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Chicago Trip Review (First Time Visit)
Posted on 7/2/18 at 11:41 am
Posted on 7/2/18 at 11:41 am
I just got back from a long weekend to Chicago and thought I’d share my experiences as a first timer to visit CHI. For starters, it was hot…like REALLY HOT. I think the high was above 95* on Friday and Saturday. We sweated a lot, but didn’t let it slow us down too much. I followed some great suggestions that have been posted on this board, so thanks to those that have provided Chicago recs recently.
Day 1:
We arrived to Midway, via MSY, around 9:30am on Thursday and grabbed a ride to downtown (we had 50% off Lyft rides all week, which was great). We stayed at the Hyatt Regency and really enjoyed it. They already had our room ready at ~10:15am, so we dropped off our bags and headed out. We were starving and wanted something quick, so we walked over to the Billy Goat for a burger. From there, we walked over to Navy Pier. I was glad to do it, just to see it, but obviously all tourist traps (especially the food/booze type of stuff). From there, we headed up to Lincoln Park to walk around for a bit and check out the free zoo. There was a bird in the gorilla exhibit and one of the gorillas decided that he didn’t like that. He smacked it and then just tossed it around the cage for a while – there were some screams and tears from some of the patrons.
After the zoo, we went over to Wrigleyville, just to see the park and area before the gameday crowds on Friday. After checking things out, we headed back down and had dinner at XOCO. The chicken tinga tacos & margaritas were great. We skipped around a lot and got a feel for the layout. We were wiped by the end of the day.
Day 1:
We arrived to Midway, via MSY, around 9:30am on Thursday and grabbed a ride to downtown (we had 50% off Lyft rides all week, which was great). We stayed at the Hyatt Regency and really enjoyed it. They already had our room ready at ~10:15am, so we dropped off our bags and headed out. We were starving and wanted something quick, so we walked over to the Billy Goat for a burger. From there, we walked over to Navy Pier. I was glad to do it, just to see it, but obviously all tourist traps (especially the food/booze type of stuff). From there, we headed up to Lincoln Park to walk around for a bit and check out the free zoo. There was a bird in the gorilla exhibit and one of the gorillas decided that he didn’t like that. He smacked it and then just tossed it around the cage for a while – there were some screams and tears from some of the patrons.
After the zoo, we went over to Wrigleyville, just to see the park and area before the gameday crowds on Friday. After checking things out, we headed back down and had dinner at XOCO. The chicken tinga tacos & margaritas were great. We skipped around a lot and got a feel for the layout. We were wiped by the end of the day.
3
Posted on 7/2/18 at 11:41 am to speckledawg
Day2:
We had booked the Wendella architecture boat tour for the first time slot of the day (9:30am). Their dock was just down the river from our hotel. I would highly recommend this tour. It’s a 75min tour and I was amazed at the knowledge and presentation from the guide. He hardly stopped speaking for the full time, yet it never became boring. Usually, I would have wanted to sit on the top deck, but it was already blazing hot at 9:30. We sat underneath on the outside benches and still had great views.
After the boat tour, we headed to Lou Malnati’s for lunch. It was pretty good, but I’m not a pizza connoisseur. We had a little time to kill between lunch and the Cubs game, so I made the call to go check out Corridor. Man, they make some great beer! We had planned to just try a beer and move on somewhere else, but ended up “trying” most of their brews.
I wanted to make sure and get to Wrigley early enough to walk around in the park, since it was my first visit. It was amazing how fast we got in through the gates. It was a much smoother entrance than most sporting events that I’ve seen. My wife bought the tickets as a surprise to me and had no idea what she was buying, other than “the seat view looked good online”. Well, it worked out perfectly. We were in Sec 228 and IN THE SHADE. It was perfect from start to finish – packed house, come from behind W & 3 HRs (including a grand slam) by the Cubs. We had great conversation with the fans around us, especially when we said we were from MS and it was our first visit. We had a blast and didn’t want to leave.
