It’s that time of year! Our annual Chicago trip with Tammy and Paul! This year there was a little twist as our high school friends planned a trip to Chicago on the same weekend to celebrate all of us turning 40. We ended up combining the two events.
Friday we got into Chicago super early, 9:30. Mike and I dropped off our bags at the hotel and went walking around. The weather was amazing and we just checked out the sites. We stopped and had lunch at Rock Bottom Brewery which we had been to the year before. The weather was gorgeous, 75 and no wind with sunshine both days. Couldn’t have asked for better.
Paul and Tammy arrived around noon and we walked around some more and checked out some more sites.
That night we had made plans to do a progressive dinner. I had found this company online that takes you on a tour of the city, stopping at three different restaurants for appetizers/wine, the main course, and dessert.
Our first stop was a restaurant we had been to before, Quaratino’s. There we had pizzas, salads, bread, and wine. Great Italian restaurant that serves wine in carafes….dangerous.
Our second stop for the main meal was at Reza’s . Here we had a great chicken meal with potatoes. Not sure exactly what is was called, but it was good. They also had humus and pita bread and I had never really had good humus so it was a treat!
The last stop was down on Navy Pier and it was called Riva’s. There we enjoyed turtle cheesecake and overlooked the Lake Michigan.
The food was great, We met so many fun people, and learned a little about the city from our great guide, Brandon.
You had an hour at each place so you didn’t feel rushed. You bypassed all the lines and were escorted to an area reserved for the party at each restaurant. It was such a great time. The restaurants change quite regularly so I see this tour being something we do each year.
On Saturday we spent the day shopping and visiting. I found all my gifts for the kids and my parents. We met up with our high school friends that evening. We opted to have dinner before meeting them because we met up with them so late and the place they picked was spendy. So, we ate at Giordano’s. Great pasta and pizza here!
We then took a taxi to Carnavale. It was great to get together and see everyone and we enjoyed some guacamole and cocktails. The group then ventured to a roof top bar. Boy, did we feel OLD at that place. They closed the outside area and made us come inside where we watched fire twirlers from behind glass.
Not something you see everyday!
Sunday we were able to have a quick breakfast near our hotel together and then it was back on the plane to come home!
My parents watched the kids while we were gone. Noah had his last baseball tournament of the season for his U11 team. We had been texting with dad all weekend as the kids had done very well in it only losing once on Saturday. When we landed we found out they were still playing in the championship game. That’s all we needed to hear, we drove as quick as we could to get to that last game once our luggage came off the carousel.
When we got there they were behind by two. We had last ups and so we were there for the last half inning and awards. Noah got on base and proceeded to steal his way all the home!
Unfortunately, they lost by one point (to the other Owatonna team) and took second.
They still had a blast and came home with a trophy!
A BIG HUGE thank you to my parents. Not only did they spend the entire weekend in Woodbury in the rain and cold, they stayed overnight in the hotel with the team Friday night, had a picnic with the team Saturday, and kept us updated with constant text messages. I could not ask for better parents and my kids are so lucky to have such amazing grandparents.
Much love,
LB
