Chicago with teens - a trip report.
Jun 3rd, 2008, 08:55 AM
#21
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Good trip report.
When I was a little girl I would always spend lots of time at the fairy castle doll house and at the silent films that was adjacent to it. It's different now, but that's one of those things that short trip Chicago visitors seldom see.
Glad you hit the tulip time!
When I was a little girl I would always spend lots of time at the fairy castle doll house and at the silent films that was adjacent to it. It's different now, but that's one of those things that short trip Chicago visitors seldom see.
Glad you hit the tulip time!
Jun 3rd, 2008, 08:58 AM
#22
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tenthumbs:
My 13 year old daughter says that her favorite things were: seeing Wicked, shopping, and the pizza. Overall, she just loved the big city experience and now says she plans to live in Chicago some day.
The only thing that she hated was walking from the Field Museum to the Navy Pier. She didn't hate, but didn't love the Architectural Tour. The older members of the family loved it, though.
Navy Pier was not a favorite of any of ours due to the crowds and some rain that blew in and closed all the rides. She said she thinks it could have been fun under other circumstances.
My 13 year old daughter says that her favorite things were: seeing Wicked, shopping, and the pizza. Overall, she just loved the big city experience and now says she plans to live in Chicago some day.
The only thing that she hated was walking from the Field Museum to the Navy Pier. She didn't hate, but didn't love the Architectural Tour. The older members of the family loved it, though.
Navy Pier was not a favorite of any of ours due to the crowds and some rain that blew in and closed all the rides. She said she thinks it could have been fun under other circumstances.
Jun 3rd, 2008, 09:01 AM
#23
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Architectural Boat Tour:
After lunch it was time for our tour. I had ordered the tickets online before leaving home. The only drawback to planning ahead is, of course, the unpredictability of the weather. The best way to experience this tour is sitting on the top deck of the boat, open to all the views and sights, as well as the elements. The lower level is enclosed, windows all around, and has a bar, tables and chairs, bathrooms, and of course – heat. You can hear the guide from both levels, but not see as well from the lower deck. It was cold on the day we went, and Chicago was more than earning its Windy City nickname. Even so, this tour was a beautiful way to see the city. The guide was knowledgeable and interesting. She threw in lots of fascinating tid-bits about the city. I highly recommend doing this.
My daughters only braved the weather for about 15 minutes. (We’re southerners, y’all) They went downstairs, bought some hot chocolate and snagged a prime table inside. I joined them, along with about half of the other passengers, about 30 minutes later. My husband came down (with the other half of the passengers) a little later. Our son was one of only a few hardy souls who stayed outside for the entire tour. He is an engineering major and loved every minute of it.
Shopping and resting:
It was after 5:00 by the time we left the tour and returned to the hotel, stopping only at a Dunkin’ Donuts along the way to warm up with some coffee. The guys thought staying in for a while sounded grand, but the girls were ready to shop. So we split up. There was a Nordstrom’s across the street from our hotel that had been calling our name. As luck would have it, they were having a huge shoe sale. We had a wonderful evening browsing and trying on and doing a little buying. By the time we got back to the hotel it was fairly late and none of us had eaten. We decided to just order PF Changs delivery and a movie, and call it a night.
After lunch it was time for our tour. I had ordered the tickets online before leaving home. The only drawback to planning ahead is, of course, the unpredictability of the weather. The best way to experience this tour is sitting on the top deck of the boat, open to all the views and sights, as well as the elements. The lower level is enclosed, windows all around, and has a bar, tables and chairs, bathrooms, and of course – heat. You can hear the guide from both levels, but not see as well from the lower deck. It was cold on the day we went, and Chicago was more than earning its Windy City nickname. Even so, this tour was a beautiful way to see the city. The guide was knowledgeable and interesting. She threw in lots of fascinating tid-bits about the city. I highly recommend doing this.
My daughters only braved the weather for about 15 minutes. (We’re southerners, y’all) They went downstairs, bought some hot chocolate and snagged a prime table inside. I joined them, along with about half of the other passengers, about 30 minutes later. My husband came down (with the other half of the passengers) a little later. Our son was one of only a few hardy souls who stayed outside for the entire tour. He is an engineering major and loved every minute of it.
