Totally Missed March - Ooops

  There you have it!  After many years of blogging, I actually missed an entire month which also happens to be my birthday month oddly.  It's not that blogging isn't something I enjoy.  Life is simply moving at a new pace these days.  Are we busier?  I'm not sure.  We're just at a different stage of life is all.  Or maybe I have gotten lazier, I don't know.  

Karson is away and staying super busy with nursing school.  Thankful she has this wonderful group of friends/cohort to lean on for support.  It is hard y'all!!!   She has a huge pass fail test today along with an interview at Norton's hospital.  Say a little prayer for her if you can!!  

Miles has been working on his golf game while I've been bundling up trying not to freeze.  

We've been doing our best to enjoy the remaining moments of Isaac's senior year.  When chatting about his senior spring break early on, we decided Chicago would be a fun place to visit.  Both boys had never been.  I know golf season will require some vacation days so I didn't particularly want to use a whole (work) week for a trip.  Honestly, you don't really need more than a few days in a big city to enjoy it.  I approached Isaac about maybe going there for a long 4-day trip and seeing the Blackhawks play.  He was totally in at that point.  I found a great hotel deal at La Quinta Inn/Wyndham Downtown on Priceline which included a free, hot breakfast (SCORE!).  Driving saved us some money as well.  We took off Friday afternoon when everyone was home from school.  The weather looked rough, and we managed to make it through some storms safely arriving at our hotel around midnight.  I'd found a cheap parking garage close to the hotel and booked it online.  After unloading everything and getting settled, we looked for the spot.  When we arrived, the garage door was down and we sort of panicked and circled back around to see if there was another opening - nope!  We decided to pull on up to the closed garage, and the door triggered and opened (thankfully).  

Before the trip, I had purchased a few things ahead of time. One of them being tickets to The Second City which I think is a Chicago must (especially if you like comedy and SNL).  Give it a Google.  I also purchased some of those passes with attraction options.  I liked the Go City Pass options better than the actual Chicago CityPass because you could pick what you wanted to do.  Having flexibility is what I like personally.  

Saturday was rather chilly, but after breakfast, we bundled up and headed to the Hop On/Hop Off bus stop up the street.  We somehow missed that you needed to grab some ear buds when loading and were completely LOST since we couldn't hear anything.  At the first stop we were going to get off and grab some earbuds at a CVS so we could hear when we learned we'd missed grabbing them when loading.  Lovely.  Once ear budded, the tour was way more engaging.  We made a stop at Field Museum.  I'd been to the museum before so I didn't spend much time exploring.  I found a cozy spot and started my search for Blackhawks tickets.  I'd kept my eye on Ticketmaster for a few weeks to gauge the pricing levels and watch for deals.  We found some great seats, but when I tried to purchase/secure them, my card was denied.  I think I'd put too many huge transactions on it so Chase blocked it.  Eeeeek.  Thankfully Matt had another card that we were able to use to get the tickets.  

The boys had a good time at Field, and we were able to see the new First Kings exhibit.

A friend had recently posted on Facebook asking about must-do's in Chicago and someone had mentioned eating at Ed Debevic's.  I'd never heard of it, but it looked entertaining.  We headed there for lunch after the museum.  My personal opinion:  don't waste your time or money especially if you have been to a Dick's Last Resort.  The vibe is similar, and I wasn't a fan of the food even though everyone else liked it (minus Matt who thought his chocolate shake was gross).  We spent over $100 to get insulted for an hour, and again, it was okay. 

 

 

We skipped the bus and did some exploring around the area since we were super close to Michigan Avenue.  Miles and I were pooped and decided to get back on the bus and ride around.  Isaac and Matt continued on with sight seeing and shopping.  We all made it back to the hotel in time to relax before the hockey game.  The CTA is the cheapest way to travel around Chicago, and we decided our best route to get to the United Center.  Fortunately, the bus stop was close since it was so cold outside.

