Gift of Adventure: Chicago-Style

Last year, Enrique and I decided that instead of loading up the Christmas tree and credit cards up with hundreds, even thousands, of dollars in meaningless toys and games for our children, we would give them the “Gift of Adventure.” We went on an amazing outdoor adventure to Joshua Tree National Park. I had equally big plans for this Christmas to take another big road trip to another National Park, but it appeared that my baby niece was going to be born and so we thought we’d better stay closer to home. Just because we were staying closer to home, didn’t mean that the adventure was going to be any less fantastic. But it was a type of adventure that we don’t normally participate: city adventure!!

This year’s Christmas “Gift of Adventure” was a trip to CHICAGO! Growing up, the majority of our road trips did not involve city exploration. My parents avoided most cities at all costs. Since we live just a state over from Chicago, I know many people who go there regularly and I’ve always thought their stories about their adventures there sounded pretty interesting. Even though winter may not be the most ideal time of year to go to the “Windy City,” the decision was made, Chicago or Bust!

If you have the funds, there are a lot very nice hotels or Airbnbs on or around Michigan Avenue, but if you are traveling on a budget, there are some very affordable Airbnb’s just off the main streets. At this point you may be thinking about the crime that Chicago is famous for, but if you do your research, you can find some nice places in some great areas of the city not downtown.

We found a great, affordable apartment in the Wicker Park area. This is an up and coming area that features a lot of hipster boutiques, restaurants, and bars. (Just make sure you don’t end up in West Wicker Park, near Humboldt Park. I’ve read that’s not the safest area). The apartment was right above “Bangers & Lace,” an upscale bar. Some reviewers mentioned the amount of noise from the bar, but we didn’t seem to notice. By the time we got back in the evenings, we could’ve slept through anything.

Our Airbnb was also right next to a Target and Walgreens. Both of these stores came in handy during the trip. Most importantly, we were about a block away from the “Blue Line” of the Chicago “L” train.

The next big decision was to figure out exactly what we were going to do while there. I knew I wanted to go to the aquarium, field museum, and eat a lot of good food.

After some research I found Chicago CityPass. For a fraction of the cost (like 50% off) we could go to 5 of Chicago’s main attractions during our stay. With the purchase of a CityPass you also get VIP Entry to the attractions and other benefits, like free admission into some of the special presentations. If you don’t think VIP Entry isn’t worth it, it is! Even in December the lines were lengthy.

You get access to the following attractions with the purchase of a City Pass. In some cases you have to choose between two options:

1. Shedd Aquarium
2. Skydeck Chicago
3. Field Museum
4. Adler Planetarium OR Art Institute of Chicago
5. Museum of Science and Industry OR 360 CHICAGO Observstion Deck

With our AirBnb booked and most of our activities planned through the purchase of the CityPasses. I thought I had just about everything figured out. Then I read an article about parking….oops, missed that detail.

I knew that our plan was to just park and use public transportation to get around, but I didn’t know what kind of parking options there were in our area. After consulting with our AirBnb host, he suggested using an app called Spot Hero. Through the app, we located a private parking spot right around the corner from the apartment for our entire stay for the same price it costs to park at just one parking lot by the various attractions.

Everything else we decided to do or places to eat, we were just going to “wing it.” I always like to leave some parts of my travel itinerary open and leave things to chance.

Day 1

We left around 9 a.m. for the five and a half hour drive to Chicago. Our first stop was in Springfield, IL at Charlie Parker’s Diner for brunch.

Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Charlie Parker’s is most famous for their amazing horseshoes and giant pancakes!! I’d been before on a previous adventure, but I wanted to share it with my boys. I knew they’d get a kick out of eating here.

After feasting on horseshoes, bacon pancakes, and pumpkin bread French toast, we headed on down the road.

After a few road detours, we finally got into the city a little after dark. The traffic was pretty congested, but surprisingly we found our way to our SpotHero parking space with little difficulty. From there we followed my google map to walk the rest of the way to our AirBnb.