We had booked the Wendella architecture boat tour for the first time slot of the day (9:30am). Their dock was just down the river from our hotel. I would highly recommend this tour. It’s a 75min tour and I was amazed at the knowledge and presentation from the guide. He hardly stopped speaking for the full time, yet it never became boring. Usually, I would have wanted to sit on the top deck, but it was already blazing hot at 9:30. We sat underneath on the outside benches and still had great views.
After the boat tour, we headed to Lou Malnati’s for lunch. It was pretty good, but I’m not a pizza connoisseur. We had a little time to kill between lunch and the Cubs game, so I made the call to go check out Corridor. Man, they make some great beer! We had planned to just try a beer and move on somewhere else, but ended up “trying” most of their brews.
I wanted to make sure and get to Wrigley early enough to walk around in the park, since it was my first visit. It was amazing how fast we got in through the gates. It was a much smoother entrance than most sporting events that I’ve seen. My wife bought the tickets as a surprise to me and had no idea what she was buying, other than “the seat view looked good online”. Well, it worked out perfectly. We were in Sec 228 and IN THE SHADE. It was perfect from start to finish – packed house, come from behind W & 3 HRs (including a grand slam) by the Cubs. We had great conversation with the fans around us, especially when we said we were from MS and it was our first visit. We had a blast and didn’t want to leave.
This post was edited on 7/2/18 at 11:55 am
Posted on 7/2/18 at 11:41 am to speckledawg
Day 3:
We didn’t have much planned for most of Saturday, so we walked over to Millennium park, which was real close to the hotel. We saw and took a few pics and quickly realized that it was still stupid hot outside. We found some quick lunch and looked for a place to cool off and watch the Cubs/World Cup for a bit. We ended up at the Public House, which was pretty solid. They had a nice beer list and plenty of TVs. It was packed though, with the WC playing.
We had dinner reservations for Girl and the Goat at 9:15, so we headed up to the Hancock building before dinner. We had zero wait at the Signature Lounge on the 95th, though we didn’t have a window table. That said, we still had a great view from our seats and plenty places to take a picture and look out the windows. We had a drink and appetizer here, before catching a ride over towards the restaurant. The views up there were definitely worth the trip (& high drink prices). We got there early and they didn’t have any early spots open, so we walked across to Bar Siena for a bit. That was a pretty enjoyable spot to kill a little time.
Our seats at dinner were right next to the cook line. Some might not have enjoyed these seats, but we really did and enjoyed chatting with a couple of them. My wife was very hesitant of the menu, but walked out saying it was probably her best meal ever. We shared the goat empanadas (we could have eaten a half dozen orders of these!), pan fried shishitos, pig face, caramel corn malt balls for dessert and I had the “very” old fashioned. All of it was great and lived up to the hype, in my opinion. After dinner, we were exhausted and headed back. We flew home yesterday, very pleased with the trip.
We didn’t have much planned for most of Saturday, so we walked over to Millennium park, which was real close to the hotel. We saw and took a few pics and quickly realized that it was still stupid hot outside. We found some quick lunch and looked for a place to cool off and watch the Cubs/World Cup for a bit. We ended up at the Public House, which was pretty solid. They had a nice beer list and plenty of TVs. It was packed though, with the WC playing.
We had dinner reservations for Girl and the Goat at 9:15, so we headed up to the Hancock building before dinner. We had zero wait at the Signature Lounge on the 95th, though we didn’t have a window table. That said, we still had a great view from our seats and plenty places to take a picture and look out the windows. We had a drink and appetizer here, before catching a ride over towards the restaurant. The views up there were definitely worth the trip (& high drink prices). We got there early and they didn’t have any early spots open, so we walked across to Bar Siena for a bit. That was a pretty enjoyable spot to kill a little time.
