We just got back from Papa's work in Knoxville, TN at 1am that Saturday morning. After about 6 hours of sleep, nothing, not even lack of sleep, could stop us from driving to Chicago for the long weekend. We have been planning this trip for a few months already and, since Memorial Weekend was the nearest long holiday, we decided to finally go.
We stayed at The Courtyard (Marriot) in Wood Dale, which is about 30 minutes from downtown Chicago. It's quite far, yes, but its also cheaper (hehe) and definitely more relaxing than being in the busy downtown area. Also, our room was really really nice and had free high speed internet! Yey!
Lovin' the Marriot!
After checking in, we drove ourselves to the Navy Pier.
Entrance to the Navy Pier. Papa had to stop the traffic so we could take this picture, hehe!
Now that's a skyline!
Papa nearly had a heart attack when he found out how much the parking fee at the Pier cost: $22! Here's a tip. It's better to park outside the Pier grounds, preferably somewhere in downtown along the trolley route. There are public parking garages which will charge a maximum of $14 a day, definitely less expensive than at the Pier, plus, the trolley ride is free! Anyways...
We parked near the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows which gave us the opportunity to browse around and take some pictures. Btw, admission is free!
Just a bit of history.
Wow, how intricate!
We then walked to the Food Court to have a quick McDonald's lunch. What's different about this McDonald's store is, it features hourly laser light shows, videos and electronic gadgets that were really fascinating! There's also a retail store that sells McDonald's novelty items and clothing. Also, it's the first time Mama allowed me to eat my first McDonald's hamburger! Mama almost never allows me to eat fast food, so I was really happy to actually have my first happy meal which included a Crash Bandicut happy meal toy! Yipee! :D
After lunch, we went up the the second level where we lined up to ride the world famous Navy Pier Ferris Wheel.
It doesn't look too scary from down here.
For a charge of $5 each for Papa and Mama (kids like me could ride for free!), we were able to view the magnificent Chicago skyline, as well as Lake Michigan from the top of the wheel. Great great great experience!
Top of the world!
Aside fromt the Ferris Wheel, there are other rides at this level of the Pier such as the Wave Swinger, Miniature Golf, Cliff Climb, and the Musical Carousel.
Carousels make Mama dizzy and me scared. It's harmless as a background, though, so here we are!
Down below were some attractions for the older kids like the Funhouse Maze and Time Escape. Over to the entrance of the Pier was the Chicago Children's Museum. Mama wanted to take me there but the Museum closed as soon as we got there. Sayang!
We strolled along the Pier and took more pictures.
Anchored!
We also watched some magicians and jugglers perform on-stage. Mama and Papa enjoyed themselves while I people-watched and ran around as free as the gulls on the harbor.
In honor of Memorial Day and the Pier's 10th year anniversary, a Fireworks Show was scheduled for that night. What better way to enjoy the fireworks display than on a boat over at Lake Michigan? We reserved a boat trip for 9pm that night with Anita Dee.
Trying to find my sea legs.
The quiet waves, though, rocked me to sleep in my Mama's arms as soon as Anita 1 hit the water. I was sooo tired! It was a good thing, though, because Papa and Mama took the time to serenely revere the beauty of it all, without my constant likot.
A perfect night.
And so ends our first day in Chicago.
~~~
After hearing mass the following day, Papa drove us around downtown in search of the famous "Barrio Fiesta", a Filipino buffet restaurant that Mama ate at once when she worked in Chicago for a while. After getting lost a couple of times, we finally asked directions from Panciteria Mabuhay over at N. Central Ave. (tel. no. (773) 7368426). To my Papa's disappointment, and no wonder we kept missing it, we learned that Barrio Fiesta has been closed for some time now. We were directed, instead, to Ruby's Restaurant at Montrose avenue, which was a relatively newer Pinoy buffet resturant that the former Barrio Fiesta patrons now go to. We found it easily enough and Papa was so happy! Mama was too dyahe to take pictures so we didn't have any souvenirs that we ate there, except for our happy tummies. For $6.95 plus tax per person, we got our fill of kare-kare, lechon kawali, pinakbet, pancit bihon, dinuguan, ginataang munggo and palitaw for dessert. Yummy!!! Mama was so busog and slightly amazed at the thought of where the owners found the right ingredients for all these authentic food! :D
Now that we have recharged, we headed on over to the Sears Tower to visit the Skydeck.
Picture first, view later.
However, Papa decided that we should go back later because the line entering the building was so long that it extended around the block!! We were told that it would take about 3-4 hours wait to reach the skydeck from there. Mama would gladly fall in line if it were a roller coaster ride, but since we did not want to waste our precious time, we decided to take a walk along Jackson Street to the Union Station and take pictures.
Behind us is the old Union Station.
Union Station from another angle.
