If I could describe the three-week vacation with my in-laws in one word, it would be “intense." But, intense in a good way!
Day 1
Fabian and I had a big agenda to get his family acclimated to the time zone/see as much cool stuff as you can see in four days in the Windy City.
The Boxheimer’s flight landed around 11:00a, and Fabian, Emma, and I met them at the airport. I drove back with all of the suitcases, and Fabian took them on the L back to my parent’s house. Back at the house, we had planned for a big lunch of sweet potato macaroni and cheese, but no one was as hungry as we’d anticipated, so instead of having a big lunch, we snacked then started off to see some of the city!
We started by taking a scenic bus ride to the free zoo. Everyone was moving slowly, and instead of seeing too many animals, we cut through the nature preserve and walked to the beach. My mother-in-law took a quick nap on the sand while we dipped our toes in the lake, and afterwards we walked through a different part of the zoo to find a good bus to get back to my parent’s house. It doesn’t sound like a big day, but when it feels like midnight when it is only 4:00p, it messes with you! It was also stupidly humid, which didn’t help. Everyone (me included!!) was kind of useless.
Back at the house we dined on Chicago-style deep dish pizza, then called it a night around 9:00p.
Day 2
The next day, we planned to take his family to Lincoln Square, Chicago’s German neighborhood. Hilarious, right? Fortunately there is more to Lincoln Square than Schnitzel and Bratwürste—it’s a very pretty area of the city. We stopped at the toy store where Emma got a ball, we had lunch at Café Selmarie (which is absolutely delicious every time!), and we walked through the residential area behind the shopping street.
Next, we took the brown line downtown. I think that the brown line has one of the best views of the city, so we rode through the loop to Jeweler’s Row, and walked to Millennium Park to wait for my parents, who were going to join us.
We walked around Millennium Park for a while, then made our way south to the Buckingham Fountain.
By the time we were finished sightseeing it was just about dinner time, so we walked to the train to head back home. We had been out since about 10a, and by the end of the day I think it is fair to say that everyone was just plain pooped!
Day 3
It would have been cruel to continue at such a strenuous pace for a third day in a row, so we had a slightly slower day and took an architecture tour on the river.
As soon as I heard the guide start talking, I knew it would be hard for my in-laws to understand much (he was talking ridiculously fast), but everyone enjoyed the views. I was excited to learn more about my city, even though I was frustrated with Emma for half the tour.
After the tour, we had lunch outside at the Corner Bakery. This place is FULL OF PIGEONS. Seriously, I know we have a pigeon problem, like, everywhere, but this was just out of control! Emma dropped a piece of bread, and there were at least five birds going after the bread. And really, it wasn’t just a problem at our table. (Ok, I’m done now.)
Next, we meandered in the direction of Navy Pier. At the pier, we had some of the most expensive ice cream I’ve eaten, we didn’t ride the Ferris wheel like we had thought about, and we didn’t actually spend a lot of time there. Everyone was pretty done and ready to sit inside in the cool and just relax. So, we went home.
Day 4
The last day we were in Chicago, I went with Fabian and my father-in-law to pick-up the rental car at the airport (a huge 7-person Dodge Durango, this thing was a boat!), so that we could all drive to the Chicago Botanic Gardens.
The day at the botanic gardens was probably my favorite, not just because there was a lot of space where Emma could safely walk around and explore. The gardens are just beautiful, and extremely well planned.
The gardens had a cool exhibit with model trains running on a track through a wooden floral version of the United States. Each landmark was exquisite, and unfortunately I wasn’t with it enough to take many pictures, but here’s one for you to get an idea…
It was such a relaxing day, complete with a picnic lunch under the shade of some willow trees.
Day 5
This was a travel day. We drove from Chicago to Nashville, stopping in the Illinois Amish country along the way. I know that visiting the Amish was entertaining for my in-laws, but I had a hard time getting into it. For me, it was just a tourist trap in middle-of-nowhere Illinois; so I am glad they enjoyed the weirdness of it all. :)
