Stop 22: Chicago, IL

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On the way to Chicago, somewhere in Iowa, we had another run in with the police. This time, I was driving and when the cop pulled me over, I could only hope I would have the same luck as Allison before. The cop, who looked to be about our age, asked me if I knew how fast I was going, to which I said “no.” The speed limit where we were was 70 mph and I wasn’t going faster than 80. Everybody, I mean everybody, was going over 80. The people in the right lane were going 80 while the people in the left were going even faster. He then asked me if I was just trying to go with the flow of traffic, to which I said “yes.” Then, he told me I should NOT go with the flow of traffic, and proceeded to lecture me about it. He took my license, registration, and insurance card back to his car. Allison and I sat in the car, cursing our luck again, and hoping for no ticket. He came back and gave me only a warning, which made me very happy, and let us go on our way. I felt very lucky to get out without a ticket, but unfairly picked out of the crowd (probably our MD license plate). Allison agrees, it was ridiculous and totally unfair for the cop to pull me over, and who ever heard of not going with the flow of traffic?

In Chicago, we stayed three nights at a really nice, huge hotel, the Hyatt (thank you again, Mr. LaGasse). That night, we got to bed as soon as we got in. The next morning, we spent a good hour just driving around the city. There is no where to park and the public garages charge upwards of $40 a day. So, we drove back to the hotel and regrouped, deciding we needed a plan for all the things we were going to do in Chicago.

At around 1 o’clock, we finally took a cab and got breakfast at a Chicago pizzeria, Gino’s. Our waiter told us it would be an hour to cook a deep dish pizza, and we were so hungry from not eating all day we just got a thin crust. The pizza was delicious (maybe the best I’ve ever had), and then we made over to the Hancock Observatory. We decided to go to the top of this building, the 4th tallest in the U.S. (behind the Sears Tower, Empire St., and Aon Center) because it was within walking distance. The Sears Tower was all the way over on the other side of the city, and we didn’t really feel like taking a cab over there. We went to the top of the building, the 94th floor. It was a really neat view from up there, as you could see the entire city and lake. The world looks way different from up there, like toys, and it was cool to see the city in motion from that view.

Our next stop was down to Michigan Ave., aka the Magnificent Mile. Obviously named by a woman, this street gets its name as it is lined with stores and shops for a long ways. An excited Allison made her way into a few stores and I even got to walk around a Niketown. Sadly, after only an hour or so of shopping it began to rain. Not wanting to deal with it or knowing if it was going to stop, we took a cab back to the hotel. At the hotel, we just hung out, watched T.V., updated some writing of the blog, and even made our way over to the fitness center for a bit.

After the rain subsided, we went to a drive-in for dinner, a small place called Superdawg. The hot dog, polish sausage, fries, milkshake, and root beer float we ordered were delicious, adding another place to the list of restaurants we wish Olney had.

The next morning, we made it out of bed and into the city earlier than the day before. We started by going to the Millenium Park, a very family friendly atmosphere. It had lots of big sculptures and fountains around for people to explore and play in. Our favorite was a huge bubble-looking structure that kind of acted like fun house mirrors. There was also a large field and an amphitheater where concerts could be held.

Next, we went to the Chicago Institute of Art. We walked around the museum for a while, observing paintings, sculptures, and other works of art. There were some recognizable paintings like American Gothic (think farm guy with a pitchfork), and had the works of famous artists like Monet, O’Keefe, and Rosseau.

Our next stop was the Navy Pier, another family-style place on a pier of Lake Michigan. The Pier had something for everyone including a maze, fun house, and miniature golf for kids, and shows, a beer garden, boat tours, and stained glass museum for adults. We walked all over the Pier, exploring what it had to offer, and enjoying the breeze off the lake. With ominous looking clouds over us again, we decided to head back to the hotel to rest before dinner.

For dinner, we walked to a restaurant called Harry Caray’s, in honor of the legendary Chicago baseball announcer (Holy Cow!). We spent some time in the bar area with a drink watching the MLB All-Star Game. We were then seated in a fancier, nicer part of the restaurant for dinner. Allison had an awesome chicken vesuvio and I had a delicious chicken voltini (don’t ask me what either of them means, but they were very good). We went back to the hotel, watched the end of the All-Star Game (yea.. American League), and headed to bed.

Overall, we both really liked Chicago. It’s a great city with so much to do and explore. We both vow to make it back someday to see the rest of what it has to offer. We found good food, sports atmosphere, shops, and a great experience. Everybody seemed friendly and happy. It was a cool city that will definitely keep you busy.

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