Chi-Town. The Windy City. Chicagoland. No matter what you call it, this beautiful city was the site of the Mangiaracina's most recent weekend events and let me tell you, it delivered. Summer in Chicago is an amazing thing. Because the winter is so brutal, when the weather warms up, everyone comes out to play. And I mean everyone. The city was swarmed with tourists and locals looking to soak up the sites, the festivals and all the wonderful tastes that this great city has to offer.
The reason to our trip to Chicago last weekend was 2-fold. My enhanced role as Meeting Planner at TIA prompted the trip as I was charged with running a conference taking place at the Hard Rock Hotel. The real reason for the extended visit, though, was to spend time with Aunt Suzy and finally meet her beau, Ivan.
I'm not gonna lie. I was nervous about this trip. Not only was it 4 nights away from home with a 16 month old, it involved a plane ride and that scared the bajeezus out of me. I did my homework and bugged everyone I knew to get tips and tricks on keeping an active toddler calm and happy on a flight. I didn't just pack A mommy bag...I packed THE mommy bag. A bag filled with things to keep our little man busy and not crying as we made our way to Illinois.
The morning of the trip, we woke up to buckets of water falling from the sky. It wasn't just raining...it was teeming! Grandma and Grandpa Q. were joining us on the trip and arrived in time for the taxi to whisk us away to Dulles airport. We had lots of stuff, but we also had lots of hands so we managed to check-in and go through security with ease (A-Mazed!)
We were a bit early so we had a lovely breakfast and took advantage of an empty terminal and allowed James to run around to his heart's content. Tire him out! It worked because by the time we were boarding, the kid was sleeping. He actually slept until 10 minutes before landing when he discovered the window shade and thought it was the coolest thing EVER. He also had a great time harassing Grandpa who was sitting in front of us.
Later that day we checked into our home away from home (Hard Rock Hotel), freshened up and headed to Lou Malnati's for some deep dish pizza. We have had deep dish in the past and were not really fans, but Lou's pizza was different. It was more of a medium dish pizza and was YUM-MY! James started the meal with some Mother Goose Club on You Tube and then decided to entertain all of us with his antics. Kid LOVES a crowd. Lucky Ivan was thrusted into the chaos that is dinner with the Quartuccio/Mangiaracina family. He held his own and actually enjoyed it.
Day 2 started early in the Hard Rock Hotel which, in my eyes, is an oxymoron. Early and Hard Rock typically don't mix. But we powered through, got some eats at a local coffee shop and set out to meet the family at the Lincoln Park Zoo. In addition to James' first airplane ride, he also was treated to his first bus experience as we made our way through downtown Chicago and over to the zoo. I forgot the special kind of characters you encounter on a city bus on Saturday morning!
The Lincoln Park Zoo is a gorgeous place to visit while in Chicago and the true beauty is that it is free. It was a warm, but comfortable day so the animals were out and ready to be seen. We saw everything from zebras and giraffes to monkeys and kangaroos. We missed the sea lion show, but saw them lounging in the cool water. The polar bears were in hiding but we did manage to see an Andean Bear. We skipped the reptile house (James had a bad experience when Reptiles Alive visited his daycare), but we did take a trip to the Amazon where we saw all kinds of fish, adorable meerkats and sleepy hippos. It was an amazing visit that ended with a trip around the Lincoln Park Zoo boardwalk and a gigantic farmer's market. James had a great time and I think my favorite moment was when he made friends with the bronze baby monkey. Grandpa made a friend too!
We ended day 2 with a visit to the Bean in Millenium Park and a delicious dinner in Aunt Suzy's neighborhood. Back at the hotel, we said good night to the beautiful Chicago skyline.
Sunday was another early morning but that was because we had another fun-filled day ahead of us starting with a family breakfast at Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe. If you live in Chicago, go here for breakfast. Their menu is HUGE and the food is awesome. Grandma and Aunt Suzy gave Ed and I the meal off and entertained the little man while we ate. Apparently, refilling the sugar container is the best fun that a boy can have!
After breakfast, we headed to Chicago Children's Museum on Navy Pier. There really are no words to describe how excited James was to run around this place and play with all the great exhibits. We started in their newest exhibit, Ready Pet Go! and then made our way through the fire house to the WaterWays water room. This area was a BIG hit - especially when Daddy made the big water fountain explode with water. After a full on drenching and a change of clothes, we hit the dinosaur expedition and then Kidstown where he was able to drive in a car and shop (aka smash is grocery cart into anyone in his way) in the grocery store. Our day ended in Treehouse Trails where James was treated to time spent on a really fun slide.
I can't get over how perfect this museum was for James. Within minutes of leaving, the kid was out cold. He played HARD! We took advantage by taking a stroll on Navy Pier to take in the sites. It was a gorgeous day so the views were amazing. The beer also helped us truly enjoy the experience. :)
It was a great day that ended with some shopping on Michigan Avenue and dinner at the Weber Grill restaurant. Aunt Suzy treated Grandma and Grandpa to tickets to "Million Dollar Quartet" that night which they thoroughly enjoyed. Another great day in the Windy City!
The final two days were a little more low key - especially for me since my conference started and I had to work. Ed and James spent the day with the family in Aunt Suzy's neck of the woods. They hit the park and enjoyed some time in the sprinklers and on the swing. They made me jealous all day long by sending photos and videos like these:
The trip was amazing not only because it was filled with lots of firsts for James (first plane ride, first bus ride, first Children's Museum, first time meeting Ivan, etc.), but because we all were able to spend some quality time together as a family. Poor Aunt Suzy always is the one getting on the plane to come east to see us so it was nice to switch things up a bit and go to her. She has really made a great life for herself out there and although we hate that she is so far away, we are really proud of everything she has accomplished. And hey, who doesn't love Chicago ~ especially in the summer!
