Actually, not a whole day. Just 12 jam-packed hours in the city. So a whirlwind in the Windy City, which wasn’t at all breezy. A little air movement would have been welcome, but instead it was hot, heavy and humid. We took the train down and I’d forgotten how easy that makes this day trip. It was the commuter train so we made numerous stops. The kids started to get antsy, but I like the journey: seeing all the little towns, imagining what the people boarding are going to the city to see and do, letting the anticipation build.
We decided on the way down that our first stop would be breakfast at Lou Mitchell’s, which is a few blocks from the station and known for their diner fare. We stood outside the station staring at our phones trying to get our GPS calibrated looking very much like clueless tourists. Jared swept in and offered to walk us there and declared that we didn’t even have to pay him. He was a friendly, knowledgeable guide. Teddy liked him instantly and will talk about him for years. Of course, we paid him. We did not pay the $8.95 price tag for a single egg, however. Teddy will likely talk about that too. He had banana pancakes instead. The allure of this dive is that it’s the start of Route 66, which of course, ends in California.
After we completed the trivia and ate our meals, we made our way to the Willis Tower and were ever so pleasantly surprised by the lack of a line, but a tad disappointed by the lack of a view. We were warned that we could expect to wait hours to get to the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere…103 floors. Obviously, we overlooked the fact that it was a foggy, cloudy day. We ascended into the sky in 60 short seconds and were welcomed by a world white washed. Our heads were literally in the clouds, and it was eerie and otherworldly and cool. Perhaps, we couldn’t see the distance of a clear day, but it was still quite an experience. We waited in line to go out on one of the glass ledges. It was a rush to stand over the city and I’m not usually fond of heights. I don’t think I need to do this again, but Ted and I both thought it’d be fun to visit at night. Next time, we’ll try the Observation Deck at the John Hancock Building. It’s not quite as high in the sky, but it has a frightening feature called The Tilt.
One of my favorite moments was watching an Amish family experience the ledge. The juxtaposition of their simple, traditional life off the land struck me against this wonder of steel and technology. They just stood in the box quiet, reverent or maybe in disbelief. No pictures, no poses, no posturing.
Teddy was into walking the streets, and I agree it’s the best way to see the city…to get your bearings…to get its feel. We made our way to Millennium Park so the boys could see The Bean. They were underwhelmed by the metal sculpture,and more interested in the loud, low flying planes. While we walked around the park, we finally saw the fighter planes we heard above the clouds on the walk over. They were weaving in between sky scrapers half hidden by the misty air.
We took an Uber to the Adler Planetarium because that’s what the kids decided to do. I had originally set a different agenda, but they both wanted to visit the planetarium and it’s not often they agree so I was good with it. They seemed to enjoy it. Mike and I had a nice nap and learned that Pluto is no longer a planet. What the what!?!
After a couple hours there, we took another Uber to Navy Pier. We had a snack at Tiny’s and the kids did a cool, “very scary” maze. No one wanted to ride the ferris wheel. I don’t need to go back to the Pier any time soon unless I’m catching a boat. Most of the water tours leave from the Pier. Mike and I wanted to take the architectural tour, but the kids vetoed it. Another time.
We took an Uber to Giordano’s for the deep dish, stuffed pizza experience. They weren’t lying when they said that the pizza takes an hour to bake. We had an hour and a half before the train left. It was the last train of the night. We inhaled the za, which was delicious and better than Gino’s IMO, and then we made a mad dash to the train station. After a few blocks, we realized we were headed in the wrong direction. We corrected course and had a very tense 10 minutes. We just made the train. I felt like we were on The Amazing Race.
At that point the kids had enough family time so they climbed to the upper deck and sat several seats apart. The ride home was long (like 2 hours long), but I was doing character study for future stories so it was worth it. There were many characters in our car that night. I got some good material.
We had an hour ride after the train trip so we pulled into the driveway well after midnight. We were exhausted and dirty, but happy to have shared the day’s adventure and also to know that we will do it again and soon.
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