Shopping and resting:
It was after 5:00 by the time we left the tour and returned to the hotel, stopping only at a Dunkin’ Donuts along the way to warm up with some coffee. The guys thought staying in for a while sounded grand, but the girls were ready to shop. So we split up. There was a Nordstrom’s across the street from our hotel that had been calling our name. As luck would have it, they were having a huge shoe sale. We had a wonderful evening browsing and trying on and doing a little buying. By the time we got back to the hotel it was fairly late and none of us had eaten. We decided to just order PF Changs delivery and a movie, and call it a night.
Jun 5th, 2008, 12:01 AM
#24
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Day 4
Millennium Park:
We finally woke to a gorgeous Chicago day. It was much warmer, bright and sunny. We walked over to Millennium Park. This was one of the highlights of the trip for all of us. Perhaps it was the wonderful weather, or the previous night’s sleep, but we were all feeling joyful and glad to be there. We wandered around enjoying all the sculpture. We joined the throngs of fellow tourists in taking way too many pictures at the bean. The Pritzker pavilion is such an amazing venue. I hope to return some day and attend a concert there. The BP pedestrian bridge – wow. Watching the faces change and the children splash in the water at the Crown fountain was a huge hit. We had a truly lovely morning here.
Buckingham Fountain:
We left the park and walked toward this fountain taking a short but beautiful detour into the gardens of the Art Museum. This is an amazing fountain. We were disappointed that it was surrounded by fencing. I think we were imagining being able to sit on the edge, perhaps dangle in our feet – exactly what they obviously *don’t* want people to do. The views are great from this park, with the lake on one side, fountain in the foreground and the skyline of Chicago wrapping around the back. We had some Coke floats and pretzels and just sat in the sun, enjoying the view and being together.
Sear’s tower:
The kids chose Sears Tower over Hancock – better views were irrelevant – they wanted to go to the tallest building. The women of the family had already figured out that the men couldn’t judge distance in the city. This held true again today. What it boiled down to in their minds was this; if you could see it, then how far could it be? We had already been walking lots today and the girls wanted to figure out a means of transportation that didn’t involve our feet. My husband and son said, “the tower is right there – you can see it.” So off we went on foot. Really it wasn’t terribly far, but there was a bit of grumbling anyway. I must admit, I was one of the grumblers.
The City Pass worked like a dream at Sears tower. We were able to bypass a line that seemed to be miles long and were led immediately to the elevator. We all enjoyed being so high up and the views were stupendous.
Millennium Park:
We finally woke to a gorgeous Chicago day. It was much warmer, bright and sunny. We walked over to Millennium Park. This was one of the highlights of the trip for all of us. Perhaps it was the wonderful weather, or the previous night’s sleep, but we were all feeling joyful and glad to be there. We wandered around enjoying all the sculpture. We joined the throngs of fellow tourists in taking way too many pictures at the bean. The Pritzker pavilion is such an amazing venue. I hope to return some day and attend a concert there. The BP pedestrian bridge – wow. Watching the faces change and the children splash in the water at the Crown fountain was a huge hit. We had a truly lovely morning here.
Buckingham Fountain:
We left the park and walked toward this fountain taking a short but beautiful detour into the gardens of the Art Museum. This is an amazing fountain. We were disappointed that it was surrounded by fencing. I think we were imagining being able to sit on the edge, perhaps dangle in our feet – exactly what they obviously *don’t* want people to do. The views are great from this park, with the lake on one side, fountain in the foreground and the skyline of Chicago wrapping around the back. We had some Coke floats and pretzels and just sat in the sun, enjoying the view and being together.
Sear’s tower:
The kids chose Sears Tower over Hancock – better views were irrelevant – they wanted to go to the tallest building. The women of the family had already figured out that the men couldn’t judge distance in the city. This held true again today. What it boiled down to in their minds was this; if you could see it, then how far could it be? We had already been walking lots today and the girls wanted to figure out a means of transportation that didn’t involve our feet. My husband and son said, “the tower is right there – you can see it.” So off we went on foot. Really it wasn’t terribly far, but there was a bit of grumbling anyway. I must admit, I was one of the grumblers.
