Windy City Visit

Chicago, what a great city to visit and so close to St. Louis that it is the perfect long weekend get-a-way.  We flew up to Chicago Friday afternoon so Scott and his sister could run in the Muddy Buddy race on Sunday.

On Saturday we woke up early to play a great penguin game with Riley while some of the best homemade pancakes were being made.  After quickly getting ready we headed downtown to walk around for a while before picking up race packets.  We stopped at a Fansedge store.  To check out the displays and products as Scott's brother-in-law's company owns Fansedge.  The younger kids bought Bears jersey and cheer leading outfits.

We need lunch before starting our walking tour of downtown.  We headed to the Billy Goat Tavern for some "Cheezeborger, Cheezeborger, Cheezeborger!  No Fries!"  It was a burger joint under the street that had great food but you have to look for it!



Afterwards we walked down Michigan Ave. to Millennium Park .  We let the kids play in the water for a while and then hung out at the famous Bean.  It was great to finally see the infamous Bean.  It made for great pictures.  It was also amazing to see and hear all the different cultures that were in the park.







We then walked down the entire Magnificent Mile to the Columbia Store to pick up the race packets.  It was great to see the architecture in the City and all the people.  We later met up with the kids at the Rock Bottom Brewery.

On Sunday we relaxed and stayed out in Highland Park.  Scott and his sister ran the Muddy Buddy in the morning and after naps we all headed down to their private beach access.  Their house is a block away from Lake Michigan and at the end of the block is a path down to the beach.  We hung out at the beach for a couple hours while the kids swam and played in the sand.  I didn't want to get in the water since it was about 60 degrees.  But it was so beautiful.  We had fun burying people in the sand and building dams by the creek.






Over all it was a great trip to Chicago that must be repeated as I need to redeem myself for my poor showing at Scrabble and Banana-grams.  There were also a bunch of games of Dirty Neighbor played and I'm sure rematches are in the making.