Birthday Weekend in Chicago

Part of my birthday present from Eric was a trip to Chicago over the weekend (the bulk of the present was what he bought me at one of the places we went - keep reading!). We decided to just do an overnight trip (instead of a two-nighter) and left really early on Saturday morning and started heading up I-65.

Our first stop (not counting breakfast) was the Museum of Science and Industry. That place was awesome!! We arrived shortly after they opened (in hopes of beating the crowds) and walked around for a bit before heading to the U-505 exhibit. For those who don’t know, this is an actual U-Boat captured in World War II (right before D-Day). We took the actual tour of the sub and got to hear the story of its capture, what they found on board, and what it led to. Definitely a ‘something you should do before…’ next time you’re in Chicago. We walked around a bit more before going to the Coal Mine exhibit, where they take you down into a “coal mine” deep below the museum (it’s actually in the basement). With some coal mining in my family history, this was interesting to learn how things really were in the mines. There really is a lot more to it than one would think!

We hit a few more exhibits before taking a walk under Lakeshore Drive and checking out the view on this gorgeous day (weather wise). We walked out to one of the points and enjoyed the view of the water and the skyline for a bit, and then headed back to the car. On to the hotel to freshen up!!

We got to the hotel and checked in. Eric used his points to get us a room at the Conrad downtown, which if that wasn’t nice enough, they upgraded us because our room wasn’t ready when we went to check in! So we had this huge corner suite overlooking north Michigan Avenue with a great view of the Hancock

Tower (that's what the picture is of - our view). It was amazing! And all we had to pay for was parking!

So after a little freshening up, we hopped on the ‘L’ and headed up to the Lincoln Park area. This is where the big gift was to be! Eric had read an article in one of his retail magazines about this new ‘top retailer’ in the nation called The Blues Jean Bar. Is a really simple, yet genius concept! Most girls out there know how hard it is to find a good pair of jeans that actually fit the way they are supposed to fit. Well, this store caters to that fact. You walk in and tell them a style, wash, and size, and they just keep loading you up with jeans and actually tell you how they fit and if it’s a good/proper fit as you try each pair on. Unlike most stores, they have, like, 30 different brands! So you could potentially spend hours there if you went in without any idea of what you wanted! We were there for about an hour as it was, and I tried on about 12 pairs of jeans before finding ‘the right pair’ for me. And that was my big gift – a really good pair of jeans. It may not sound like much, but if you ever get to one of these places, you’ll understand how great this was! They even do the tailoring for you to get the right length and make it look like the original hem.

After my shopping experience, we went out to eat at a Tapas Bar called Ba Ba Reeda, which was just up the road. They had awesome paella and a great mango sangria! It was a great way to wind down the day.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. It wasn’t all that late, but we were both beat! We talked about getting a drink somewhere, but neither of us could get enough motivation to even do that. So we chilled for a bit before heading to bed… and sleeping like rocks!

The next morning, we got up early, had a good breakfast at the hotel, and then did a little sight seeing downtown. I was wanting to take some pictures of some buildings and some of the art we saw the previous day when we were driving around. So we drove around and then we’d park, and walk around a bit. Unfortunately, the sun disappeared behind the clouds, but I still got some good shots.

We went back to the hotel and packed up our bags to check out. Instead of leaving right away, though, we decided to do a little shopping on Michigan Avenue. Not too much actual buying, but since we were right there… I did buy a few things, of course.

One last stop in Chicago before we headed back to the car to finally head home was the Billy Goat Tavern. Anyone from Chicago knows this place... they may not have been there, but they know of it... espcailly if you're a Cubs fan! The current location has been there since the 60's (under a bridge) and I don't think they've touched the decor or the menu since then. Truly a sight to see!

Of course on our way home (when we finally got out of town), we hit our normal stop at Fair Oaks Farms. For some reason, it was packed!! So even though a milkshake would’ve been nice, we passed and just bought our milk and went home. Though I was excited to learn that they’ve started to market it in local grocery stores… so now I can buy it at my Marsh! Oberweis has some competition, now!

So all in all, I had a great birthday weekend! I didn’t want to come back to Indy, that's for sure. But I guess it had to end sometime. Until next year…

You can see more pictures on my Fotki page. Enjoy!!