Chicago is.
Great lyrics. Great town.
The mister had a big birthday this year. Ya know, one of those milestones that we all hope to get to but it hurts when we arrive. I wanted to do something fun for his special day but didn’t want to break the bank. After much mental wrangling (and some verbal guidance from my daughter in law) I decided that I would take the mister to Chicago for his big 6-OH! Only thing is, he didn’t know anything about it. Hee Hee sneaky me!
I arranged for Charlie to be picked up and taken to doggie camp and when the man arrived home from work that Tuesday night a greeting card was laying on the counter for him.
Inside was an Amtrak ticket. He looked at me and just blinked. Blink, blink, blink. “Uh….but I have to go to work tomorrow.” Nope ya don’t because I called your boss and arranged your days off. I am sneaky like that. I could see that he was mentally trying to digest all of this and then suddenly his brain kicked into gear…”Okay! Kewl! What time does the train leave?” Whew! For a minute there I thought maybe he didn’t want to go. I helped him round up a few days worth of clothes, we rustled up some dinner and then headed off to the train depot. This trip was also a bit nostalgic for me since my dear departed father worked for the Illinois Central Railroad for 40ish years and the station we were leaving from once was home to his office. He even had his own specially marked parking spot!
I booked a bedroom car and I knew it would still be small, but also wanted to get a bit of sleep since we were pulling out at 10:40pm and arriving in Chi town at 9am. I had a full day planned and we needed to be ready. The track is certainly rough in places, but we both enjoyed the ride. Next morning we had a nice breakfast in the dining car and enjoyed sitting in the observation car as we rolled into town. We debarked the train, grabbed a cab and headed to our hotel. Lucky us, we were able to check in right away! I booked a suite at the Kinzie Hotel and we were not disappointed. What a beautiful property. We made a few decisions and opted to walk and enjoy (since the weather was quite delightful for the middle of February) and then purchase a City Pass to the museums for the next two days. The sun was shining and we had fun strolling up the Magnificent Mile, dipping in and out of a few stores and making a couple of small purchases. We rested up at the hotel, enjoyed their happy hour and then walked over to Shaw’s Crab House for dinner. The mister and I adore raw oysters and they aren’t easy to find around our abode. So, I knew this would be something that would certainly make him happy. Dinner was outstanding and the waitress brought him piece of cake to help kick off his birthday celebration.
Next morning we got up and it was the antithesis of the prior day. All the sunshine was gone, gone, gone. Only wind, cold and rain. But at least it wasn’t snowing. Yet. To me, it worked out great though…..we spent the day in the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium. What better way to spend your day indoors?
It had been years since I had been here and I truly forgot the amazing array of items housed in the Field Museum. Everything from dear ol’ Sue to practically every animal (taxidermy) that you can imagine to Native American artifacts. You could spend days in here, it is just that awesome.
Sorry for the photos but I was traveling light and I didn’t bring along the big mac daddy camera. Let’s deal with these cell phone images together, okay?
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the aquarium and throughly enjoyed it. Nabbed a cab back to the hotel and headed to dinner at Harry Caray’s across from our hotel. I have been a Cubs fan since Ernie Banks played first base back in the day, so this was something that I felt that I just must do.
Another great dinner and another piece of birthday cake. You go boy!
It just wasn’t a beautiful night, but we made the most of it and enjoyed the city anyway!
The next morning was spent having a leisurely breakfast and packing our bags. We were moving in slow motion and took the time to watch a couple of Olympic hockey games and just chat. It was lovely and relaxing. We checked out and asked the hotel to hold our bags until 6pm and then walked over to the Art Institute of Chicago and Millennium Park. What a great place! Since it was a brisk day, there weren’t many people about in the park and I was able to get some great shots of Cloud Gate.
It may have been cold (very) but the sun was bright and beautiful. Thank you Sol for helping create this lovely shot. We spent quite a bit of time in the Art Institute….how could you not? My senses were just overwhelmed by all of the amazing artwork and statuary.
And how could you miss American Gothic?
On our way back to the hotel we enjoyed the Crown Fountain and I would love to see this in the summer. Yes, that is nothing but snow all around!
But this is what Chicago is all about….fully steeped in its history and traditions, yet embracing the future and moving forward. You can see it everywhere you look.
What a great couple of days! Thank you Chicago for being “My Kind of Town”! I know the mister had one of his best birthdays ever.
Now that I have given you an earworm, here is the cure for what ails ya: Chicago