The City Pass worked like a dream at Sears tower. We were able to bypass a line that seemed to be miles long and were led immediately to the elevator. We all enjoyed being so high up and the views were stupendous.
Jun 5th, 2008, 07:03 AM
#25
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The Buckingham Fountain has a wonderful colorful "show" of some length at night with music, and also a sort of finale at the end, that is fab. Next time, try to do it at night- after dark with the timed show. Free, and you get a generous sprinkling with this too, if it is hot out, it is appreciated.
Good for you, because the Sears Tower one is better, IMHO. It also gives you a much improved, if the cloud cover isn't bad, view of the westward "into Chicago" view, by far. Which enhances by far the realization of the size area of Chicago, much more than the J.H. deck does. It's huge in square miles.
When I go downtown I always walk from LaSalle Station and everywhere else, even far into River North or up the beginnings of the Gold Coast myself.
Good for you, because the Sears Tower one is better, IMHO. It also gives you a much improved, if the cloud cover isn't bad, view of the westward "into Chicago" view, by far. Which enhances by far the realization of the size area of Chicago, much more than the J.H. deck does. It's huge in square miles.
When I go downtown I always walk from LaSalle Station and everywhere else, even far into River North or up the beginnings of the Gold Coast myself.
Jun 5th, 2008, 09:05 AM
#27
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Thanks again for the additional tips and encouraging words. I'm going to try to post a link for photos. Maybe it will work. I'm not very techy.
Photos day 1:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2718038...7605325210794/
Photos day 1:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2718038...7605325210794/
Jun 5th, 2008, 08:47 PM
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Heaven on Seven:
It was well past time for lunch after we left the tower. We decided to head over to State Street, in the general direction of Macy’s, looking for a place to eat. We passed an ad for this restaurant and decided to give it a try. It was on the seventh floor of an office building. Even with the lateness of the hour many of the tables were still occupied. It seemed to be popular with the non-tourist, office crowd. The food was mix of Cajun and home-cooking. With every meal came a cup of Gumbo. This was the highlight. It was delicious with the wonderful color and flavor that one only gets from a great roux. Nothing else we had measured up to the Gumbo. The food wasn’t horrible, but mediocre. Perhaps those who don’t live where great southern or Cajun cooking is readily available might enjoy it more than we did.
An evening on Michigan Avenue:
After another trip through Macy’s and a short rest at the hotel we went back out to Michigan Ave. It was a great evening of wandering, watching, and browsing. We hit all the fun stores: Ghirardelli, Hershey, the popcorn place, Apple store, etc. The sidewalks were crowded with happy shoppers. The kids enjoyed watching some of the street performers. We saw some teenage boys get into a dance-off with a couple of painted, sort of robotic looking dancers. The street performers won hands down. We all got a kick out of that. We did a little shopping but mostly just enjoyed looking. The girls were especially interested in any stores that we don’t have at home. H&M was a huge hit because it was unfamiliar to them.
It was well past time for lunch after we left the tower. We decided to head over to State Street, in the general direction of Macy’s, looking for a place to eat. We passed an ad for this restaurant and decided to give it a try. It was on the seventh floor of an office building. Even with the lateness of the hour many of the tables were still occupied. It seemed to be popular with the non-tourist, office crowd. The food was mix of Cajun and home-cooking. With every meal came a cup of Gumbo. This was the highlight. It was delicious with the wonderful color and flavor that one only gets from a great roux. Nothing else we had measured up to the Gumbo. The food wasn’t horrible, but mediocre. Perhaps those who don’t live where great southern or Cajun cooking is readily available might enjoy it more than we did.
An evening on Michigan Avenue:
After another trip through Macy’s and a short rest at the hotel we went back out to Michigan Ave. It was a great evening of wandering, watching, and browsing. We hit all the fun stores: Ghirardelli, Hershey, the popcorn place, Apple store, etc. The sidewalks were crowded with happy shoppers. The kids enjoyed watching some of the street performers. We saw some teenage boys get into a dance-off with a couple of painted, sort of robotic looking dancers. The street performers won hands down. We all got a kick out of that. We did a little shopping but mostly just enjoyed looking. The girls were especially interested in any stores that we don’t have at home. H&M was a huge hit because it was unfamiliar to them.
