Hello all!
I wanted to share a bit about our quick 24 hour trip. Michael and I decided to join our friends in Chicago and take advantage of my travel benefits. We knew that we wouldn’t be able to see everything, but man did we do a lot! Our friends Brittany and Joram are super travelers, they seriously know how to make an awesome itinerary.
My husband and I flew into O’hare airport, where we took the blue line train to downtown. After we dropped off our stuff we decided to go to shake shack (basically a more expensive In-N-Out) . It was so yummy… especially since we hadn’t eaten in HOURS. After Shake Shack we all ventured over to THE BEAN! The bean has been on my bucket list for years, so I was thrilled to finally see it. I have never enjoyed people watching so much in my life ha. We even saw a couple taking wedding pictures …. while holding a picture of a cat?
THE BEAN
Next we decided to go up to SEARS/WILLIS TOWER SKYDECK!
You can purchase your tickets online HERE or at the door. $24 for adults and $16 for youth.
It is definitely a bucket list must see! I can’t lie… it was weirdly thrilling and terrifying all at the same time. We were super lucky and waited only about 30 minutes. When my husband had previously visited a few years back, it took over an hour to finally get up to the skydeck. They have about 4-5 different lines – some are more monitored than others, so I would suggest going to a line that is not monitored and you can take your time/take more pictures. We tried to think of poses before we got in the skydeck. Some people were so creative, it was so fun to watch everyone! This was one of my favorite things I have done this year.
LOU MALNATI’S
FOOD TIME! This is the real reason I wanted to visit. If you know me … who know I literally live to eat delicious food. We decided on Lou Malnatis Pizzereia for dinner, one of Chicago’s famous deep dish restaurants! My husband had previously been to Giordano’s and said he thought it was better than Lou’s. I thought it was good, but I didn’t feel like it was the best pizza I ever had. Now I can say I tried it right?
We waited about 1 hour to get a table, but we were able to put the order in for our pizza, so that when we sat down it would be ready. I had about 2 pieces and was completely stuffed.
You can check out the menu Here
Next time we would like to visit Pequods Pizza and Giordanos. Let me know if you have had either of these and which was your favorite!?
GARRETS POPCORN
We also had Garret’s popcorn, which as you can see was so delicious that I didn’t even have time to think about taking a picture of it ha. They had so many flavors and sizes to choose from. It’s a great idea for a gift!!! Best thing is you can order online Here !
We had the Pecan Carmel mix – I love that they let us try different flavors
PORTILLO’S
Apparently this is a Chicago style food ( something you have to try to say you have been to Chicago). We ordered two hot dogs, Michael got the classic (which is pictured below) and I got the chili cheese dog! I would recommend getting two each, as we were both hungry when we left.
Portillos has unique hot dogs which come with mustard,relish, onions, tomatoes, pickles, and peppers. I am pretty picky, so I only had a bite with everything on it. We had more than one person recommend this place.
YOLK
Last but not least …. my favorite place we ate at YOLK!
We had a huge and delicious breakfast! We split part of the meal with our friends and then Michael and I split the cinnamon roll French toast. It was very rich but we devoured it in minutes. TOTALLY RECOMMEND!!!
LINCOLN PARK ZOO
Our last activity before leaving Chicago was visiting the Lincoln Park Zoo. The best part about it … it was FREE ….Completely free!!! They ask for donations but you can walk right in. We were expecting a dinky zoo with only a few exhibits, but it was a full on real zoo with so many amazing animals. You could see the city scape throughout the zoo, I couldn’t believe what a great location it was in.
I could not believe how much we were able to see and do in just 24 hours. We had the best time and can’t wait for our next adventure. I can’t wait to go back and see more of Chicago. Until next time….
Stay tuned for some upcoming layovers and vacations!
Love you all,
Michaela Desiree Knight
Michaela Desiree 