Seeing no improvements upon our return to Sears Tower, we instead inquired with the Double Decker Bus company (just in front of Sears Tower) about taking a ride around the city. Instead of paying $25 per head to ride the bus, we ingeniously followed the bus in our car! Haha! We were able to drive through the theater district, the shops, offices, and landmarks without spending a cent. That was our main advantage. For another, we had the luxury of being able to stop at a site longer, whereas the bus only stops while the recorded tour voice shares the important information. We would wait until the next bus comes in, and follow that one to the next stop. The disadvantages are, sometimes, we don't even know what we are supposed to be looking at/for! That was funny! We also had to find our own parking space, and there's really not a lot of that. Good thing it was a Sunday and parking on the streets of downtown was free! Also, the buses come at different intervals so we lost some time waiting.
When we got tired of following the rear end of the bus, Papa decided to stop at the new Chicago Millenium Park, as both Papa and Mama have never been there before. (The park is actually located right across the Philippine Consulate). Unfortunately, we couldn't get any parking space. I guess, all of the people of Chicago decided to spend their afternoon there and at Sears Tower like us, hehe. After getting too frustrated, we decided to forgo the Park and drive to the United Center instead. Anyway, we can come back to it later on our way to the Skydeck.
By the way, it's not Chicago unless you take a picture here (mama was so excited!):
Harpo! Hello Tita Oprah!
We accidentally stumbled upon Tita Oprah's studio on the way. Mama wanted to get tickets to the show beforehand but Papa wasn't interested. What if we won a car or something?!
Moving on, we arrived at the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks. It's Papa's turn to get all excited.
The United Center.
Jordan's long lost twin.
Being on the Sports Mode and all, we then decided to drive to Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. Fortunately (for the fans) and unfortunately (for us), there was a game going on and we got stuck in really heavy traffic! And so, we said goodbye to our hopes of seeing Wrigley and just drove ourselves back to Sears (yet again!). This time, we decided to line up (how ever long it took) and make the Skydeck our last trip for the day because we were all so tired. For $12 (me, free again!), we were able to view a short film on Seeing Chicago from the Top, and then was able to finally (finally!) go up to the top deck.
The 3-foot expert Chicago tour guide.
Mama is not afraid of heights at all!
Looking through Papa's eyes.
Mama and Papa allowed me to run around the deck this time and I had so much fun! Up there, there was an exhibit about the people and things that best showed-off the city. The bottom part of the exhibits were interactive things for kids like me. This is Mama's fave 'kalokohan' of mine:
Cracker Jack beckoned me. I thought he wanted to make 'apir' with me, so I indulged him. Needless to say, I cracked Mama up!
And so, our second day ends. But not before we had some Chicago-style deep dish pizza. Not just any pizza, but Gino's East (the original, is always dabest, so they say), as seen on the Amazing Race.
The harmless-looking pizza box.
Mama clearly instructed Papa to order a Small pizza, Papa said 'but i'm hungry na', so Medium it is (and mama shrugs one 'bahala ka' to Papa). As soon as Papa had the pizza in his hands, in a sudden flash of realization, he wondered desperately how he could possibly fit a 4 pound pizza inside our tummies. Yes, the pizza itself weighed like four huge pounds, it was so heavy! (but yummy!)
Have a look see... yes, we still had some left for breakfast.
Ang makamandag na pizza.
~~
It's our last day in Chicago and there were only two activities planned for the day.
Plan 1: Visit Kuya Jason
Papa's nephew, Kuya Jason, lives in the Chicago area so we visited him. I looked forward to this meeting because I would finally be able to meet my niece, Jamille. Yes folks, I have a niece who is actually 8 days younger than me! We had so much fun playing and eating lumpiang shanghai together that I didn't want to leave. She's so cute, she takes after me! :D
My favorite Chicago moment: being with Jamille.
Plan 2: Shopping!
Question: where is the best place to go for shopping in Chicago?
Answer: The Magnificent Mile
I bought a swimsuit from the Disney Store, and Mama bought a new bracelet for her watch at Neiman Marcus, and Papa cried from the gastos.
We also dropped by the American Girl Place, which sold the most beautiful dolls, books, clothes, accessories, and furniture! They even sell clothes that would match you and your doll. They also have a theater, but we didn't go to see it because we didn't have much time to spare. It was such a fun place! However, I was not able to convince my Papa and Mama to get a doll for me because Mama said I was too young and would not be able to take care of my doll very well (and besides, she said I'm not American girl, hehe!). Maybe I'll just ask Santa to get me one this Christmas!
Before we left the Mile, we took some more pictures of the other famous landmarks along the strip, such as:
The Water Tower
The Water Tower Place, which housed two big department stores: Lord and Taylor, and Marshall Fields.
And finally, the John Hancock Center, which is second to the Sears Tower in dominating the Chicago Skyline.
This ends our weekend getaway in Chicago. It was such a good experience being here. I'm sure we will be back soon!