Chicago

Jon Jackson contacted me a few weeks before Christmas 2018 asking if I would be interested in taking Emily on a Daddy Daughter trip with him and Maggie. Lisa and I thought it was a great idea so we started looking at cities to visit. We considered many options including San Fransisco and Seattle, but eventually ended up deciding to go to Chicago. In May 2018, Lisa and I took Katie on a senior trip to Chicago to see Hamilton. We had to prepare Emily for the fact we were taking Katie without her since Emily is such a huge Hamilton fan. She has all of the songs memorized, even the crazy fast rap songs. Emily took it well and was able to be excited for Katie and her opportunity to enjoy a senior trip with her parents.

Because of all that, however, I decided immediately that I couldn't take Emily on a trip unless it involved Hamilton. Therefore, going back to Chicago made a lot of sense. It is a fairly cheap direct flight from Denver, it is a great city with a lot of fun things to do, and again, it has Hamilton. Jon was on board so I booked flights and our Hamilton tickets and we gave the trip to our girls for Christmas. Emily was really cute when she walked out on Christmas morning and saw the Hamilton sign. She was pretty emotional and I was so happy for her. Initially, she only knew that Hamilton was going to happen. Later on in the present opening, she received the rest of the trip, learning that we would be going to Chicago with Jon and Maggie. It was so fun to watch her excitement as she found out the details.

As the time got closer, we filled in some of the other planning. Of course, I can't go to Chicago without going to a Cubs game. I booked a hotel and we made a list of cool sites to see and good restaurants to visit and shared those with the girls to find out what they would want to do.

We left early early early on a Friday morning. Our flight departed at 6:03am, so we had to leave our house at 3:00am in order to be there on time. I had a hard time falling asleep the night before, so I only got about 2 hours of sleep and it was hard to wake up when the alarm went off at 2:30. We quickly got ready, picked up the Jacksons at 3am, and had an uneventful drive and flight. We took the Blue Line train from the Chicago O’hare airport to downtown Chicago and checked into our hotel about noon. Luckily, one of our rooms was ready for us to check in right away so we dropped off our bags and then started seeing the town.

First, we went to Giordano's for deep dish pizza. Emily and I shared a small Classic, which is sausage, mushroom, and green peppers. We debated whether we should get a Medium size, but so glad we didn't. We couldn't even finish the small pizza. Emily definitely did her part. She nearly ate 3 whole pieces. I ate 2 pieces and a few bites of a third. Jon and Maggie also shared a small pizza but Jon ate 2 pieces and Maggie ate 1. That is filling pizza and so tasty.

Then we headed immediately to the Willis Tower SkyDeck. This was my third time up there, but it was by far the shortest lines I have experienced. We got up to the 103rd floor pretty fast and had a great time enjoying the views and re-enacting the scene from Ferris Bueller. I actually had to tell Maggie what the scene was because she hasn't seen it, and that became a big joke for the entire weekend. It was fun to refer to Ferris Bueller and give Maggie a hard time about it. We waited in line to go out on the glass platform and had a good plan of what pictures we wanted to capture while out there. We even got some input from Katie on text while we were deciding what to do. Oh yeah, I should also mention that I also had to explain the Ferris Bueller scene to Emily because she couldn't remember any of the movie. That was another running joke all weekend.

We were trying to get the girls to decide what activity they wanted to do next, and they finally decided to go to the aquarium. The Shedd Aquarium is really pretty incredible. It is one of the largest indoor aquariums with 5 million gallons of water. We loved seeing the sharks and the sea otter and the thousands of amazing fish, but the highlight was definitely the Beluga Whales. The trainers were feeding the whales and getting them to do tricks while we were watching. It was so cool. They are very intelligent animals.

After the aquarium, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Hamilton. But on the way, we stopped at the Magnolia Bakery for some Banana Pudding and Cupcakes. We also got some iconic pictures at the Chicago Theatre sign.

