In August 2024 we drove to Chicago for a fun five-day stay in the Windy City. We arrived late-afternoon and went exploring around our hotel for a while before deciding on dinner at Sushi-san, which was so tasty! (Highlights: Japanese eggplant tempura and crunchy avocado roll).

The next morning we headed over to the Adler Planetarium, where we got free passes thanks to the ASTC membership. We spent a couple of hours exploring the first/oldest planetarium in the western hemisphere.

Our next stop was the Field Museum (again, free entrance thanks to ASTC!). This is always a great one to visit, and the famous t-Rex Sue is a must-see.

As we made our way to the CTA, we made a sweet stop at Amorino, where Peter had a gianduia crêpe and a vanilla macaron, and Benji enjoyed (and partially wore) a cup of delicious chocolate gelato (“make sure they give me the dark chocolate please!”).

With the kids all sugared up, we walked to Millennium Park to check out the Cloud Gate.

After a full day with lots of exploring, it was time to head back to the hotel. Always fun to ride the train and get a close look at the buildings from up high.

We had a great dinner at Sunda-River North (everything was absolutely delicious, but the highlight was definitely the signature crispy rice wagyu), then it was relaxing time for mom and kids at the hotel and baseball time for dad.

Our next morning was spent at the Maggie Daley Park, a beautiful oasis for families to roam and let kids play in several unique playgrounds.

We walked on the BP Pedestrian Bridge over to Millennium Park and made our way to the Riverwalk by Michigan Avenue for a 45-minute very enlightening and very entertaining Chicago River Architecture Tour.

Then it was time for a little afternoon break before heading out again for… Bluey x Camp. With Peter getting older, we have a very small window where we can take the kids on experiences they will both enjoy, and this was our Bluey window! It is definitely catered for a younger audience, nonetheless we all enjoyed our time there.

Then, once again, it was quiet time at the hotel for mom and the kids while dad went to his second ball game.

Take me out to the ball game… the next day was all about baseball. But first, a quick stop at the American Writers Museum.

Then we headed to Wrigley Field for a Tigers vs. Cubs game.

Next day we headed to the Willis Tower (although we prefer to call it the Sears Tower).

After that we made our way to the Navy Pier. There was walking, rides on the carrousel and ice cream.

After a break at the hotel, the boys went off to another baseball game, this time Tigers vs White Socks (must see both stadiums in town when possible!), while mom had some time by herself (nice meal and beverage of choice at Beatrix and a window-shopping little walk at a leisurely pace).

On our final day in Chicago we went to the Museum of Science and Industry on our way out of town. It was a great museum, where we were, once again, able to get in for free thanks to the ASTC membership.

Four hours flew by, and by then it was 4pm and we were starving. We had delicious authentic pizza napoletana at Nella, and then, because flexibility is the name of the game (and having Hyatt points definitely helps), we decided that it was too late to start driving back home, so we got one more night at a hotel near the museum and Ben and Peter got to go to one more baseball game before heading back to Petoskey the next morning.

We did a lot during our time in Chicago, had lovely weather plus didn’t deal with many crowds and felt extremely safe with all the police presence around town because of the DNC 😄.

We also had meltdowns (both kids and adults), sibling fights, and complaints (it’s too hot… it’s too cold… I want more ice cream… I want more sushi…), but we had some sweet moments too.

So, all in all, a typical family vacation. In the end, we explored, learned, experienced new things, had fun, and spent quality time together.