and since i'm never out of questions, and you folks are so helpful.....

what's the best scenic route to drive into chicago?
we'll be coming from the Champaign area and we're staying at Ambassador East in the Gold Coast neighborhood.

The Art Institute's contemporary collection is only a small part of what the museum has to offer. It has enormous holdings in many disciplines of art, including some of the most famous pieces in the world. It has a strong collection of modern pioneers, such as Picasso. The MCA is much smaller and more focused on the period from 1960 on.

http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_Modern/index.html
http://www.mcachicago.org/

thanks (again!) pat.

in regard to my question about scenic route for entering the city.... forgot to mention: we'll be arriving on a sunday and the Bears are at home. we may not get to Chicago area until 1pm or after, but if by chance we're arriving between 11a-1pm, will we end up in game traffic? looks like Soldier Field is on the south end of town and could be where we'd be entering the city.

you may be able to return the car downtown for no extra charge if you rent from a large company.

yea i think i've just decided to keep the car thru monday, since our flight isn't till 9pm and even if we get a late checkout we'll still have most of the day to kill.

If you REALLY want to do the architectural boat tour I would suggest you get your tickets in advance. Last year I went the first weekend of October and on Friday I tried to purchase tickets for Saturday and it was sold out. We were able to go on Sunday, with only one time available, and it was worth it.

thanks kathy.
i'm gonna try to hold out and wait till i can check the weather... we'll go either sunday or monday, so if one day is expected to be much nicer than the other (and if the weather report is close to right), we'll plan accordingly and purchase tickets in advance.

Hey tlf18, looks like your plans are really shaping up! Regarding your question on inbound routes vs. the Chicago Bears, you'll have to make a snap decision (an audible!)

You'll take I-57 north to the Dan Ryan. As you continue north, you'll see signs for I-55 east to Lake Shore Drive. That is the scenic route. It takes you along the lakefront and past the museum campus, Buckingham fountain, Navy Pier, etc. I'd recommend that route unless you arrive within an hour of kickoff - 11 a.m. to noon. It would be worth the extra traffic, though; you won't be inconvenienced for long. And the Dan Ryan is horrible most of the time.

Take Lake Shore Drive north to LaSalle and exit. Turn left at Clark and left on Goethe to State Parkway.

awesome pat, thanks. and i forgot that you all start "one o'clock" games at noon!

yes, very excited about our trip. i have to keep reminding myself that we'll only be there for about 30 hours!

For the architectural boat tour, be sure you check if you think you would go Monday as after summer they operate only on weekends I think and while the Monday is a holiday, I don't know about that day.

thanks laurie, i just checked the schedule and they're still running each day.