As advertised, the apartment was above the Bangers & Lace bar. There was a slight moment of panic when we couldn’t get the key out of the key lock on the door, but we finally figured it out. The building was defiantly older, but the apartment was newly renovated. It was actually bigger than I pictured most city lofts.

After getting settled in, it was time to head out on our first adventure to go find some food!! There were two Chicago-style foods that were on the “must-eat” list: pizza and hotdogs. Since it was still early in the evening, this seemed like the perfect time to find some of Chicago’s famous pizza. This would also be our first time using public transit.

Following google maps (there’s a “walking” option on your app) we made our way the short distance to the “L” stop.

Before actually getting on the “L” we had to stop at a kiosk and get CTA cards. These cards are what get you through the gates at the “L.” They can be used on city buses as well. A nice worker came over and helped us decide which cards we should get. Enrique and I got 3 day, unlimited use CTA cards (aka Ventra cards) since we planned on leaving the car parked and just using public transportation. Oakley was free. Since Tanner and August are students, they get discounted rates, but we would have to have the teller from the booths swipe a special discount card before they used theirs to get through the gates. So she suggested us just putting so much money on one card and letting them share it. We could always add money later.

Ventra cards in hand we took our first “L” ride. The “L” can be confusing if you don’t know the “names” of the train that you want. Each train is named by its last stop on the map. So knowing those last stops will determine which direction you will go. Once we figured that out, it was pretty easy to read an “L” map and figure out which train to get on. Also, google maps also has a “transit” option. That made it even easier because it told us which color train, the name of the train, how many stops, and the name of the stop to get off. (It will also tell you bus names if you choose to ride buses as well).

We rode the “L” downtown to our first Chicago dining experience at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria. Famous for their Chicago- Style pizza.

What makes a pizza Chicago-Style? Well it’s a super deep dish pizza with tons of toppings on the bottom and cheese and tomato sauce typically on top. There are several locations to eat at a Lou Malnati’s but not all of them are fine in. We chose the River North location because it was the closest dine in to our AirBnb and it was the restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

It was very crowded at Lou’s but to help get people through quicker, they actually will take your pizza order while you are waiting, so that when you sit, you don’t have to wait for very long. We ordered two pizzas (which is standard for our family): The “Lou” with spinach, mushrooms, a blend of cheeses and other toppings and the Malnati Chicago Classic topped with lean sausage and vine roped tomato sauce.

After we were seated, we were greeted by walls that were covered in sports memorabilia. They had quit a collection of signed jerseys some from some of the most famous pro athletes ever.

The pizzas were amazing….and huge!! We could have gotten by, just ordering one pizza for our family. I’m usually a thin crust girl, but good pizza is good pizza. This was excellent pizza and unlike any I’ve ever had. If you were to do a “cheese stretch test,” these slices of pie would win, hands down!!

Besides the pizza, I gave to brag on the family-sized Malnati salad we ordered.  With romaine lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms, salami bites gorgonzola cheese and a SWEET vinaigrette dressing dressing, it was by far one of the best salads I’ve ever had. That dressing was amazing!!! Tanner and I probably could’ve just gotten by on that!

After dinner, we walked a few extra blocks to a different “L” stop and ended up crossing the Chicago River, where we were treated with one of the most beautiful views of Chicago we’d see. It was the perfect start to our trip.

Day 2

The night before was just a warmup for the next days to come. We woke up early to head out on another day full of adventure.

We started our day by visiting the Shedd Aquarium. One of the largest aquariums in the world, it is home to thousands of aquatic animals. Our family loves aquariums and this one was no different. I especially liked how the different “wings” of the aquarium focused on species from different areas of the country/world.

