Seeing the Windy City Sights

As I watched my cousin and her fiancé, Daniel, walk through the doors for Midway Airport to the terminal, I felt myself getting a little homesick for the west coast and for my family. In the four short days that they had been in our apartment in Chicago, I had grown every attached to having them around to explore the city with.

And explore we did! They arrived from Los Angeles on Friday afternoon, so we decided to put their 3-day train passes to good use and take them to Lou Malnatti’s pizza so they could have true authentic deep dish. We spend the rest of the night chatting and catching up before we went to bed to get ready for the weekend.

It’s amazing all of the sights and places that we crammed into their visit. Saturday was brunch and Ann Sather’s (excellent), a trip to Wrigleyville to see the Cub’s stadium, a walk from our apartment on Division to Navy Pier, the Ferris Wheel, vodka snow cones, a trip down the Mag Mile, dinner at Old Town Pub and then lots of board games and booze at Guthrie’s in Lakeview. So many Yelp reviews to write, so little time!

Sunday was a little more laid back; we hung out at the apartment for a while and watched WAY too much food network, because when we finally did go out the door, we were craving the Mac and Cheese dish we just saw. We drove them to the Sears…oh, excuse me…Willis Tower, down to Steve’s school on the south side, the United Center and then to Dominick’s where we picked up the ingredients to make Mac and Cheese. It was good, if we do say so ourselves! We then took a quick drive to Lincoln Park for Molly’s Cupcakes and Red Mango. A VERY sweet way to end the weekend indeed!

On Monday, I worked a half day, and when I arrived back home at noon, we went for some lunch at Corner Bakery and then headed down to the Museum of Science and Industry. We looked at the U-boat, the coalmine and explored storms, trains and planes. When Steve got out of school at 6:00, we headed to the Mity Nice grill for dinner, then up to the John Hancock lounge for some spendy drinks! The view, though, was SO worth it.

Tuesday was the day they were leaving, but I took another half day and we managed to squeeze in some Italian beef from Five Faces Ice Cream on Division, and then a quick trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo to see the wolves, bears, lions and monkeys. I was so sad when I finally dropped them off at the airport at 5:00 that afternoon. I wished so much that we lived closer to each other so we could hang out more often than a few times a year. Perhaps one day, that will happen. It meant so very much for them to come all the way to see me and the city.

Overall, it was a wonderfully exhausting weekend. It’s odd to have such and empty house. Now, I guess, it’s back to reality. With all the trips and visits, my gym attendance has gone WAY down and my diet has been awful (but SO yummy). It’s time to get back on routine to be ready for summer and get prepared for all the adventures yet to be scheduled!