Tiffany and I decided to go visit two of our best friends as well as some family in Chicago. Since I only had about 1 month to prepare for the vacation, Chicago seemed to be a great fit. Our friends Sean and Gena were very generous and let us stay with them.
Tiffany only had a couple of days to spend in Chicago, whereas I had an entire week. When we arrived on June 6th, we started planning so that Tiffany could get to see as much as possible. Gena had a great idea to go eat and The Green, an outdoor restaurant near Grant Park where we could listen to the music of a nearby blues festival that was taking place. Afterwards, we went to the John Hancock building and went up to the 96th floor, the observation deck. We had a couple of drinks and Gena and Tiffany started getting a little rambunctious. The views were incredible, and needless to say, we had a great time.
Tiffany and I took a train the next morning to Hanover Park to visit some of Tiffany's family. We spent two days there, mainly celebrating the Junior High graduation of Tiffany's nephew Ronnie. We had some more drinks, and ate really well. For me, it was great to finally go and see this side of Tiffany's family, and get familiar with the places they call home. Sunday night, we returned to the city, and finished off the evening with some great sushi.
Monday, Sean and Gena took the day off and planned an awesome trip to see the Sox game. Though it wasn't Wrigley Field, it was far different than any baseball game Tiffany or I have ever seen. Sox fans are way more animated than the Diamondback fans are.
Unfortunatly, Monday was also the day that Tiffany had to leave to go home. So, we headed back to Sean's apartment and we packed her up, and headed to the airport. Due to the weather and O'hare's inability to depart a flight on time, we had a couple extra hours to burn. So, Gena found a great Chicago style pizza restaurant to take us to. It was called Gino's, and was incredible. Shortly after dinner, we caught a cab back to the airport and sadly watched as Tiffany headed to her gate to go home.
The next few days, I walked around the city and checked out the Sears Tower, Field Museum, Addler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Architectural Boat Tour, and many other sites. Though it would have been nice to have Sean, Gena and Tiffany with me for all of them, I had a great time wandering aroung on my own. The transportation was really awesome. I only had trouble twice.
All in all, Tiffany and I had a great time. We owe that solely to the generosity of Sean and Gena. They made for a very fun, inexpensive, and action packed vacation. It is not too often I go somewhere for 10 days, and not be ready to return home. There is so much to see and do in Chicago, especially if you love construction and architecture.
