If you read my last post about our two week trip to see family, you would know that my sister-in-law and her family will be moving very soon to a new state. They told us a while back they wanted to come see where we live now before they moved, so they came up for the last weekend of April for a quick weekend trip. Samuel's parents came too because they had not visited Wheaton since the weekend we moved here. We had 6 adults, a 6- month-old baby, and a 21-month-old all staying in our two bedroom place. It was pretty cozy, but oh so fun.
They, of course, wanted to go to Chicago while they were in town! We've lived in our new town for TEN months now, which seems so hard to believe, and we had not been to Chicago since last August. It's only about an hour away from us so that's kind of crazy, right?! It was about time we went back.
The first time we went last year it was only Samuel, Charlie, and I who rode the train in for the day. Let me tell yall. This second trip with family was WAY more successful, enjoyable, and eventful. So keep reading for some tips and details of fun things we loved doing.
1. Choose the right travel method. First things first, we drove instead of taking the train this time. Don't get me wrong, riding the Metra was a super fun experience that I hope to do again soon, but for a big group (we had 6 adults and 2 infants) it was just so much easier to drive exactly where we wanted to go because of strollers, diaper bags, babies, a nursing mother, etc.
The drive into the city was not terribly bad. I had always heard how awful the traffic would be. My husband, the driver, might disagree with me but I didn't think it was all that bad. The hardest part was trying to find parking, but once we realized most places were about the same price we just settled on one.
The cost of parking was ridiculous, so be prepared for that if you decide to drive your own car. We were there from about 11 am - 4 pm and it ended up being $37. To be fair, we parked at probably the most popular parking garage directly under Millennium Park, compared to my sister-in-law who parked about a mile away from Millennium Park and only paid $12. It truly was nice to be in a convenient spot that day even though we paid a little more for that convenience. Just to give you some perspective, when we rode the Metra it was still over $20 for our tickets.
The drive into the city was not terribly bad. I had always heard how awful the traffic would be. My husband, the driver, might disagree with me but I didn't think it was all that bad. The hardest part was trying to find parking, but once we realized most places were about the same price we just settled on one.
The cost of parking was ridiculous, so be prepared for that if you decide to drive your own car. We were there from about 11 am - 4 pm and it ended up being $37. To be fair, we parked at probably the most popular parking garage directly under Millennium Park, compared to my sister-in-law who parked about a mile away from Millennium Park and only paid $12. It truly was nice to be in a convenient spot that day even though we paid a little more for that convenience. Just to give you some perspective, when we rode the Metra it was still over $20 for our tickets.
2. Pick just a few main destinations. Our main destination for the day was Intelligentsia Coffee. My sister-in-law was a beast at mapping out everywhere we wanted to go. The first time we went to Chicago this was not the case. We failed at planning. People, planning is the KEY to an amazing Chicago trip because you really have no conception of just how BIG this city is. It can seriously take 30 minutes to go from top to bottom of the city. So you have know where you want to go in order to survive.
The location of Intelligentsia we picked was just a block away from Millennium Park. Look at it HERE on the map as a reference. It was so so good, you all. I wasn't sure if I was going to love it (because I think Quills coffee back in Louisville is the worst, and I thought it would be similar) but I really loved Intelligentsia. I'm so glad we stopped in there for coffee first thing because the temperature was in the 50s, which felt like the 40s. In April!!!! Chicago winter never ends. It was nice to have a warm cup to walk around with.
After we got our coffee, we walked back over to Millennium Park for those who had not been. Is that place ever not crowded!? It kind of is one of the best photo spots, though. We grabbed a quick Panarea Bread lunch across from the park to take care of the babies diapers/feedings.
Which brings me to my next tip:
3. Plan your destinations based on what's nearby. Make your plans doable. It's not realistic to plan to go to place A, then drive to B and C. That will waste your money and your time. We walked to a nearby shopping area (essentially an indoor mall) called Block 37 which we found on the maps app. It was just a short walk from where we already were and it had a lot to see and do! We went to the Disney store, a two story Anthropologie, Magnolia Bakery (no relation to Chip and Joanna's Magnolia, but they had the BEST whipped chocolate banana pudding. Oh my.), and got a break from the cold wind being inside.
4. Go to Garret Popcorn. That's the last tip. Just go there. Get the Garret Mix with caramel and cheddar popcorn, and you will have pretty much guaranteed a successful Chicago trip. It's DELICIOUS.
I'm definitely not an expert at Chicago travel by any means yet, but our experience from the first time was just so night and day I wanted to share the things we found helpful.
I still have some other things on my Chicago bucket list like:
Stan's Donuts
Go to a Cubs Game
The Navy Pier
The Skydeck at Willis Tower
Lincoln Park Zoo
Chicago Children's Museum
Firecakes
Oz Park
Garfield Conservatory
Drop anything else you think we would like in the comments. I'd love to know what other things you recommend doing!
-Emily
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