There were two animals I was particularly wanting to see that I’ve never seen at any other aquarium we’ve visited: dolphins and beluga whales. Viewing these animals under the surface of the water’s was amazing!! The beautiful, white beluga whales were constantly circling their tank playfully putting on a show for their visitors.  (Unfortunately, I failed to get a good picture.  Believe me, I tried)

The dolphins were especially exciting to watch. At the time we were there, there was actually a dolphin show going on and at first I thought we wouldn’t get to really see them much underwater since they seemed to be just hanging out at the side of the tank near the surface. But boy was I wrong!! The next thing I saw were the dolphins charging full speed towards the bottom of the tank and then back towards the surface, jumping out of the water, out of sight, then back in again. I was amazed at how fast they moved underwater in order to gain speed to perform their above water tricks. I felt like I got just as good of a show underwater than those who paid to see them above water. After finishing our tour of the aquarium it was time to move on.

As I mentioned earlier, there were two Chicago-style foods I wanted to try. I checked deep dish pizza off my list the night before, now it was time to eat a hotdog! Right outside of the aquarium was a little hotdog stand that had exactly what I was looking for.

Chicago-Style hotdogs are topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato wedge, pickeled sport peppers and celery salt.  Yes, all that on that one little bun! The boys just got your everyday hotdogs and polish sausages. Word of caution, I’ve read that some Chicago hot dog stands don’t even carry ketchup and you better not dare ask for some! But this wasn’t one of those stands, thank goodness. The boys weren’t feeling as adventurous in regards to their hotdogs. My hotdog was delicious though.

We found some some benches outside of the aquarium and quickly ate our lunch. It was December on the banks of Lake Michigan in the “Windy City.” So it wasn’t exactly the best picnicking weather.

After eating, it was time to walk across the park to the Field Museum. I was super excited to take the boys here because I knew many of the exhibitions would be right up their alley: dinosaur fossils/bones, wildlife, many other natural history artifacts.

First, let me just say that the Field Museum is massive! Three levels of different rooms and exhibits dedicated to different cultures, time periods, parts of the world, and natural wonders such as plants and animals. When you first walk in you are greeted by one of the largest halls I’ve ever seen! It’s filled with a full-sized brachiosaurus skeleton, an African elephant, and totem poles from the Northwest United States as tall as 2-3 storied homes among other things.

There are just waaay too many items if interest to describe them all, but I want to mention our families three favorite exhibits: the Egyptian mummies, Tsavo lions, and “Sue.”

The first exhibit that really left an impression were the Egyptian mummies. As we made our way through the countless mummified bodies of adults, teenagers, and even small children, we learned about the mummification process, the many gifts and artifacts left in the tombs with the bodies, and a little about who archeologists believed these people were, how they lived, and how they may have passed away.

At this point you may be thinking, we’re the mummies real? Yes, they were absolutely real! You were allowed to take pictures of the exhibits except when the actual mummy itself could be seen. Out of respect, they asked that you not take pictures. We spent quite a lot of time exploring in this room before we moved on.

The next exhibit of great interest to me and one of the main reasons I wanted to go to the Field Museum, was the Tsavo lions.

Time for a backstory. One of my favorite actors is Val Kilmer and one of my favorite movies of his is “The Ghost and the Darkness.” The movie is about two man-eating lions who were picking off railroad bridge builders in Africa and Val Kilmer, the architect, was also there to try to kill the lions. I’ve watched the movie several times, but I was most entertained last summer when I watched the movie with Oakley and he kept covering his face anytime the ominous, “somebody-is-about-to-get-killed” music came on. He’s watched a lot of “scarier” movies and never reacted that way. Anytime we would mention the lions or the “Ghost and the Darkness,” he would say in his 3 year old voice, “I don’t like the lions.” So I thought it would be fun to show him the actual lions from the movie.

And there they stood. If you are expecting to see these huge lions with big, fluffy manes, you will be disappointed. They actually looked like lionesses. Either way, if I saw them coming at me, I would be terrified! What was really interesting was why the scientists believed these lions started eating human to begin with.

I don’t know that Oakley quite got the connection, but he definitely wasn’t very interested in turning his back to them.