Out hotel was only a 5 minute walk to the CIBC theater. We arrived about 7:05 and got all settled in our amazing seats on the main floor. I was so excited. Maggie couldn't decide who was more excited between me and Emily, but she figured I was just more vocal about my excitement. Probably true. That does sound like me. Hamilton, Eliza, King George, and a few other actors were the same ones I saw with Lisa and Katie last May. Aaron Burr was new this time, and I liked this actor better. The show was even better the second time. I loved it. I would happily come back and see it again. Let me know who wants to go.

After Hamilton, we went to bed. It was a long day, starting at 2:30 am and not ending until 11:30pm. But it was a perfect first day of our Chicago adventure.

DAY 2

Saturday was also an amazing day. We left the hotel at 8:30 in the morning and didn't return to the hotel until about 8:30 at night. Yes, we go hard when we travel. We started the day with a visit to Do-Rite donuts. I remembered my favorites were Blueberry Cake and Cinnamon old fashioned. They were so yummy. Jon slipped next door and also got a breakfast sandwich from The Corner Bakery. We ate our doughnuts in there while he was waiting for his food. It worked out well.

Next, we walked along a short portion of the Riverwalk and then out to Navy Pier. We had fun taking photos and videos and also visited the indoor botanical garden there. The girls really wanted to rent bikes, so that was our next activity. We rode bikes down the Chicago Lakefront Trail from the Navy Pier to the Aquarium. It was more fun than I expected.

Then we jumped on the Red Line and headed out to Wrigley Field. Jon and Maggie were nice enough to accompany me to a Cubs game. I know that was not their ideal activity, but it was so fun for me to be there with them and with Emily. I explained the game to Emily and she was really enjoying it. I just love that stadium. It would be amazing if I could continue to get back to Chicago every year for a Cubs game. The first few innings went by pretty fast, but the middle innings got kind of boring. I mean, I still loved it, but it was not great baseball and I am sure the others were pretty bored. The Cubs pitchers were really struggling, which meant a lot of pitching changes. The Cubs pitchers also walked in 3 runs during that stretch. So frustrating to watch a new pitcher come in with only 1 job, and then watch them throw 4 consecutive balls to walk another batter resulting in another run for the Angels. During that time, the Cubs also had a bases loaded opportunity that resulted in no runs. The 8th and 9th innings finally produced some excitement again, however. They scored 2 runs in the 8th inning to pull within 2, but left 2 runners stranded. Then they had a great rally in the 9th inning, but fell just short. Javier Baez had a great game. He went 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs, including an RBI double in the 9th which put 2 runners in scoring position and only 1 out. But the batters behind him couldn't get it done. It would have been an epic experience to see a walk off base hit, but no luck. Still had a great experience.

After the game, we rode the train back to the Magnificent Mile and spent some time there. Then we ate at Potbellies, where Emily and I shared a meatball sandwich and a Broccoli Cheddar bowl of soup. Then we went to Ghirardelli's to use my free vouchers. When I was there with Lisa and Katie last May, a man passed out and fell off his stool. I ran over and took care of the man until the paramedics arrived. He initially had a pulse but was not breathing. I gave him a chest rub and was just about to start CPR when he started breathing and his eyes slowly flickered and opened. Lisa and Katie had come over to watch me, along with tons of other customers and the store manager. While all this was happening, some bus boy was trying to do his job and took all of our desserts away. After all the drama was over and the paramedics took the man away in the ambulance, we headed back to our table to find it empty. The manager came up then and was thanking me for everything I did and when we explained what had happened to our ice cream, he ordered new ones for us and also gave us some vouchers to use at a future visit. Coming back to Chicago on this trip provided the perfect time to use them. I ordered the Lands End, a salted caramel brownie sundae. It was so tasty. Emily and Maggie shared the Midnight Reverie, lots of dark chocolate with hot fudge and whipped cream. Jon ordered a Mint Bliss, mint chocolate chip and chocolate ice cream. It was the perfect way to end the day.

Then we walked back to our hotel and watched a few episodes of The Office in our hotel room. We really wanted to watch the Ferris Bueller movie together, but there was no way to stream it on the TV. I wish I would have brought an HDMI cord.

