in may of 2019, pete and i went to chicago for a wedding. at least that what we were supposed to be doing there. my beloved aunt passed away the day we were scheduled to leave so we cut our trip short by 3 days in order to come back and attend her memorial service and be with family. however, while in the windy city, we had the best weather - after their recent heat wave, i can only attribute this blessing to my aunt, making sure we had a wonderful time.
chicago was a lot more fun this time around because (1) it was not raining which made sightseeing much easier, (2) it wasn’t lolla weekend which meant fewer youths running around and clogging up the sidewalks, and (3) i wasn’t with my parents, i was with my best friend, and what more could you want?
we spend the first day visiting the field museum, meeting sue the t-rex, walking along the river and splashing in the water, seeing the artwork at the art history museum a la ferris buller, and admiring the architecture along the river on a boat tour. i also got to get together with an old college girlfriend of mine who was in town and it was lovely to catch up.
the second day, we were lucky enough to visit the hamilton exhibition and despite our tour time of 10:30am, there were hardly any crowds or lines, so we were able to make the most of our time reading every plaque and poster, soaking up all the history, listening to all the music, and just marveling at the awesomeness that is lin manuel miranda and his vision.
before heading to the airport to fly back home, we stopped for lunch at the hancock tower - the view from the 96th floor was absolutely incredible and was the most romantic backdrop to our lunch of beers and flatbread. shortly afterwards, we hopped into our uber, grabbed our things from the hotel, took the blue line to o’hare, and flew home.
if you want to know specifics, by all means just ask. i’ll tell you one thing - if you have the chance to go to chicago, go! it’s so much fun and it’s one of those places you’ve got to experience at least once in your life. this has been a post.