The Windy City

My mom, sisters, and sister-in-law and I took off for a girls weekend in Chicago during mid July.  Mandy, Karen and Lindsey had never really been to the city to sight see, so we hit up as many major sights as we could.  Of course, Mandy is 6 months pregnant, so we needed to go at her pace.  The trip definately wasn't a bar hopping/drinking type of trip, but that's quite alright.  It was still a great time. 

Vera helped me pack my bags on Wednesday evening.

On Thursday afternoon, we checked out the Navy Pier.  It was SO hot!!  We ate at the Margaritaville restaurant.  It was good, but really hot inside.  Poor Mandy was pretty miserable.

On Friday morning, we shopped around Michigan Avenue and the Water Tower Place.  Everyone is on the escalator here, if you look closely.

We went to the 96th floor of the John Hancock Building and looked around on Friday morning.

Lego Cowboy @ the Lego Store in Water Tower Place.

Chicago skyline, all made of Legos.

Friday morning we also went to Millenium Park and saw the Cloud, aka the Bean.

A cool reflection of the buildings in the bean.

The flowers all around the city were really pretty!

On Friday afternoon, we went on the Wendella Boat Cruise on the Chicago River and through the locks out to Lake Michigan.  It was a relaxing and informative cruise with some pretty sights!

Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier.

On Saturday morning, we went on a food tour.  It was a walking tour to various restaurants around the city.  Our first stop was Pizano's.  We had some yummy pizza with goat cheese and sausage.

Second stop was Sarah's Pastries and Candies.  We had a delicious chocolate brownie at this stop.  Unfortunately, this restaurant closed 3 days after we visited.  Sarah, the owner, is only 28 years old and very successful!

At the very fancy Drake Hotel, we got to see the lavish powder room, voted runner up in 2009 as best restroom. 

We didn't eat here, just had some chocolates to go.  But, we got to see the room where their famous tea is served.  The Drake is very well-known for tea at Christmas time.

We had a Chicago style hotdog here.  It was yummy!

Had jumbalya and gumbo here.  It was pretty spicy for our liking.

Had a delcious hamburger here.  We were also entertained by the yelling and chaos of the Greek employees. 

We heard about SNL's spoof of the Billy Goat Tavern and the curse of the Goat. 

Our last stop was the Allerton Hotel.  On the very top floor is an old bar named Tip Top Tap.  It is no longer a bar, but a banquet and reception site.  It was set up for a wedding, and it was beautiful!

At the Allerton we had chocolate chip cheesecake.  It was so smooth and delcious!

Vera stayed home with her dad for the three days.  She also got to hang out with her buddies at the babysitter's house on Thursday and Friday during the day while Adam worked.  Patty said everyone was excited to see her!  She definately didn't forget Patty's house; on Friday she walked directly to the drawer where Patty keeps her pacifiers, and she quickly took one out and popped it in her mouth.  She hasn't had a pacifier since the end of June, so I guess she can consider it a treat. 

On Friday night and Saturday, Adam played in the Marion alumni tournament with my class.  So, Vera got to spend a lot of time in the dirt at the ball park.  She played with her friends Joel and JP.  By the looks of her clothes, she had a blast playing and running around!