The final exhibit, that the boys enjoyed the most, Oakley especially, was “Sue.” Sue is the largest and best preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found. In 1990, Sue Hendrickson, thus the name, found the specimen on a Cheyenne Reservation in South Dakota. Now she has a permanent home in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

There was an amazing presentation the museum did at the “Sue” exhibit. One you have to have a ticket for and I highly recommend (ours was included in our CityPasses). Besides Sue, they had a large collection of other dinosaur fossils and artifacts related to them. It was such a joy to watch Oakley’s reactions to the many dinosaurs that he knew by name as we worked our way through the exhibit.

We did not give ourselves nearly enough time to go through the whole museum. I don’t even know if one could see it all in one day! But we saw what we knew for sure we wanted to see before the museum closed, and it was time for dinner!

Big Star Tacos was the restaurant of choice this evening. It was recommended by our host and was just several blocks down the main road from our apartment. We took the blue line down to it and found it right next to the “L” stop.

Big Star in Wicker Park has also been featured on Food Network: Unique Eats and Taco Trip. You should expect a large menu of various taco options with different meats, salsas, and other goodies on top. You can order single tacos of as many varieties as you like, so come hungry and ready to try some Mexican cuisine that one doesn’t fine in every taco joint. Do you know what lengua is??

After dinner we hopped back on the “L” and a few stops later were at our apartment.  The boys wanted some ice cream, so we stopped at the Wendy’s on our block for some Frosty’s and called a day.  We had another full itinerary the next day.

Day 3

Our first destination wasn’t actually part of the CityPass experience.  One point of interest that has always stood out to me when I see pictures of visitors to Chicago at Cloud Gate, also knonw as “The Bean.”  I honestly didn’t know what it’s actual name was until doing my Chicago research right before the trip.  It was always “The Bean” to me.

Located in Millennium Park, I won’t get into the history of this amazing sculpture. But let me just say, that it is an amazing display of art and architecture. The way it captures the city and people is amazing.  It looks different from every different angle you view it from. I won’t lie, there were some angles I wasn’t completly in love with my own “shape.”

Because it is free of charge and right off of Michigan Avenue in Millennium Park, it’s a very popular attraction. I wouldn’t count on having the Bean to yourself unless you go really early, late, or during bad weather.

After spending some time at Cloud Gate, we walked down the street just a short distance to the “Mom Pick.” As mentioned earlier, we got to choose between the Chicago Institute of Art or the Planetarium. Obviously, the boys would have rather went to the Planetarium. But we made a deal, they would get to pick something I wasn’t really up for if they would accompany me to the Institute of Art. Thankfully, I’ve got pretty thoughtful boys, because they agreed.

Turns out that the Institute of Art ended up being one of their favorite and most interesting attractions on this trip!  Even Enrique enjoyed it!! There is an option to get audio devices to carry around with you throughout your tour that gives extra details about certain artwork displayed. These were included with our CityPasses. Once the boys had those, they got a lot more into it.

Once again, there probably isn’t enough time in the day to go through the entire Art Institute and see everything you must see. So our goals were to see some of the most famous older pieces, check out the contemporary arts section (because what can be more artistic than burnt pieces of paper hanging on the wall and call it art!), and the Armory. Anything else we got to view along the way was just bonus!

My favorite piece of art however was Chagall’s America Windows.  These large pieces of stained-glass were unveiled in the Art Institute in 1977.  Representing America’s past and culture, I was immediately drawn to the middle panel which featured the Declaration of Independence and the Statue of Liberty.  Being a history buff and married to an immigrant, these images represent freedom from oppression and independence.  These are things that we often take for granted, but feed in to my desires to “live my best life” and try to experience all the adventures this life has to offer.

After we left the Institute of Art, our final destination was the Museum of Science and Industry. So this attraction was on the southern end of town and not easily accessible by the “L.” (The nearest “L” stop was a few miles away and we heard it was a rough neighborhood. So walking was not an option).

