Last week, my husband and I drove from Buffalo to Chicago to compete in the Accenture triathlon (international distance). We are by no means competitive triathletes but thought it would be fun to do. My husband's cousin lives in Chicago and talked us into it. It was such an incredible experience and we loved the course. The organizers of the event did a tremendous job.

Here are the highlights of the vacation portion of our trip:

Indiana Dunes - We stopped here on the drive to Chicago and were blown away at how amazing the sand dunes are. My daughter had a blast running down the dunes and falling on her behind. However, there was a terrible storm that had passed through the area the previous night and the number of trees ripped out of the ground was unbelievable.

Oops, I hit post too soon...

Other activities:
Chicago Children's Museum - Navy Pier - free admission on Thursday night after 5pm! What a wonderful museum with tons to do. My daughter enjoyed the temporary Miffy exhibit and the treehouse exhibit.

Field Museum - The King Tut exhibit was fascinating. I only wish that I could have seen one of the coffins or masks.

Art Institute - Free admission Thu and Fri nights after 5pm. Saw many works of art that I had no idea were at this gallery and found a new favorite piece - Paris Street, Rainy Day.

Lincoln Park Zoo - Free admission. A great, walkable zoo. We loved the penguins and puffins. The gift shop is enormous and we found several incredible deals on educational toys (it's never too early to shop for Xmas).

American Girl Store - Magnificent Mile - a haven for pre-teen girls. My daughter is 2.5 and wanted everything in the store. The dolls are pricey though and she is certainly too young to appreciate one. But, I've got to hand it to American Girl for knowing how to market its products!

Restaurants:
Gioco - South loop area on Wabash - The building is an old speakeasy. I had tomato soup and pasta and the food was delicious.

Blue Agave - Maple & State - Great Mexican food with strong margaritas (or maybe I'm a lightweight!)

Corner Bakery - A good option for breakfast and lunch.

My Pi - Deep dish Chicago pizza near the zoo.

Hotel:
Palmer Hilton - a historic building that did not live up to my expectations. Several staff members were rude, the walls are thin in the guest rooms and we had to move rooms dues to a noisy neighbor, our key cards became de-activated 3 times and we had to call security to be let in etc. etc.

We had a lovely time in Chicago. The achitecture is beautiful, Millenium park and the "Bean" are gems, as are the harbor areas, Buckingham Fountain and so on. This was my first time to Chicago and will definitely be back for a more leisurely visit.

lol, I was wondering what happened to you!

Congratulations on your achievement!!

How long did you train for this event? I ask because DS1 keeps talking about giving it a try.

Chicago is great! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for posting, this helps my planning!

I'm glad you liked Gioco! I would have felt terrible if you didn't! I actually thought of you b/c we went to Lincoln Park Zoo on Sunday am and got stuck on LSD in triathalon traffic!

Yes, the Palmer has seen better days. I bet Potter Palmer is rolling in his grave, also my dear departed FIL who did the plaster cove moldings.

My kids were just talking about the triathlon. MY DIL did it, but not this year. She says the swim part is the killer. None of the rest of us have ever dared. She does the Marathon in Oct. too.

Glad you had such a nice time and thanks for the report.

I theorectically trained for 16 weeks but family stuff interfered quite often and I missed a few weeks towards the end. There are numerous training programs online and in Triathlon magazine that are generally 16 weeks, and you can train based on being a complete novice, intermediate or pro. Honestly, I am a terrible runner so if I can do it, anyone can.

The difficult part for many people is the swim but in most races you can wear a wetsuit. It gives you a lot of buoyancy. Despite being a good swimmer, I found the swim in the Chicago harbor to be challenging. I simply could not see without pulling my whole head out of the water.

The rest of the course was perfect though. The number of spectators was also very encouraging!

Thanks for sharing that information, kcapuani. He's a runner, but the swimming part is, I think, what holds him up. It requires a tremendous amount of upper-body strength. It would be the part of the event that I would enjoy watching the least.

I really commend you!

How did I miss this trip report?
Thanks for posting kcapuani,
and Congratulations on your great
accomplishment!

Would like more information on the
Indian Dunes. Where did you stay,
or is it close enough as a day trip
from Chicago? Is there anything else
to do in the immediate area, or how much time should be allocated?
TIA.

TTT for kcapuani or anyone else
who would care to reply.

I missed it too, wanderluster! Thanks for topping.

Thanks kcapuani for the report! I am always impressed with the amount of time and dedication it requires for marathon (or tri in your case). Well done!

Wanderluster, the Indiana Dunes National Park is about 50 miles east of Chicago. Can easily be gotten to by the South Bend and South Shore Railroad (see NICTD website for schedules and fares) - you disembark at the Dune Park depot. Time alotted: it's a 1.25 hour ride each way - and whatever you care to spend walking the trails, dunes or visiting the lakeshore. So figure at least 3/4 of a day or more.

You can also take this same train to Michigan City (11th Street stop) for the Lighthouse Mall - outlet shopping - or even to South Bend for Notre Dame football games. (The train ends at the airport, but there are shuttles on the days of home games.)

If you were wishing to drive, let me know and I can give you details on other places in the area.

Kcapuani, I posted too soon as well!

Congratulations on your achievement!

Congrats! The "international distance" is really quite easy, but for all you wannabes, I suggest going to the YMCA or local college and taking a few swimming lessons. Even if you are very fit, swimming is such a technical sport and you should know a few things so you don't hurt your shoulders. Also, you need to pull your head up and forward on every third stroke in an open water swim. It's really a bit scary with all those arms and legs flailing around you!You need to practice that technique prior to the event. I once competed in the "Tin Man" which was half the Iron Man distance. I qualified for the Hawaii event, but no way would I spend that much time in torture/pain. It took me 5 hours and my rear end felt like $%^*%@*. I looked great that summer, though! LOL>

My DH did the tin man a couple of times. The swim was what he practiced the most. He had someone swim over the top of him during the triathlon!

Exciledprincess -
Did you personally take the South Shore Railroad to get there?

It sounds like lots of fun,
something we'd all enjoy.
Thanks for the great idea.

Wanderluster, have gone many, many times on the South Shore. (Their website is under NICTD, by the way.)

If you have a family and are taking kids, check what type of nature activities the Indiana Dunes National Park is having when you are going.

Thanks excitledprincess, will check it out.

I am in awe of you triathletes. I would love to do one someday. Sprint distance would be my max, if I trained for about a year.

Bravo!!! Congratulations! I think swimming is the most difficult thing in the world, and more than exhausting. I'm a runner for 15 years now, but swimming and biking would kill ME!

That's just terrific, and I'm happy you enjoyed Chicago, too. My family's home!