Chicago (2019) - An Education
Day 0 & 1 - Of Cheap Flights & Dizzying Heights
Although we recently came back from Austria, and with a couple of other trips on the near-horizon, we knew that once our daughter is born, our journeys would be fewer - so we need to take advantage while we can. I did my usual Google Flight searching and came across incredibly cheap flights from Miami to Chicago, only about $75 round trip. The main caveat being we could not choose our seats, and we could only take a backpack as our luggage. Easy peasy!
For this trip, I didn't do exhaustive research like I usually do. Taking inspiration from the jazz greats of the Windy City, I'd improvise this trip. Sure, I asked some friends and colleagues what they would do, but all in all, no spreadsheets were used! I'd use the same Merino Wool clothing from Austria, and I'd be packing everything into a new Arcido Oxna backpack, meant for such minimalist sojourns.
The flight to Chicago was at 6:00 AM, and it was only about 60% full. Still, we were worried that Cynthia would get called out because her bag was a bit larger than what is allowed as a personal item. We bit the bullet and purchased a "carry-on" allowance, which in Frontier Airline's terms, is a backpack. And we are glad we did, the gate agent was ornery because one of the flight attendants was late and delayed the flight for forty-five minutes, so she was checking the size of each bag. The Arcido Oxna was small enough to pass as a personal item!
Once arriving in Chicago, we took an Uber to our hotel, the Cambria, located at about the mid-way point of the Magnificent Mile - a mile-long thoroughfare north of the river, that is lined with shops, restaurants, and things to do. The hotel is modern, and the staff is friendly.
Our first actual stop was to grab lunch at Giardano's for Deep Dish Pizza. We were greeted by "Lulu," one of the nicest and friendliest waitresses we've ever met. In our initial interaction, she complimented me on my voice and asked if I was a singer. I thought she was trolling me; then she said I should sing some Barry White. She earned her gratuity! Cynthia and I ordered a Margherita Deep Dish, their signature pizza. After a forty-minute wait, we were greeted by what is essentially a bowl of cheese lined with fluffy crust. Oh, be still my heart! It was so good, and we left satisfied and stuffed.
We then walked and walked and walked to Willis Tower. As we did so, we took in the sights and sounds of the city, a major American city steeped in history and culture. It was not unlike being in Manhattan, Boston, or Washington DC. The observation deck of Willis Tower is 103 floors up, a staggering feat of engineering. A brief bit of history, it wasn't long ago that the tallest building in Chicago was only 14 floors. Engineers had a hard time constructing higher buildings because the ground, being muddy and sedimentary from the nearby lakes, could not sustain higher structures. It wasn't until methods of anchoring deep into the earth that skyscrapers became viable in Chicago.
We took pictures of the surrounding panorama and took photos standing on the glass ledge. It's plain to see that the glass enclosure can sustain the weight of several humans, yet, as you creep closer to that line between solid building and glass looking 103 down, the survival instinct kicks in and almost involuntarily pushes you back to safety. It took an extra second to tip-toe over the line to stand awkwardly while every fiber of me was freaking out.
Afterward, we walked north toward Millenium Park to get a look at the Cloud Gate, or what most people call "the bean." Our friend Danielle had warned us to go early, lest there be 3,000 people in our pictures. Sure enough, as we approached, it was crawling with people. Still, what an excellent installation! From there, we continued our trek northward and heading to another observatory, the 360 Chicago Observatory.
At this point in our day, it was night time, and we were able to catch a 360 view of the city with the city's lights illuminating the night sky. We laughed because all the great spots occupied by young girls taking selfies, no doubt for Instagram likes. Two girls, in particular, were especially egregious, one walking around in slow motion while a friend filmed, and another was taking 360-degree selfies of herself while in duck-face. Hilarious.
Once done, we stopped to get some Garrett's Popcorn, a Chicago treat and turned in a little early.
Day 2 - Of Space & Water
We slept in, one of the few chances we will have to do so before the baby arrives, and we'll NEVER SLEEP IN AGAIN! Our first stop was in Do-Rite Donuts. Whoa. The donuts here are bonkers-delicious! I had a buttermilk old fashioned donut, while Cynthia had a cinnamon crunch donut which was dense, and very much like biting into a donut made of a cinnamon roll.
