The Windy City - Spring Tease

Chicago February 2009

The winters are long and cold here in Peoria. The news keeps reporting that we've had "below normal" temps for the past few years, however, I'm beginning to think they need to redefine "normal". With all this talk about global warming...I'm sure not feeling it in Peoria.

With the stress of the economy etc. Brian and I decided to cash in on a free night's stay at the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago, IL. We've been a guest at that hotel many times, so we've acquired enough points for a free night. We also have gotten quite good at finding on-line coupons for places to eat and museums. If you do your research, it is amazing how much you can save.

We drove up on Friday. It was cold when we left, so I made sure the boys were bundled up and ready to stroll along the Magnificent Mile. When we arrived, our room wasn't quite ready, so we decided to walk up and down the Mile. As a testament to our current economy, the street was virtually empty. We passed some of the high-end stores, but noticed clearance and sale signs in almost every window. Some of my favorite stores were no longer there. One entire Mall was empty. It originally housed 200 stores. Jackson and I use to ride the escalators up and down in that mall and now it is empty.

However, some stores are still there. We ducked into the Hershey store to escape the wind on Friday. Jackson loved it in there and was begging for some chocolate. He also hammed it up by putting huge Hershey kisses on his head.



We decided to hit the top of the Hancock Tower. Although we've been up to the restaurant and bar, we've never been to the observation deck. Just getting into the Hancock building was a challenge. They make it very difficult for someone with a stroller. Anyway, once we were in we ventured to the 94th floor. The view was amazing. Luckily we were there on a sunny day. I would advise any tourist to bypass the Hancock observatory unless you are there on a sunny day. Otherwise you waste a lot of money. Once at the top, we listened to a audio tour of the city, and learned about the great fire and other interesting facts about Chicago. Charlie enjoyed the ride, and Jackson ran around like a lunatic.



That night, we hit a Chicago hot spot: Gino's East. The walls are covered with graffiti from visitors coming to enjoy the famous deep dish pizza. We made sure Jackson was entertained during the 40 minute wait by bringing his leapster.



The next day we were surprised by warm weather! It was very warm -- almost 70 degrees, so we decided to walk from the hotel to the Shedd Aquarium (about 5 miles). The Chicago River had frozen over, so we stopped to watch the huge chunks of ice break apart and a crew team "walk on water" across portions of the river to get out to Lake Michigan. We also posed for a few pictures.



We walked through Millennium Park, where there were having a winter fest. They had free ice skating, ice mazes, bean bag toss and ice carvings! Jackson had a ball, and Charlie seemed to enjoy soaking up the sun. After playing for a bit, we forged forward towards the Shedd Aquarium. Thank goodness we had Charlie with us. The "stroller" line was much shorter. We probably saved ourselves an hour's wait in line.

Once inside we had a fantastic time. The aquarium is quite nice and they have a lot of interactive exhibits for the kids. Jackson really got into it all and would look for certain fish.

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After the aquarium, we took a quick trip to the Navy Pier. We walked around some more basking in the rare February sun. I think we actually sat on the steps there for 20 minutes just people watching and warming ourselves. I tried to enjoy every moment, knowing that this spring tease was just that -- a tease. We are in for another 6 weeks of winter!

That night I started to feel sick. We watched the February firework display from our hotel room and then got dinner.

The next day we did some last minute sightseeing on the Mile and then packed it up to head back to Peoria. I was still feeling sick.

That night, after everything was unpacked and put away...I really started to feel sick. Brian and I were up all night with the flu. It was so bad that we both were down all day Monday. Hopefully the boys will not get sick!

Although we feel a little bit better today, I still feel sick. Brian went back to work, and I tried to force myself outside with Charlie for a quick walk. This "spring tease" will not last long. They are predicting snow by Valentine's Day.

Cheers!