The summer of 2019 was right there and my family didn’t have any plan yet. We didn’t want it to slip just like that without doing any fun stuff or visiting any fun place. By the end of July, we finally came up with a grand idea of visiting the funniest city in America, the city of the Big Shoulders, the Chicago. My research located an article published in 2014 in chicagotribune.com that cited a study by the University of Colorado at Boulder which ranked Chicago as America’s funniest city. (Here is the link to the Article).On top of that my nephew and his wife lived there and invited us. He told us, "Chicago boasts the iconic architecture, littered across the skyline, reflecting in the glistening Lake Michigan. Tourists from all around the world come to take a glimpse of this wondrous metropolis and enjoy the Chicago Blues." We thought, Awesome. It's an opportunity of summer time :).So, finally, by the end of July, we decided to visit Chicago, the Windy city for a week, and have fun. Question remained - fly or drive? We decided to drive from Toronto, Canada to Chicago, USA and have a fun-filled family road trip. Why drive? well! because it provided an opportunity for the entire family to talk and laugh, and bond while consuming the alarming amounts of chips purchased from the nearest convenience store. Road trip is fun, but it also requires waking up before the crack of dawn, which I only seem to enjoy out of my family members. Anyways, I was able to convince my children to wake up at 5:00 AM, because I reminded them about the famous Chicago Pizza, and they were ready to hit the road early morning. You might ask “why is it necessary to wake up that early”? Well, our trip involved crossing the busy Canada-USA border and it would become the the trail to the hell if we were late.
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| Chicago, glistering in night light, Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park |
We were on our way. Google Map showed estimated driving duration around 8 hours and 20 minutes. But, we knew that trips were full of surprises and additionally, we needed some extra hours to relax on road side eatery or the border crossing, or the Immigration etc.
And as guessed, it took us almost 12 hours to make the trip. We reached Chicago around 6:00 PM, just in time to catch the rush hour climax.
That evening we were all pretty tired. Actually I didn't quite understand why my kids were tired? They were basically talking, laughing, sight-seeing while crunching the chips or sleeping the whole way!
And as guessed, it took us almost 12 hours to make the trip. We reached Chicago around 6:00 PM, just in time to catch the rush hour climax.
That evening we were all pretty tired. Actually I didn't quite understand why my kids were tired? They were basically talking, laughing, sight-seeing while crunching the chips or sleeping the whole way!
Little bit of tiredness because of drive fatigue did not stop us venturing out that evening. After dinner, we walked along the Chicago’s scenic Lakefront Trail that followed the Lake Michigan shoreline. We're amazed how Chicago was able to keep Lake Michigan clean and tidy. For being one of the largest cities in the U.S, it was surprisingly in great condition. Lake Michigan really did frame the city, giving it dimension that other cities lack. The lakeshore trail was an amazing place to take an evening stroll. The city's skyline was basked in a fuchsia glow, and the skies pink ombre was the perfect background for the windy city. The lake complimented the setting sky beautifully by reflecting the vibrant hues on the rolling waves. One evening was obviously not enough to walk the entire Lakefront Trail (around 29.77 km), we only walked from the Shedd aquarium to the Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park.
Day two:
We decided to hit the popular spots in the city. The first destination was the world famous Shedd Aquarium.
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| A glimpse of Lakefront trail and City of Chicago. |
Day two:
We decided to hit the popular spots in the city. The first destination was the world famous Shedd Aquarium.
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| Outside view of the JOHN G. SHEDD AQUARIUM IN CHICAGO. |
The next stop was the “bean” or the cloud gate, a true masterpiece, in Grant Park . It was crowded, because of being a very popular tourist spot. We also enjoyed walking around the gardens and soaked our feet in the basins. We found the garden a quiet environment, in contrast to the bustling city that surrounded it.
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| Cloud Gate, the Bean at Millennium Park in Chicago. |
The final spot for the evening was the most anticipated one - The Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower ), the tallest building in Chicago and the 2nd tallest in America. We decided to go in the evening to catch the sunset and a glimpse of the transitional sun. It was very crowded, but the view from above was worth the wait.
Note: The skydeck is one of the main attraction of the Willis Tower, which is is like a glass box that sticks-out of the building.
It truly was mesmerizing to see the busy streets below our own feet, however, the time allowed on the glass floor was very limited, no more than 30 seconds. I felt that wasn't enough time to grasp the beauty of the city from 100 floors above. The time was just good enough to get some quick pictures. We still enjoyed the view from the large windows that surrounded the building. Through them, we were able to see how the city came to life in the night.