The plan was to take advantage of the City Pass, having already done Willis Tower and 360 Chicago. Thus, we began the day going to the Adler Planetarium, where we see several fascinating exhibits and two shows. One show was titled, Planet Nine, detailing why Pluto was demoted as a planet, and how there is strong evidence to suspect a ninth planet. There were details I was not aware of, like the existence of The Kuiper Belt and how objects that comprise this belt orbit the sun on a much different tilt than Earth and its nearby neighbors.
We learned about the Gemini and Apollo missions and were able to see several exciting vessels. Cynthia and I even worked together to see how we could get the Apollo 13 back using the bare minimum systems operational without overloading the power. Great!
From here we made our way to the Shedd Aquarium. After having taken in a 4D Shark documentary, and seeing all the different fish, mantas, eels, sharks, etc. I've decided I am never going into a large body of water. Of course, I am kidding, but wow, oceans and lakes are terrifying! Still, having come here gave us a greater appreciation for the wildlife in the water, and being able to see them up-close was fantastic.
On a lighter note, we did get to see a Marine Life presentation that showcased dolphins, sea lions, and penguins. I was smiling the whole time. The operators here did a neat thing with this particular showing; it was a sensory-friendly show, meaning the dimmed lights, the music wasn't loud, and there was no clapping. Presumably, for individuals with sensory sensitivity, that was cool. After the show, we got to see Otters, Beluga Whales, and Penguins! I want to take them all home...maybe not the Belugas.
Around 4:00 PM, the aquarium seemed to be slowly shutting down, so we made our way out. After much meandering along the outside of the Aquarium/Planetarium/Field Museum complex, we finally found a street where we could hail an Uber. Our last stop of the night would be Lou Malnati's Pizza.
We had Giardano's yesterday. Today it was time for Malnati's. Wow. It was a tough call to say which one was better because both took a different path to arrive at Deep Dish. Giordano's pizza overflowed with cheese and had a flakey crust, while Malnati's tomato sauce was one of the best I've ever had, not as cheesy, but the crust was flavorful too. In the end, we both felt Malnati's had better pizza for us.
Tomorrow we head to the Field Museum; then we'll take a walking tour of the city with an introduction to the famous Chicago Pedway.
Day 3 - Of The Field Museum & Pedways
Our plan today was simple; go back to Do-Rite Donuts, visit the Field Museum, and then go on our Pedway Tour.
Do-Rite Donuts was again, delicious. If you're ever in Chicago, do yourself a favor and get some of their donuts. The cinnamon crunch and old fashioned donut are bonkers. Cynthia had their blueberry donut that had blueberries inside. From here, we took an Uber to the Field Museum, a large sprawling multi-floored edifice housing a vast array of natural objects.
We began our visit by seeing a 3D documentary about the Mummies of Egypt - halfway through, I recognized that it was narrated by the actor who portrays Saruman in the Lord of the Rings movies, Christopher Lee. From here, we saw the Americas Indigenous people exhibit, that told the story of various indigenous civilizations spread from Alaska down to the tip of South America. Within these exhibits, there were large scale replicas of their homes, as well as tools, clothing, artifacts, and some interactive games. Honestly, there was so much information presented that just this exhibit alone would take multiple hours to get through.
Once done, we decided to change gears and visit an animal exhibit - my presentation of choice would be birds! There were dozens of display cases showcasing hundreds of different birds: eagles, turkeys, swans, finches, grouse, ducks, pigeons, ravens, crows, parrots, ostriches, osprey, penguins, boobys, cardinals, jays, owls - they had them all. I was fascinated.
We then meandered around checking out the Animals of Africa exhibit, which was quite impressive! There in the glass case were life-sized examples, presumably taxidermied, of various animals: zebras, rhino, lemurs, leopards, tiger, etc. Further, we went to the "What is an Animal?" exhibit, detailing the dichotomy of animals and what makes up an animal. They broke it down by behaviors, eating habits, weaponry, defense mechanisms, and others. Very cool.
From here we made our way upstairs to peruse the geological exhibits, we began with the natural rock and crystal exhibit. Did you know quartz is the most abundant of the semi-precious stones? I had no idea. Then, we went to the meteorite exhibit, which was interesting because each meteorite showcased had a description of the material makeup. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this space junk; they consisted of nickel, iron, and other material found here on earth - yet came from space.
We then visited the precious gems collection where we got to examine gorgeous examples of gold, diamonds, rubies, sapphire, topaz, citrine, quartz, amethyst, alexandrite, tanzanite, and emeralds among other precious stones. Lastly, we visited the Jade exhibit, showing the cultural significance of Jade, especially in Asian culture. In one case, they showed how an emperor demanded Jade as a tribute from a region which vast production. The emperor had so much Jade he commissioned large vases and other ornamental pieces that would be used for ceremonially events. These things were as big as me.
