Chicago, Illinois, USA trip: Chicago "Get-away" | TripWiser: Social Trip Planner for Family Trips and Road Trips



Day 1 Started driving from Cedar Rapids early, around 8:00am. Trip up I-88 would be about 4 hours. Planned to stop at Oakbrook Center, a mall right off of I-88 and half an hour from downtown Chicago. Our hotel check-in wasn't until 3:00pm. The mall was a nice outdoor mall. Stopped at Crate & Barrel, Banana Republic, Disney Store, etc. Had a nice lunch at Baisi Thai. Then around 4:00pm headed to the hotel. Found the hotel easily. Parked in the adjacent parking garage. Checked in. Had a room with a king bed on the 26th floor. We had a view of Lake Michigan from our room. We unpacked and relaxed a bit. We then walked down to the Ford Center for the Performing Arts where "Wicked" was playing. We each got a pre-show drink and then took our seats. Nancy and I both LOVED the show. It was very good. Afterwards, we were both tired and walked back to the hotel. We went to sleep without dinner - yet we were both hungry.
Day 2 Since we went to bed last night without dinner, we were both hungry in the morning. Today was "Navy Pier" day though. We set off relatively early, around 9:00am and walked to the Navy Pier. We were looking for a hot breakfast along the way. While walking the Navy Pier, Nancy spied the Billy Goat Tavern - they served breakfast. We were able to get bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast and sit outside on the pier and enjoy the morning. After breakfast, we continued to walk the pier, looking at the shops. We didn't see a lot that interested us. We did go on the Ferris Wheel. It was a relatively slow moving ride that offered a very nice view of the downtown Chicago skyline. After the Ferris Wheel, we rented bikes from Bike Chicago on the pier. We both got the "mountain bike" model for "half-day" rates (which meant 4 hours). We head out north on the Lake Shore path. We rode the path up past a golf coarse which was the furthest spot north on the bike map provided. We then turned around and on the way south stopped to find the North Pond restaurant in Lincoln Park. After finding the restaurant, we continue south. We stopped at Castaways for lunch. It was literally right off of the path at North Avenue Beach. We had a nice lunch at the upstairs bar & grill - we both got the fish and chips. After lunch, we continue down past the Navy Pier, past Soldier Field to the southern end of the bike map. We then went back to the Navy Pier and returned our bikes. After walking back to the hotel from the bike rental on the Navy Pier, it was about time to get ready to go to dinner. After freshening up and getting dressed - North Pond has a "no shorts" policy, so I wore a sport coat and Nancy a dress - we walked to the restaurant. It is a bit of a walk, but Nancy and I are pretty active. (Like you can't tell by us riding a bike for 3+ hours.) Upon arriving at North Pond, we were seated. At 7pm, it wasn't too crowded. Nancy and I order cocktails: Nancy had a rhubarb drink (she just discovered that she liked rhubarb earlier in the week as Cathy Nichols had made a rhubarb pie that Nancy loved) and I had a gin and tonic made with a local Chicago gin. We then order the chef's "Tasting Menu" and the "Wine Pairing". This option, the "Tasting Menu" was special in that it required that everyone in the party got this option. The menu was five courses. Each course was "European portion", our server said, so it was "smaller than a typical American portion", so we shouldn't worry about having too much food. - Amuse-bouche: salmon tar-tar with an avocado mayonnaise. It was topped with caviar and salmon roe. It was served with toasted baguette. [White sparkling wine] - Course 1: salad - local greens and stuffed prawn. The greens included vegetables from the restaurants garden. A type of herb, I think maybe basil, ice was served too, I think, with this dish. (It was with one of the courses.) The prawn was delicious. [White sparkling wine] - Course 2: fish - halibut in broth. The halibut fillet was topped with greens and served in a broth. [White wine] - Course 3: pasta - mushroom pasta. The pasta tasted very fresh and the mushrooms provided a very meaty taste to the dish. [Red wine] - Course 4: meat - lamb rack. This dish consisted of a rib from a rack of lamb with potatoes and a sauce. [Red wine] - Course 5: dessert - chocolate "brownie" and chocolate ice cream. The chocolate "brownie" was actually a form, like a cannolie shell, chocolate, with a warm, flowing, chocolate center. The chocolate ice cream was a nice cool complement to the warm brownie. [Port wine] After dinner, we each had a couple cups of coffee. When we finished, we headed off, walking back to the hotel. Upon arrive at the hotel, we were a bit tired from our active day and called it a night.
Day 3 Tea at the Greenhouse at The Ritz-Carlton - the tea room serves Harney and Sons tea, which is the tea that I use. The finger sandwiches and pastries were excellent. Nancy and I were both surprised at how much we got: 4 different finger sandwiches (egg, chicken, humus, salmon), a raspberry tart, a lemon curd, a piece of almond bread, a cream puff, a biscuit, and a scone (with apricot pieces, we think). The pastries were complimented by clotted cream, strawberry preserve, and lemon curd. The Greenhouse restaurant is a portion of the lobby. It is next to the gorgeous fountain. We set at a table, but the tables are mixed in with couches and chairs. Some people were having their tea on the couches and coffee tables. Overall, this is a very pretty setting. Dinner at Shaw's Crab House - The restaurant, which includes an Oyster Bar that was being used for a private party that evening, had an "old-style" interior: the walls were wood paneling with nautical nick-knacks, the host was dressed in a black coat, the waiters wore white coats, all around a very nice setting. Nancy and I started with a dozen oysters, and were they good. There was selection of five different varieties. We just asked our waiter for his recommendation...he recommended well. For dinner we each ordered the lobster dinner. It included soup or salad, a whole lobster with red potatoes, corn, and coleslaw, and dessert. We each chose the lobster bisque. The bisque was very rich and creamy, with lots of chunks of lobster. Nancy had never eaten a whole lobster before. The lobster tail was very meaty. The claws were very tasty. I even squeezed the meat from the legs. We each got the key lime pie for dessert - and the pieces were huge.
Day 4 Nancy got up early this morning to use the adjacent fitness center. She said that it was very nice. Use of the fitness center, which is a complete gym with weights and cardio equipment, an indoor pool, etc. is included in the hotel price. After the "breakfast search" of Day 2, we discovered the West Egg Cafe was right across the street from our hotel. Since this was day that we were checking out, we went over here for breakfast. It was a very busy place. I can see why. The food, which includes eggs in most everything, was very good. This is a typical diner, with good service, and large portions of food. Nancy and I both got full. After breakfast, we packed up and check out. But we didn't leave yet. We went to a movie at the AMC theater. We saw "Pirates of the Carribean, At Worlds End". The night before, Oceans 13 premiered at this AMC theater. The stars, like George Clooney, were there. We were walking to dinner at Shaw's Crab House when we say the crowd of people outside the theater gathered around the stage to see the stars. We had a small problem with the movie. After watching the entire movie, the projection stopped right as the credits started. The problem was that there is an extra scene in the movie after the credits are through. We went to customer service and they talked to projection to confirm that the credits didn't play. They told us to go back and they would try to get the credits to play. After a bit of time, an employee came in and said that they couldn't get the credits to play. They took us back to customer service. The agent refunded our admission price and gave us two free passes for another show. (He also offered to tell us what the scene was. We both said no, but Nancy couldn't wait. She called her mom that evening to see what the scene was.) Unfortunately, out in less populated Cedar Rapids, Iowa vicinity, there are no AMC theaters. We will just have to use them on our next trip to a metropolitan area. :-)

Add to Trip