CHICAGO! (it's a loooong post)

Chicago was on our short list of places to visit. I had been watching for inexpensive flights and found one that coincided with my fall break from school. Around this same time, Sue (John's mom), was planning a garden, art and architecture tour for Chicago during mid-October for her garden design business (Shared Canopy). It ended up that we were going to be there at the same time! We were able to tag along with the Shared Canopy group quite a bit and experience parts of Chicago that we wouldn't have been able to otherwise. Thank you to Shared Canopy and Rick and Sue for your generosity and gracious hosting!

Even though we were in Chicago for six days, it still felt like a whirlwind trip! There's so much to see and experience there and I feel like we barely skimmed the surface. We will definitely go back! We took a lot of photos and this is just a small sample of all we saw (and photographed!)

We were a little unsure of how traveling with a young baby would be, but Charlie was awesome! He did so well on the flights, only crying for about 5 minutes during the descent into Chicago (and I was crying, too, from having a sinus infection and flying). This was his first trip and a whole lot of other firsts, too- airplane, train, taxi, and bus!



Our first night there (Monday) we walked around downtown a little bit- our hotel was right in the middle of everything! The Art Institute was just a block away.

Our hotel (with pink light bulbs for Breast Cancer Awareness month)

We stayed at the most amazing, beautiful, old hotel- the Palmer House Hilton. This was one of the cool features- a winding staircase that connected several levels.

Tuesday morning we went to Oak Park, where Frank Lloyd Wright built his home and studio. In the neighborhood are a dozen or so other homes he designed. We toured the home and studio and then walked through Oak Park to see the other homes. John and I are now Frank Lloyd Wright SuperFans.

Frank Lloyd Wright home

The Gale home (which inspired his later work, Fallingwater)

It was a cold but beautiful day! Charlie was a great little traveler- we bundled him up in the stroller and he would nap away.

Unity Temple

Our little traveler in Union Station- getting ready to board the Amtrak train

After the Oak Park excursion on Tuesday, we went to visit my Uncle Tim and Aunt Marie. They live about an hour outside of Chicago. We stayed a night with them and they watched Charlie while we went to the Chicago temple Wednesday morning.

We had so much fun with Tim and Marie. I rarely see them and it was so fun to just hang out and be together. They introduced us to Chicago deep dish style pizza, played with Charlie, made us meals and hosted us in their home. On Wednesday, they drove us into Wisconsin and we visited Mars Cheese Castle and a Jelly Belly factory.

Here we are at Mars Cheese Castle becoming cheese heads.

We went back into Chicago to join the Shared Canopy group at the Walnut room, a very fancy restaurant in Macy's. The building had this incredible Tiffany ceiling.

Thursday we went to the top of the Hancock tower and saw incredible 360 degree views of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan.

From the Hancock tower, we walked down Michigan Avenue, aka the Magnificent Mile. We stopped by the Apple Store, the American Girl store, Ghiradelli, Hershey's, Downtown Dogs (for Chicago hot dogs), and Giordano's (for amazing Chicago deep dish pizza).

These planters are in front of every store and are each unique.

Johnny at the Apple store

We ended up in Millennium Park to see the beautiful outdoor sculptures and the Pritzker Pavilion. By then we had been walking in the rain for a few hours, so we didn't stay long.

Friday, we went to the University of Chicago campus to see another Frank Lloyd Wright home- the Robie house.

Me and Che in front of the art glass windows that exemplify Wright's style. The art glass adds visual interest, but it also allows for light to enter while still providing privacy.

After the Robie house, we walked to the HUGE Museum of Science and Industry. It was so cool and we could have spent a whole day there!

The highlight of the museum was visiting the sustainable and eco-friendly Smart Home. We got great ideas there and learned a lot about sustainable home design. (I also learned on this trip that I can nurse a baby while walking around during a tour!)

My favorite thing about the museum was seeing a real U-boat. It was GIGANTIC. The pictures do not do it justice- it was seriously enormous.

Later on Friday, we visited Millennium Park again to get more pictures in better weather.

Charlie and John investigating the famous "silver bean" sculpture. It's only been there since 2004 but it's already such an icon of Chicago.

The sculpture's actual title is "Cloud Gate" and from this picture, I can see why!

The Chicago skyline and the Pritzker Pavilion.

Frank Gehry's BP Bridge

Friday night we enjoyed a delicious, authentic Italian meal at Trattoria No. 10 with Rick and Sue.

The famous Chicago theatre

The Alexander Calder "stabile" sculpture, the Flamingo

Our happy little traveler



We loved it and can't wait to go back!