I know very little about hockey, but one thing I do know is that it HAS to be HARD.  It's probably why they have three periods each game and lots of transitions between plays.  The Blackhawks are sadly one of the worst NHL teams, but they played the New Jersey Devils who were incredible to watch.  Matt was in awe of all the Bulls pennants and being in the same place where Michael Jordan played.

We collapsed in the hotel that night.  I made reservations for the next morning at Skydeck (at 10:30AM).  On Sunday morning, after we ate breakfast, we walked over to Willis Tower.  We were all a little nervous about The Ledge.  The anticipation definitely makes you anxious, but before loading the elevator to the 103rd floor of Willis Tower, there is an experience which is nice. You walk through a museum of sorts with different Chicago scenery.  I'm sure it's designed to space everyone out and make the event more meaningful.

 

 

 

 

I thought I would be more scared when we got off on the 103rd floor after riding four separate elevators, but it was fine.  Years ago when we went to St. Louis and up in the arch, I couldn't wait to get back down.  I thought it would be similar to that, but it wasn't. We later learned that you can see four states from that floor:  Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan.  The line to the LEDGE was long, but we got in it ready for action (or so I thought).  As we got closer and closer to the Ledge, my heart started racing a little more and my feet got that odd tingle in them.  There are five ledges for line goers to funnel into, and you have 90 seconds to take pictures. If you need more time than that, you have to get back in line.  I needed less than 5 seconds - lol.  When it was our turn, I panicked.  I wasn't about to get on that thing.  Isaac yanked me onto it for a quick family picture, and I leapt off immediately.  I still get nervous thinking about it.  

 

WEIRDOS!!!!  

 

GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!

After Skydeck, the boys were wanting something normal for lunch so we made our way over to Cane's close to Millennium Park.  We also wanted to go on the Shoreline Architecture Cruise of the city that afternoon and was fairly close to the park.  Sunday was a beautiful day too, and a nice day to walk around outside.  

 

We walked over to Shoreline at the perfect time as the next boat was about to take off.  Did I like the cruise?  I did. It was very architecture heavy (thus the tour name) but still interesting.  It was gorgeous though and a nice way to bake in the sun and warm up for a little bit.  We walked around for a little while after the cruise before heading back to the hotel to rest before Second City.

For dinner, we went to Portillo's.  It is a Chicago staple and delicious.  Isaac got a burger.  Miles got the chicken alfredo.  Matt and I got Chicago style hot dogs.  Everyone like their food, and it was money well spent.

Second City delivered a hilarious improv production and was the perfect end to our Sunday.

Monday was wide open.  We still had one event left to use on our passes.  There was no hard plan in place so we let the boys sleep in that morning.  Matt and I walked down to Willis Tower and got coffee and ate some of the most delicious donuts from Do-Rite Donuts and Chicken.  I got the coconut and he got the blueberry crumb.

Once the boys starting stirring and texting us, we grabbed them some glazed donuts and headed back to the hotel.  Matt and Isaac were trying to figure out a place to watch the NCAA finals when I threw a new idea into the mix.  We'd been at the hotel since late Friday night and shared queen beds.  The boys had been wanting to bowl.  They've been Wii bowling a lot lately.  Lucky for us, it was an event we could use on our passes at 10pin Bowling.  You also got a drink and two slices of pizza with it.  My bright idea was this...let's go bowling and then head home.  If we left by 1PM, we'd be back in BG by game time. Bonus, we wouldn't have to spend most of Tuesday in the car. Everyone loved that idea and actually sleeping in their own beds.  AND, we didn't have to try and find a sports bar late that night to watch the game on.  Our hotel TV was bad.

We finished our trip with some bowling and pizza, grabbed our car out of the garage, loaded up and got back to BG just in time for the game.  I got to enjoy two long vacation days at home which was nice.

We loved out time in the Windy City, but there truly is no place like home (and your own bed)!