Day 45 - Chicago

Mike Mladenoff
May 16, 2016
3 min read

We could not get an Uber driver to pick us up at the campsite, so we had a taxi bring us into the city. There was a bit of a mix up on the actual drop off point, but he would up bringing us to the Willis Tower. Once inside, we thought about taking the elevator ride to the upper floors, but decided that the line was too long. Instead, we bought BigB Bus tickets to tour the city.

Aqua

Chicago Tribune

The "L" coming toward us as we walk around the city.

At lunchtime we stopped by Millennium Park. After a quick walk across the pedestrian bridge spanning the highway, we headed toward the "Bean."

At the bean, there was a lady that approached us ti take our picture "jumping at the bean."

Back to the bus to continue our guided trip through down Chicago. We did not get a chance to stop at the American Girl Place, but a picture in front of it is the next best thing, right?

We stopped next to the aquarium to stretch our legs. From here, we got the best view of the Chicago skyline.

On Instagram, Kristen had seen some photos taken with feet at the North Bridge plate So when we stumbled across this metal casting, she took a picture of her own.

We jumped off the bus at Navy Pier and strolled through the shops, bought some souvenirs, kettle corn and some gelato.

One of the shops had this poster of a very good idea. I think they should ask for our input!

Near the end of the pier there was a place to lounge and watch the boats pass by on Lake Michigan. While we rested, Luke downloaded an app to play some songs on the wifi jukebox that everyone could hear. Of course he picked the infamous Tom Jones "Whats New Pussycat" and "It's not Unusual." To understand why, you will need to listen to one of our favorite comedy bits by John Mulaney (language warning), which takes place at the nearby Salt n Pepper Diner. The original plan was to visit the diner and play these songs, but we heard it recently closed, so this location would have to do.

We learned in previous cities that the Hard Rock Cafe has good gluten free options. So after our stop at Navy Pier, we walked a few blocks passing John Hancock Place in the process.

Once we got to Hard Rock, we thought it still too early for to eat, so we walked a couple more blocks to check out Pizzeria Uno. Since Luke and I missed our opportunity to eat pizza in NYC, we had to eat pizza at this small, but very well known establishment. This is where we developed the dual dinner plan. Pay attention! These pizza pies take 45 minutes to bake, but knowing that the rest of the family was going to eat at Hard Rock, we asked if they could make it ready in 90 minutes instead. This would give us time to walk back to Hard Rock for Kristen, Tyler and Rachel to eat then walk back to pick up our pizza while is was hot.