DAY 3

We woke up early this morning to go to breakfast before church. Jon had found a french restaurant called Cochon Volant a few blocks away from the hotel. The weather was crazy, however. The precipitation was a heavy sleet, which soaked us pretty good as we ran to the restaurant. It was worth it, however. This may have been the best breakfast I have ever had. I ordered the Monsieur Foster, which was a waffle covered in banana, french caramel, and candied walnut. It was so amazing. Emily had a really good omelet with fried potatoes and a piece of bread. Maggie had a salad and Jon had Les Deux Deux Deux, which was 2 eggs, 2 pancakes, and 2 bacon strips.

After breakfast, we ran to the Brown Line train and took it up to the north end of the Magnificent Mile, and then ran to the church building. The church owns multiple levels in a downtown office building, similar to some churches we attended in some big cities in Europe. We had to take an elevator to the Sacrament meeting floor. So cool. It was Ward Conference there so we heard from the Bishop and Stake President and a member of the Ward Relief Society Presidency. They shared some great messages and we had a chance to partake of the sacrament. Unfortunately, while we were in church the weather had not improved. We were almost dry by the time church ended, but then we were just as soaked running back to the train.

We went back to the hotel and changed into warm clothes and then headed to the Art Institute of Chicago. That is a great museum, but it was very busy. Apparently, other people also had the great idea to visit the museum on this snowy day. During our visit, we learned that we each have our favorite art styles. Jon and the girls had to wait for me as we went through the European Art and the Medieval and Renessaince Art sections. Then the rest of us were waiting for Jon as we went through the Impressionism section.

After the museum, we headed over to see the Cloud Gate (Silver Bean). It looks different in the snow and the girls had a fun time taking some pictures. And it was not very crowded given the weather.

We walked the girls to the Monroe Blue Line train station, then Jon and I ran back to the hotel to pick up our bags from the concierge and run them back to the station. We made it to O’hare International Airport in plenty of time and got all checked into our flight, but that is when the next adventure began.

We didn't have a chance to eat dinner in the city, so we grabbed some food at the airport. Emily and I had a rice bowl, Thai Chicken Curry and Spicy Mongolian Beef. It was pretty good for airport food. Then we got to our gate only to find out there was a 2 hour delay for our flight. Apparently, the bad weather had caused the cancellation of over 1000 flights. Bad luck for us. We waited around at our gate and about 40 minutes before we were supposed to leave, Emily announced she was really hungry. So we hustled back to the same restaurant and got a Teriyaki Chicken rice bowl to share. As we hustled back with our food to the gate, we found out there was another delay for another 2 hours. So frustrating. This time they handed out food vouchers to use in the airport, so even though we had just eaten, we went with Jon and Maggie to find a restaurant to spend our vouchers. We settled on an Italian restaurant and I ordered a Quattro Formaggi pizza and a coke. I decided I might need some caffeine to get me through this night. My pizza was really good. Emily got a sprite and the Jacksons got some pizzas as well. We overspent our vouchers by a little bit, but it gave us something to do to pass the time. As we again hustled back to our gate, hoping people would be boarding the plane, we were dismayed to see all the same people sitting around with no update on our flight status.

Our 5:36pm flight finally departed about 12:30am, 7 hours late. After boarding, we spent at least 30 minutes on the plane while they were figuring out some missing passengers (who probably just gave up and left the airport) and while they were de-icing the wings. When we finally took off, I slept for about 30 minutes until the guy next to me had to get by me to visit the bathroom. Then I was awake so I worked on the Mexico video the rest of the flight. We landed about 2:30am, grabbed our bags, took the shuttle to DIA, and I drove home while everyone else got some sleep in the car. We finally arrived home at 4:30am. Emily slept in and skipped her first 2 classes. I called in sick to work and slept in until 11:30am. Except for the traveling home fiasco, the weekend was amazing. I am so grateful I was able to spend this quality time with Emily. She is so fun to be with.