting for another season to come out! Anyway, we walked over to Mr. Beef where we found a line of about 30 people stretching out the door and down the sidewalk. That is obviously a good sign!
We each got an Italian Beef sandwich. Mine had both sweet and hot peppers, and was nicknamed The Bear – of course. They were absolutely delicious! Get over to Mr. Beef on Orleans Street if you find yourself hungry in Chicago.
When we walked outside, it was raining and misty, so we decided to take an Uber over to the Chicago History Museum. For the first time ever for either of us, we got to ride in a Tesla. It was very comfortable, and our driver Samuel was friendly and very knowledgeable about Tesla, Waymo, and the future of driverless cars. It was a very nice ride!
Our biggest desire at the museum was to browse in the store, but it was closed for maintenance. So, we decided to walk off those Italian Beef sandwiches and take in the sights along Lake Michigan. We walked over to North Avenue beach, then along the water all the way out to the point of Navy Pier before returning to the hotel. It was a 4.7 mile walk in a slight mist that made it quite pleasant for walking. It really is gorgeous along the lake here in the summer.
In a change of pace, we went out to a comedy show after a delicious dinner! Second City is a great club in town where we saw a group of comedians do sketches and improvs. They were hilarious, and we had fun seeing something different.
Friday was Wrigley Day, with our beloved BOSOX in town! I have a soft spot for the Cubs, and I adore Wrigley field, but we came to root for the Sox in the first game back after the All Star break. We arrived to enter as the gates were opened, and were treated to the Sox taking BP. You could almost touch the left field foul pole from our seats. I’ve never understood why it isn’t called the fair pole. If the ball hits it, fair ball and home run! I took advantage of our proximity to add a WSU sticker to that pole!
The Sox ran into a great team, and ended up losing 4-1. But we had a fantastic day in a truly iconic ballpark under sunny skies with a friendly crowd. As a bonus treat, my sister Eileen was in town and attended the game with her kids Mark and Valerie. They joined us for a photo op before we all left Wrigley together.
Eileen and Val came to help Mark move into a new apartment just a few blocks from the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. We got to go see it, and even checked out the gorgeous rooftop. You can see the lights of Wrigley behind us!
From there, we walked to Tango Sur, an Argentinian steakhouse 10 minutes away. It was really great to spend time with the Labaks in the Windy City, though we missed Chris for sure. I was hoping to see him jump around again – next time! I’m not usually a big fan of pictures of my meal, but… this ribeye at Tango Sur was EXCEPTIONAL! Just delicious.
Saturday was our travel home day, but not before a half day more in Chicago. We found an old style diner a few blocks from the hotel that was famous for surly servers, and ours definitely fit the bill. It was fun and yummy! Stacey was even a sport, wearing the silly paper hat placed on her head.
To walk off the omelette, we made our way to the Riverwalk on a lovely morning. We were again fascinated by the cool buildings along the Chicago River. There were tons of people out early to start their days touring a beautiful city on Lake Michigan.
Stacey and I loved our trip to Chicago and truly can’t wait to come back! Until next time!!😍
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