Jun 13th, 2008, 08:44 AM
#31
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Day 5
Field Museum:
We woke on our last day in Chicago to slightly cloudy skies and warm, muggy temperatures. What extremes you Chicagoans have to deal with! We couldn’t believe that it was our last day and there was still so much we hadn’t gotten to do. We packed, checked out, left our bags at the hotel, and took a taxi to the Field Museum. Once again the City Pass enabled us to walk by a very long line and straight inside the museum. The entire family loved it here. The Egyptian exhibit was a special hit. We all would like to return. Our time was limited and there was so much to see.
Death March to the Navy Pier:
After the Field Museum the inability of the men in the family to judge distances raised its ugly head again. The original plan was to take a taxi or perhaps a water taxi to the Navy Pier. We had stayed longer at the Field Museum than planned and everyone was hungry. But, “We can see the Ferris Wheel how far can it be?” Also it would give us the opportunity to do that quintessentially Chicago thing – walk along the lake. Sounded good in theory. So we walked. It probably wasn’t really that far – I’d guess two miles – if one were well fed, properly shod, and in the right frame of mind it would be no big deal. We were none of the above. We started walking and that darn wheel seemed to get no closer, so we walked faster. At one point I thought we must be at least halfway and looked back at the Field Museum. Nope – perhaps a quarter of the way. Near starvation and complete irritability had set in by the time we arrived. My youngest was on the verge of tears. Fortunately this was the low point of the trip and in the scheme of things not a big deal.
Navy Pier:
It was crowded, sticky, and overwhelming. We ate at the Pier and I can’t even remember the name of the restaurant. It was the first one that could seat us immediately. The food wasn’t good but it was filling and restored our spirits. We were all grateful for that. After lunch we got in the long line to ride the wheel. Seconds later, the sky darkened and there were some splatters of rain and the sound of thunder. The rides were all closed due to the sudden storm. We made our way back to the hotel to collect our bags agreeing that the Navy Pier had been a bust, but that Chicago was an amazing city. We had all fallen in love with it and look forward to returning.
Field Museum:
We woke on our last day in Chicago to slightly cloudy skies and warm, muggy temperatures. What extremes you Chicagoans have to deal with! We couldn’t believe that it was our last day and there was still so much we hadn’t gotten to do. We packed, checked out, left our bags at the hotel, and took a taxi to the Field Museum. Once again the City Pass enabled us to walk by a very long line and straight inside the museum. The entire family loved it here. The Egyptian exhibit was a special hit. We all would like to return. Our time was limited and there was so much to see.
Death March to the Navy Pier:
After the Field Museum the inability of the men in the family to judge distances raised its ugly head again. The original plan was to take a taxi or perhaps a water taxi to the Navy Pier. We had stayed longer at the Field Museum than planned and everyone was hungry. But, “We can see the Ferris Wheel how far can it be?” Also it would give us the opportunity to do that quintessentially Chicago thing – walk along the lake. Sounded good in theory. So we walked. It probably wasn’t really that far – I’d guess two miles – if one were well fed, properly shod, and in the right frame of mind it would be no big deal. We were none of the above. We started walking and that darn wheel seemed to get no closer, so we walked faster. At one point I thought we must be at least halfway and looked back at the Field Museum. Nope – perhaps a quarter of the way. Near starvation and complete irritability had set in by the time we arrived. My youngest was on the verge of tears. Fortunately this was the low point of the trip and in the scheme of things not a big deal.
Navy Pier:
It was crowded, sticky, and overwhelming. We ate at the Pier and I can’t even remember the name of the restaurant. It was the first one that could seat us immediately. The food wasn’t good but it was filling and restored our spirits. We were all grateful for that. After lunch we got in the long line to ride the wheel. Seconds later, the sky darkened and there were some splatters of rain and the sound of thunder. The rides were all closed due to the sudden storm. We made our way back to the hotel to collect our bags agreeing that the Navy Pier had been a bust, but that Chicago was an amazing city. We had all fallen in love with it and look forward to returning.
