Written by May 30, 2018 – June 4, 2018
Age: 2 Months
Mom and Dad were excited to take me on my very first road trip to Chicago! It was great getting to visit with Uncle Jeff, Aunt Jacqueline, and Gizmo too!
We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and settled into Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jacqueline‘s place with all my baby basics… Hopefully next time I’ll learn how to pack a little lighter 😉 But, my Boom Travel Set was perfect for washing bottles on the go (complete with a compact bottle brush). After catching up a bit, we all enjoyed dinner at Kinzie Chophouse (Dad & Mom shared a GIANT tomahawk steak!!) before relaxing for the evening. On Thursday it was a beautiful almost 90° sunny day! We started the day with a stroll down the Riverwalk to Michigan Avenue where we explored the Apple store, and did some windowshopping. From there we wandered down to Grant & Millennium Park with a stop at Taco Joint on Michigan Ave. for lunch and snack at Stan’s Donuts (Mom & Dad shared a pistachio donut a day early for National Donut Day) before seeing the iconic Chicago bean. As we worked our way back through the city we browsed through a farmers market, Mom & Dad cooled off with frosé at The Hampton Social (see hostess for directions on how to best access with a stroller to avoid a long climb of steps at the front entrance), and returned back to Uncle Jeff & Aunt Jacqueline’s to grill dinner/ watch the Cavs (game one of the finals). Overall, Mom & Dad found my Graco SnugRide SnugLock car seat (although on the longer car ride to the city, I did get a little warm and stretching our legs at rest stops significantly helped me cool off) and Graco Mode Lite 3 Click Connect Stroller (Holt) to be nice and light weight for exploring the city, and the three wheel design made maneuvering through the crowds easy. Despite the defeat of the Cavs, we had a nice evening and hunkered down for a fun filled Friday.
Friday morning Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jacqueline went to work while Daddy, Mommy and I walked our way to the Lincoln Park Zoo for race day packet pick up. It was a cold, foggy morning which caused our zoo visit to be pretty breif. We decided to warm up in Old Town over lunch at the Vig before getting back to the city. Mom has found my SKIPHOP Backpack Diaper Bag to be easy for life on the go (including lunch out)…it stores plenty of my must haves with many built it ways to stay organized, but is still compact (which Mom loves). Later that afternoon we visited mom‘s childhood best-friend, Sarah, and got to check out her new digs in Chicago (she moved to the city about a year ago from NY). Friday evening was spent in Greektown with an excellent dinner at Athena Restaurant before heading back to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jacqueline‘s.
On Saturday morning we took a walk with Aunt Jacqueline and Gizmo along the Riverwalk before lunch at the French Market. It was an overcast day, so we relaxed in; and, as the sun emerged ended up meeting Sarah, and her husband, Nick, at Tallboy Taco for a fun evening before calling it an early night to be prepared for our early Sunday morning back at the zoo.
The morning returned quickly, and it was time to kick off the Lincoln Park Zoo’s 40th anniversary zoo run. Daddy and Aunt Jacqueline ran the 10K while I completed my first 5K with Mommy and Uncle Jeff! Following the race we had a great breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien…Dad & Mom specifically enjoyed “bowls of coffee.” Here we also realized how helpful my Copper Pearl Bandana Bibs are, so Mom & Dad don’t have to worry about dropping a burp cloth while feeding me out in public. I must say, they’re very soft and comfy for me…and keep me stylish too 🙂 From there we headed to the lake trail down to the beach front and basked in the glorious sun while walking our way back to River North. After some downtime, we headed out for a late lunch in River North before ordering some deep dish from Giordano’s (can’t wait till I can try Chicago Deep Dish!) to watch game two of the Cavs Vs Warriors!
Too bad it wasn’t the year for the Cavs, but I had a great time exploring the city before we returned home on Monday to life in the burbs! Looking forward to my next trip, and trying my first Chicago hot dog one day!
Ps. Dad and Mom started a new collection for me…everywhere I travel I’ll be working to collect a mini flag. Check out my Chicago one (even though all the city fun wore me out)!
Miles Logged To Date:
By Car: 664
By Plane: 0
Scenic Seitz 