I Think We're Due for Another Trip.

Well, it has been almost one full month since our Pennsylvania Road Trip (What? Already?), so it's about time for us to hit the road again, don't you think? I say yes. Our next destination: Chicago!

Actually, we've had this trip in the works for a bit, and it really ended up on our summer itinerary by sheer airfare luck. I happened to find an utterly unbelievable fare from New York City to Chicago for a few select weekends at the end of the summer, and knowing that Chicago is home to two Major League Baseball Stadiums my husband has yet to visit on his Baseball Stadium Quest, we investigated a little further. When we realized that one of those occasions when we could get this great airfare also happened to be a two-day period when both Chicago baseball teams were at home, we figured we had to go for it.

So, we're going to Chicago! I have been to Chicago before, but I was a young lass and remember very little of it. Eric has never been. Our trip will be brief - we will arrive late Wednesday night and leave early Saturday. But, I think we'll find the time to fit in some of the basic sights we need to see, and of course, those two baseball stadiums.

Eric has really taken care of the majority of the planning for this trip, and I'm very grateful because frankly, I'm trip-planning-ed out. This will be our third domestic getaway of the summer, and each one has been planned less than the one before it. That's okay, though!

So, here's our rough itinerary. We'll get in Wednesday, and basically just go to our hotel and crash. (Maybe we'll order up some room service, unless Chicago shuts all food sources down wicked early like Philadelphia did.) We'll be staying in your basic, unexciting chain hotel near Millenium Park.

Thursday will begin with some sightseeing. On tap for Thursday: the Navy Pier, Millenium Park, enormous Marilyn Monroe, the Art Institute of Chicago (time permitting), and other general wanderings.

Navy Pier

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The Bean!

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Ah, Marilyn - a great cautionary tale to New York women. Be mindful of the subway grates!

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American Gothic, to be seen at the Art Institute

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Thursday evening we'll head out to U.S. Cellular Field (stadium #16 on Eric's list!) to see my Cleveland Indians play the White Sox. What luck that my favorite team is in town! I'm getting pretty baseball-ed out after this summer, so I'm thinking the Indians will get me more excited for this game. Oh, and did I mention that Thursday is our fourth wedding anniversary? And instead of going out to a lovely romantic dinner, we'll be chowing down on hot dogs at yet another baseball stadium? Wife of the Year over here, my friends.

U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox

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On Friday, we'll get an early start and try to fit in some more sightseeing, including Grant Park, the Field Museum (to see the largest, most complete, best-preserved T-Rex skeleton) and Shedd Aquarium. On a sad note, did you know that you can pet penguins at Shedd? But you have to make a reservation, and apparently they closed the exhibit for August! Petting a penguin is on my bucket list (random, yes), so I was quite disappointed that the penguins clearly don't want to meet me this week. Whatever, penguins.

Grant Park

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T-Rex at the Field Museum

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Shedd Aquarium

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We are ambitiously going to try to fit all that in by early afternoon (we're just doing main exhibits at the museum/aquarium), because we have our second baseball game that afternoon: Chicago Cubs v. St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. 

Wrigley Field

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After the afternoon game, we'll hit up the Willis Tower (known as the Sears Tower in my day), where you can walk out on a Skydeck that looks like this:

Willis Tower Skydeck

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I'm going to go ahead and give that one a big fat "NOPE" and tell you that unlike Toronto's CN Tower, the Willis Tower will not be a place of fear-of-heights-conquering for me. Nope, nope, nope.

We'll spend the rest of the night wandering at our will, and will probably try to grab a decent dinner out to celebrate four years of wedded bliss. Then it will be back to the hotel to prepare for our early morning flight home on Saturday!

Chicago friends: does anyone have any must-see/must-eat places to recommend that might fit with this itinerary? Or, anything we should skip? Anything not on here that we must not miss? Feedback is welcome!