Our seats at dinner were right next to the cook line. Some might not have enjoyed these seats, but we really did and enjoyed chatting with a couple of them. My wife was very hesitant of the menu, but walked out saying it was probably her best meal ever. We shared the goat empanadas (we could have eaten a half dozen orders of these!), pan fried shishitos, pig face, caramel corn malt balls for dessert and I had the “very” old fashioned. All of it was great and lived up to the hype, in my opinion. After dinner, we were exhausted and headed back. We flew home yesterday, very pleased with the trip.
This post was edited on 7/2/18 at 12:06 pm
Posted on 7/2/18 at 12:12 pm to speckledawg
quote:
I made the call to go check out Corridor.
Did you have Cosmic Juicebox? So. fricking. Good.
ETA: Sounds like you made the best of an incredibly hot weekend. Friday and Saturday hit 110 with the heat index. Sunday wasn't much cooler.
This post was edited on 7/2/18 at 12:15 pm
Posted on 7/2/18 at 12:18 pm to hoopsgalore
Yep. I had it, Haze Crusade & Wizard Fight. I thought all 3 were great.
Posted on 7/2/18 at 12:49 pm to speckledawg
Chicago is a great summer city. The people there go nuts after being trapped inside for 6 months.
How was using Lyft? My wife and I bought a weekend transit pass and rode a bus or train everywhere we went.
How was using Lyft? My wife and I bought a weekend transit pass and rode a bus or train everywhere we went.
This post was edited on 7/2/18 at 12:51 pm
Posted on 7/2/18 at 1:12 pm to Aubie Spr96
No problems with it. I use it quite a bit. We planned to take the train from the airport, etc, but with the discounted rides all week, we just used it everywhere. Most rides were less than $10 and was easier.
Posted on 7/2/18 at 1:15 pm to speckledawg
I went last September and there were record highs almost every day we were there.
Also did an architectural boat tour that was really cool, but we did one that was on the lake, so it was breezy enough to combat the heat.
Looks like I missed out on Corridor, will keep that one in mind next time. Revolution was my favorite of the breweries we hit up.
Also did an architectural boat tour that was really cool, but we did one that was on the lake, so it was breezy enough to combat the heat.
Looks like I missed out on Corridor, will keep that one in mind next time. Revolution was my favorite of the breweries we hit up.
Posted on 7/2/18 at 2:11 pm to LSUBoo
it was a hot bitch this weekend..
Posted on 7/2/18 at 3:04 pm to LSUBoo
quote:
Revolution was my favorite of the breweries we hit up.
It was the only one we went to and liked it a lot.
Posted on 7/2/18 at 3:12 pm to speckledawg
Corridor is my fav beer spot in the city and the place I most frequently take out of towners (and Homeslice in Lincoln Park). You had a really good weekend / plan 
and yes it was unbelievably hot
and yes it was unbelievably hotThis post was edited on 7/2/18 at 3:12 pm
Posted on 7/2/18 at 7:27 pm to speckledawg
We went to Chicago for 4th of July two years ago and the weather that year was great What a fabulous city in the summer. With the heat wave I could see how it would slow you down some but there is so much to do there and we can't wait to go back.
Posted on 7/3/18 at 7:34 am to Crow Pie
Love Chicago. Weather is hit or miss
Buddy is there right now and the heat index was 106 yesterday
Girl and the Goat is worth the hype
Buddy is there right now and the heat index was 106 yesterday
Girl and the Goat is worth the hype
Posted on 7/3/18 at 9:55 pm to dallastiger55
Agree on the weather...we go almost every summer. Some summers you need a jacket in the evening, others you need a sleeveless shirt (trashines is trumped by comfort)
Posted on 7/5/18 at 2:42 pm to speckledawg
Awesome thread. I'm going to Chicago next Wednesday through Sunday with the lady and am looking for things to do. Two things I really want to do are the architecture tour and a jet ski rental on the lake. I really hope it isn't as hot as you described next week.
Posted on 7/5/18 at 2:59 pm to MaHittaMaHitta
It will be brutally hot next Mon-Thurs. Friday-Sun is tbd right now
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