Day 3:
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Night view of Chicago From Willis Tower
| View of Chicago before dusk
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Day 3:
Our 3rd day in Chicago was actioned packed and filled with adventure. The first stop was the Adler Planetarium, located right next to the shore. The planetarium was a great learning experience and made us appreciate our universe. We also watched two shows there. One was about the solar system and the other was about stargazing. We also found that it was a great place to sit and gaze at the lake with the skyline in the background and to take pictures.
Next stop was Navy Pier. How could one visit Chicago , and not stop by the Navy Pier? As soon as we stepped onto the Pier, I were overcome with some sort of emotion. The emotion of hunger. So we stopped to eat lunch at Giordano’s for Chicago’s famous deep dish pizza. It was delicious.
The next stop for us was an architecture cruise. We really enjoyed watching each uniquely designed skyscrapers with own history and inspiration while cruising for 75 minutes. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and didn't miss any bit of information and even inserted some Chicago style jokes in between.
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| River Cruise - ultimate Chicago architecture experience. |
In the evening, we came back to the Navy Pier. Surrounded by Lake Michigan , the Pier was a great place to spend the evening, we found the atmosphere very up-lifting. We went on the Centennial wheel, and Chicago became ten times more breathtaking. The view provided us a new perspective of the city. My kids also had few other rides while I was wondering around.
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| The Centennial Wheel at Navy Pier - a signature attraction in Chicago. |
Day 4:
We woke up bright and early and headed towards Wisconsin. We were planning for three hours drive, it took more like 4 hours for us, because we took a little detour on the way. Instead of taking the highway, we took lovely country roads. Once we got to Wisconsin, our first stop was The House on the Rock, designed by architect Aex Jordan Jr. No suitable words to describe it, I'd simply say a piece of heaven on earth - just wonderful, unique, and so expertly made.
Note: I am not be able to show any inside artifacts of this place in the picture. Here is one (taken outside) that provides a quick glimpse of this magnificent place. But pictures don't do this place justice. You have to see it with your own eyes. You can really see Mr. Jordan’s passion integrated into his designs. I can go on and on about his intelligence and the years of work that have been put into this project, but the only way to fully experience it, is to see it yourself.
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| An outdoor glimpse of The House On The Rock. |
That night we stayed at the Ramada hotel located in the city of Wisconsin Dells. We found that the hotel was well maintained and service was fine. They also provided us the pass to Noah's waterpark as part of the deal.
Day 5:
We went to America’s largest waterpark, the Noah’s Ark Waterpark and we had a blast, a good one. What a great place it was for the whole family with over 80 family activities like The Scorpion’s Tail, Black Anaconda, Tadpole Bay Kiddie Play Area and Noah's 4-D Dive-In Theater. In 2018, they also brought "Raja - The World's Largest King Cobra" waterslide, into operation.
Note:
The city of Wisconsin Dells has number of theme parks and entertainment centers including Noah's Ark Water Park, and Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park and others.
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| Few Pictures taken while driving through the Wisconsin Dells. |
The same night we drove back to Chicago. It was 2 AM when we arrived back to my nephew's apartment.
Day 6:
We decided to take complete rest and just enjoy each other's company. We also had a family visitor. Later in the afternoon I went outside with my nephew to go around the neighbourhood and guess what I saw there? The Chicago White Sox's Guaranteed Rate Field. I wished I had chance to go see the game.
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| Guaranteed Rate Field located in the South Side of Chicago, home ballpark for Chicago White Sox. |
Day 7:
7th Day was a shopping day. We spent some time shopping in and around Water Tower place in Chicago. Later in the afternoon, we decided to go to nearby waterfront beach. To our surprise, the water was clean. Amazing to see the long sandy beaches with number of activities right in the middle of the city. I Enjoyed some swimming and sitting on the beach and have small family picnic. There were lots of snack/food options as well as bike rentals.
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| A glimpse of a beach and view from Waterfront lake. |
Day 7:
We didn't want to drive home just yet, but we had to. We woke up at around 5 AM, said thank you and good bye and headed home to Canada. Spent another 12 hours for estimated 8 hours of drive but we fully enjoyed it.
Hope this blog helps you to plan your next trip to Chicago and enjoy to its fullest. See you next time.
