Fun Chicago Ideas?

[twinsmom]

Hey everyone -
I have a chance to meet my hubby in Chicago this weekend for a little rendevoux (sp?). He has been gone for 4 weeks at an away rotation, and hase a conference in Chicago starting on Sunday. We talked about meeting on Saturday and just Seeing the sights around there. My Brother and SIL have offered to take the twins (even overnight!) so that we can go have some grown-up play time .
The problem is this, neither one of us have been to Chicago before, so we don't know the first thing about where to go or what to do, especially in such a short time period. We don't even know where to look for hotels. I looked up on the internet, and got a bazillion different locations. Do any of you have any tips on Chicago getaways? Thanks!
I am still wondering if I should go. I know the kids will be okay, but I feel so guilty leaving them with my brother and SIL (they have two little ones of their own). It will be the first time I have left them overnight since they were born. I am wondering if I'll be the one who has the hard time with it (as opposed to the kids...). I know a break is just what I need right now (especially after 4 weeks of doing the solo parenting thing) so if we can get all of the factors worked out, I think I will end up going.
Thanks for any ideas or suggestions!

Jen B.

[mommax3]

GOOOOO!!!!

What is your budget for the weekend? We were just there for a week in June and had a wonderful time. I would be happy to give you some suggestions.....but let me know if you want shopping/culture/relaxing/romatic/theatre or some combination of those things.

Sally

[migirl]

I agree with Sally, you should definitely go. Chicago is a wonderful place to visit, we always have a great time.

Some places/activities that I would suggest (obviously biased based on what we like to do ) ...

- shopping (window-browsing for us!) on the Magnificent Mile (downtown Michigan Ave); there is a great combination of 'regular' stores for normal people like us and upscale stores that people like us only dream about spending money in (but it's still fun to look!)
- Museums! Try the Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institue of Chicago, The Field Museum (museum of science and nature), the Museum of Science and Industry (my favorite!).
- walking along Lakeshore Drive and taking in the beautiful lake and scenery
- then there are always touristy things like the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Building, Navy Pier

(Just looking over my list, it's very obvious that we are into 'inexpensive' entertainment.)

Try this link, they list a lot more ideas and suggestions for things to do in Chicago. Let us know how it goes!


http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Tourism/ThingsToDo

[migirl]

I realized that I didn't respond to your question about hotels. It's nice to stay downtown so you can walk to a lot of things, but those hotels can also get pretty pricey. We've stayed in places on Printer's Row, downtown, and on the North side (near Navy Pier) and all were nice. We usually just end up going with whatever cheap rate we can find online. One piece of advice: if you're driving, I would definitely recommend you find a hotel that has parking available because parking in Chicago can be a total nightmare.

We just stayed at the Sutton Place Hotel which was in a great location and was $189/night (his program paid for it though because he was at a conference). I think there are a bunch of places in this price range -- other names I can remember are the Burnham, Holiday Inn in River North, Westin River North, Sheraton Hotel and Towers. I would try priceline.com -- I've heard about a lot of people getting great deals there. You could also go the bed and breakfast route. And a place that's not downtown but is in a cute neighborhood is the Surf Hotel.

As for things to do, definitely take a walk on the lake, check out the Art Institute and all the shopping on Michigan Avenue, go to the top of the Sears Tower or the top of the Hancock building, visit some of the other neighborhoods -- Lincoln Park (there's a free zoo there), Bucktown, and maybe even try to catch a Cubs' game!!

Have fun!

[mommax3]

When we were there, we stayed at the Holiday Inn City Center, which is between the Magnificent Mile and Navy Pier. The Air Force paid for it, and I don't remember how much. I agree with what someone said about the parking. Our hotel had a garage, but we still had to pay, and it was full the whole time we were there. We parked when we got there and didn't get in the car again until we left because driving around downtown is a pain, and we were afraid the garage would be full if we left and came back. It was a great location, and has TONS of restaurants and shopping (and even a movie theater) within walking distance. If you are brave, you might try hotwire.com --- you won't know the name of the place until you book, but they let you specify which area of the city you want to be in, and some of the places will have customer reviews, which will give you some guidance as well. Something else you might look into is seeing a show while you are there. We saw The Lion King and Vagina Monologues in June....two very different experiences, that's for sure! Check out Ticketmaster if you are interested in that.

We went to the top of the Hancock while we were there, and it was one of the highlights of the trip. Try to go at sunset, and then go to the nearby Cheesecake Factory for dinner and cheesecake, or just cheesecake!

If you dress warmly enough, there are boat tours that you can take that are fun. Go to http://www.frommers.com/destinations/chicago/
for lots more information.

About your kids.....what is best for them is happy parents who love each other and aren't too stressed out. These opportunities to get away are few and far between during training, and you should take advantage of them. It is good for kids to see parents putting their marriage first, in my opinion. We leave our kids with grandparents for long weekends about twice a year, and it is great for us and for them.

Have a great time!

Sally

[HeartRN]

My husband and I moved from Chicago to Virginia just last year. I Think all of the previous tips sound great. I also highly recommend using the "L" train. You can buy a nice fold out map at a corner Walgreens store or even in your hometown before you go that outlines the "L" routes. This is a perfectly safe way to navigate around the city (esp. downtown area). I commuted everyday from Evanston to downtown Chicago for work--the only time I witnessed any problems (saw a girl get purse stolen) was after dark, when the car was nearly empty. Weekends during the day are very safe. Parking is a nightmare sometimes, and really costly.
Have a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SueC]

Can I just say that we had the best prime rib in our lives at a restaurant called Wildfire? I know that wasn't really the information you were looking for but had to interject.
Have a great time!

Just my 2 cents, Jen B. (I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and agree with all that they have said to do) but DON'T forget to go eat Chicago style deep dish pizza!!! Oh boy am I ever jealous that you are going. I can get the name and location of a great place to go from my dad if you want, just let me know. And eat a slice for me Have a great trip!

[PrincessFiona]

DON'T forget to go eat Chicago style deep dish pizza

YUMMY! I'm sitting here trying to think of the name of the famous Chicago eatery for the deep dish pizza that we use to go to as a kid when I lived there....anyone know?

MAN....I should not have read this right before dinner...and here I've gone and thawed fish Now I want PIZZA!!!!!!


kris

Gino's East!!

[twinsmom]

Wow -
Thank you so much for the ideas! I am getting so excited! I suddenly have the biggest craving for Chicago deep dish pizza - thanks for the tip, I think that's what we'll do for dinner on Saturday. Man, I can't wait! It seems like there's so much to do, we'll have to plan a second trip there to get to everything! (Plus, with being apart for for weeks, and finally having a weekend without the kids, I'm not sure just how much of the "outside" world we are going to get to ). Just one day left before I head out!!
We did the hotwire thing for the hotel and got one at the airport - but it said it's a 4 start hotel (the Hilton) and we got it for $53!! (then the next day, the school let dh know that they would be sending him a check to cover his expenses for the whole time he is there If only we would have known a day sooner!!) Oh well, it will still be fun.
Again - thank you so much for all of the tips!! I'll let you know how everything goes!

Jen B.