k12lima

My husband is taking our high school graduate son to Chicago for most of a week as a last time together celebration before he leaves for college. They have been to Chicago several times and really enjoy it. This time they are looking for some new things to do, and they have already purchased tickets for Blue Man Group.

Any other suggestions? They've done the Science/Industry Museum, Hancock/Sears Towers, Aquarium, Field Museum in the past. What else might be fun to do? Our son has done the boat tour and enjoyed that, so they might do that together.

One thing they are hoping to do is see a Cubs game. We are, however, finding it very difficult to find 2 tickets together (except the $325 dugout tickets!). This seems absurd to us. Any suggestions on how to buy Cubs tickets for Aug. 13-15... they surely can't be completely sold out this far ahead of time, can they?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Karen

laurie_ann

Cubs tickets are likely sold out. Best chance for reasonably priced tickets are online at brokers such as www.stubhub.com or www.ticketsnow.com.

They might enjoy renting bikes on the lakefront or one of the organized bike tours.

dougieshoney

I would highly recommend a segway tour through www.stevessegwaytours.com. We were just on the tour last week and had a great time! We felt that the $70 cost for the 3 hour tour was well worth the money.

tchoiniere

I second Laurie's suggestion of stubhub for the Cubs games as they are sold out. They sell out when they go on sale. These games are against the Phillies (one of the best teams in baseball) so they may not go cheap.

Have you seen the new part of the Sears Tower? You go in a glass cube on the side of the building. I wouldn't be able to do it. Your son might really like that even with having been to the tower before.

Citylghts

The bike rental and segway tours are good ideas. MSI currently has a Harry Potter exhibit with props and items used in the movies. It has timed admission, so they should purchase tickets in advance if they go. Near the MSI on the Univ of Chicago campus is the Oriental Institute which has an outstanding collection of sculpture and artifacts from the ancient near east. Admission is free. For info, check www.oi.uchicago.edu.

The Field Museum has a pirate exhibit currently which has received very good reviews.

They could also partake of one of the many walking tours the Chicago Architecture Foundation sponsors throughout The Loop. Tours last 1-2 hours and focus on one building (such as the Board of Trade or Marshall Field's), area (Financial District, State Street Retail, South Loop) or architectural style. For schedules and prices check www.architecture.org.

As an alternative to the Cubs, they could try for Sox tickets. They're often easier to get and the stadium is easy to reach via the Red Line subway.

Last week, the Sears Tower opened The Ledge at the Skydeck. They're glass cubes that project out 5-feet from the west side of the building. When you step onto them, there's nothing obstructing your view straight down 103-floors to the street.

exiledprincess

That's the weekend of the Air & Water Show in Chicago and there's a lot which will be happening at and around North Avenue Beach. So I really wouldn't recommend trying to bike in that area because of the *huge* crowds there. You could bike to the Lincoln Park Zoo and then walk over, though. Or...there usually is practice for the shows on the prior Friday afternoon, so they might want to try to go out to North Avenue Beach then.

If they weren't interested in seeing the Water Show portion of the show, they could be most anywhere in that general vicinity of lakefront from Oak St. up to Diversey Harbor - even further north. However, the further away you get from North Avenue Beach, the less likely you'll get the full effect.

Unless they are prepared to wait for a long time, I wouldn't recommend going out on the Ledge. First reports are pretty long waits and I don't anticipate the major lines to be for a couple of weeks yet - IMHO, simply because most people think they'll "wait awhile" before seeing it - to avoid the lines!

Citylghts

Sorry I missed the dates in the OP, the White Sox are on the west coast that weekend.

If they don't mind hanging on the beaches with 2 million of their closest friends, the Air & Water Show could be great fun. As exiledprincess mentioned, they can see the air portion from many places along the shore. The show is 11 am to 4 pm Saturday and Sunday with practice on Friday.

Another baseball option could be the Brewers. Milwaukee is only about 90 miles north. They could rent a car for the day or take Amtrak.

exiledprincess

A little clarification here: The 2,000,000 mentioned above is for the entire Air & Water Show weekend - and that's strung out all along the lakefront, not just at the North Avenue Beach. So no matter where the OP goes (unless south of Museum Campus), these wouldn't be the best days to go biking or the Segway tours.

Practice on Friday - you still have a sizable amount of people but not like the weekend. Might even see some of the Water Show, depending on the lake's conditions.