Once done with the Field Museum, we made the long walk to meet our group for the Pedway Tour.
We met our group inside the Thompson Building, a state government building. What's interesting about this space was intended to represent transparency in government. So it's shaped like a large dome with glass on, outside are other government buildings that can see inside this one. No one likes this building, it's gloomy, despite the windows, and it's incredibly inefficient because inside, it's floors also circle an empty inner-area of the dome, leaving nothing but space in the middle.
The Pedway, what is it? The Pedway is simply put, a pedestrian walkway that connects various building basements around Chicago's loop and the Millenium park area. Who owns the Pedway? No one! Since this is only a series of connections between basements, each building is in charge of their basement. As you walk, you can see clear delineations where one building's basement begins and another ends. Is the Pedway dangerous? No, since each building is in charge of their portion of the Pedway, they make sure that no riff-raff loiter.
We made our way from the state building into the city hall, which shares a building with the county government. We walked into the Macy's section of the Pedway, which houses a small museum of secular stained glass, beautiful. We walked through a mall, and into a train station, then through a terminal, and out the other end into a luxury condo, in we ended the tour in a hotel. We never left the Pedway; we never went outside; we were able to traverse broad swaths of the city without ever encountering traffic or the elements.
Once the tour ended, we walked into an Amazon Go for the first time. After scanning my Amazon App, I walked in, grabbed a drink and a snack, and walked out. After an hour, Amazon charged me for exactly what I had purchased - it was impressive and astonishing. We are living in the future!
The final part of the night saw us eating lighter fare at a farm-to-table place, where we both had fantastic salads - Sweetgreen.
Day 4 - Of Why Did We Travel to Chicago in December?
Our plan today was easy enough, visit Lincoln Park, with its zoo, conservatory and fields, visit Old Town Chicago, and visit Wicker Park - sounds great! Only one small problem, when we woke up, it felt like 16F outside. Not only was it 16F, but it was a moist cold, similar to the cold Miami gets, but about 30 degrees worst.
We made our way to Wildberry Cafe, a popular spot for breakfast. The wait was an hour, and we decided to stay because just the short walk to Wildberry was terribly cold. Breakfast was quite good! Knowing how cold it would be outside, we changed our plans because we wouldn't be able to withstand the cold for the hours that walking Lincoln and Wicker Park would require.
Instead, we took an Uber to the Lincoln Park Conservatory, a lovely multi-room greenhouse showcasing a Palm Room, a Fern Room, an Orchid Room, and a unique Winter Room. It was a cute stop. From here, we walked to the zoo, but as expected, the zoo was virtually dead. After a bit of fruitless exploring, we found the small mammal and reptile building. Ah, warmth! Inside, we saw iguanas, snakes, bats, lemurs, turtles, alligators, otters, and others - pretty cool.
We then braved the cold and walked from the zoo to Old Town. It was about a twenty-minute walk. The brick buildings lined Well St. showing old Chicago architecture. Old Town is a hip place to be as the main drag consists of various bars, clubs, comedy, and theatrical venues, as well as restaurants and niche shops. As we reached the end of Old Town, it began to snow on us! So we hailed an Uber and went to see the Mr. Roger's movie.
Once the movie ended, we walked over to another Chicago staple, Portillo's Hotdogs. One of our previous Uber drivers suggested I get an Italian Beef and be sure to get it "dipped." I did just that, and oh boy, was that delicious! It was moist and flavorful, a ton of thinly sliced Italian meat in a bun, but dipped in gravy - it was not keto.
As a final stop, we wanted to visit that ginormous new Starbucks, we'd seen it without a line a few times during this trip, but we always figured we'd eventually get there. Unfortunately, there was a line that wrapped around multiple times, and with the cold, we were not going to wait outside. We then tried to get Garrett's popcorn, and that too had a line. We resorted to "old faithful," Do-Rite donuts! We've now been to Do-Rite three days in a row! We got two donuts and then walked over to a smaller Starbucks, perfect.
With our sweet tooths satisfied, and our wanderlust complete, we made our way to the hotel to pack; our flight is early tomorrow.
Chicago has been a great destination; it was precisely the type of vacation we were looking to have, although much more educational than I would have thought! Still, we would love to come back with warmer weather to enjoy some of the more outdoorsy type areas, such as the Navy Pier, and the various parks.