There is another train option: the Metra. This double-decker passenger train runs right along Michigan Ave and makes a stop a block away from the Museum. However, you have to pay extra to ride this train. About $15 later, after using a tricky kiosk, and getting our tickets with just minutes to spare before boarding, we headed South-side, the childhood home of President Obama.

The boys loved the Museum! (Of course, they are boys!). There’s just waaaay too much to describe everything, but a few things that stick out:

The “weather room.” I honestly have no idea what it’s official name is, but you will know it when you see it. You will be greeted by tornadoes, lightening storms, and a tidal wave simulation. We spent more time sitting on the special benches on the second story waiting for the next bolt of lightning to “jolt” us than just about anywhere else!

Tanner took great pleasure in showing people how they could shock themselves by touching those glass “lighting balls” (you know the ones we bought at Spencer’s in the mall as gifts) and then touching metal and watching people shock themselves. It was even more fun when he created a “chain” of people for the electric current to run through. This was not part of the recommended activities.

I also enjoyed the giant play train set!! I mean this thing took up three times the square footage of my house! You could follow the train along to different parts of the country, with exact replicas of city skylines, like Chicago.

Because it was “Christmas time” they also had like a hundred Christmas trees set up with decorations representing different countries. That just added to the Christmas fun.

Finally, the “sweetest” exhibit was the genetics room. And central to that area was the giant incubator filled with hatching chicks! For many children, this is something that they’ve never witnessed before and probably wouldn’t again. However, it brought back fond memories for me.

Growing up, one of my favorite activities at my Grandpa Freeman’s was watching the baby chicks hatch in his incubator. As I watched my own boys enjoy the wonders of life, I couldn’t help but tear up thinking about that wonderful man and all the wonderful things he taught me. So you may not have the personal connection that I did with those chicks in that incubator, but it’s still pretty awesome.

After our visit to our final museum it was too late to try to do one of the observation decks that we had left in the CityPass, but that was okay. Some of us in the family aren’t huge height fans and I think we got our money’s worth anyway. So it was time to eat!!

We decided we wanted to hit another Chicago/Food Network hotspot, Shake Shack, but first we had to get there. It was time to finally figure out the buses! They were more confusing to me than the “L.” When I found the stop we wanted our only dilemma was that the money on Tanner and August’s card had run out!! With no kiosk in site and being in South City, I knew a look of panic came over my face. I even tried scanning my unlimited CTA card again and it didn’t work!! Thankfully, the nice bus driver just waved us on.

We finally arrived at Shake Shack on Michigan Avenue. It was a pretty hopping place! I waited in line to make our order as Enrique went to try to capture a table as it became available. (People were circling around tables like vultures!)

The menu is simple with mostly burgers, fries, and shakes. We all ordered some kind of burger, cheese fries, and various shakes. The taste was anything but “simple!” Those burgers literally melted in my mouth. I may have even gave a satisfying moan after my first bite. I don’t think it was just the fact that we were hungry, I really think that may have been one of the best “burger, shake, and fries” meal I’ve ever had. Shake Shack is definitely a must stop.

As we left the restaurant, it was snowing some of the biggest snowflakes I’d ever seen. It was the perfect night and ending to an amazing Chicago trip….walking along Michigan Avenue…by the lake…in the snow… on a beautiful night.

I love our “Gift of Adventures” and plan to continue the tradition. Please help us by giving us your suggestions for next year?!

Cost Breakdown

AirBnb (3 nights for 5 guests) – $323.66

CityPasses (3 Adults, 2 Kids) – $501.00

SpotHero (Parking for 3 days) – $66.00

Versa Cards (CTA – Public Transit) – $60.00

Food – Approx $350*

Gas – Approx $120*

Total: $1,420.66

That’s about $284.00 a person! Waaay cheaper than some of those gaming consoles and games you buy at Christmas! Most of it was purchased well in advance of Christmas

*This can vary greatly just depending on how you choose to handle your food or the car you drive. We could’ve ate for a lot less, but that was a part of our adventure.