Chicago, IL
If you ever decide to visit the good ol' state of Illinois, make sure your visit is complete by making a pit stop to Chicago! It's hard not to fall in love with the transit systems, coffee shops and touristy landmarks! Living only two hours away from Chicago means I get to visit the city often. My go-to places are obviously Millennium Park to see the Bean, Navy Pier, and the Water Tower Place to do some shopping. However, this summer, when I visited with my sister and family, we wanted to be tourists and try out new places! So we did just that.
My parents and I left early on a Tuesday morning to make the trip to Rosemont. Allie would be joining us later on but first planned to attend a Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato concert with friends. If you know anything about me, it's that I love animals! So, obviously, our first stop in Chicago was to the Brookfield Zoo. I truly had not been to this zoo in years so it was fun to reminisce and see how far the zoo had come in growth and new animal exhibits.
My favorite is still Tropic World! The exhibit was planned out so effectively and its amazing how guests are able to walk through different exhibits to meet the different types of primates. If you haven't visited this zoo yet, you must stop solely for Tropic World. You first stop at South America which is noisy with action while spider monkeys, tamarins and others swing from the trees. They are seriously the cutest!
Then you are taken into Asia where orangutans and gibbons (my favorites!) roam freely. This zoo definitely doesn't have as many orangutans as the Indianapolis Zoo has but it was fun to watch them nonetheless. Gibbons, hands down, are the funniest animals to watch. They have such personalities and I never grow tired of viewing these magestic animals. The last stop is Africa where you can view gorillas from a safe distance. I was amazed at how many babies were a part of this exhibit. The mothers seemed super caring and held them while they slept. It warmed my heart!
We made our way around to the different exhibits and were lucky enough to eat lunch next to buffalos, witness the bald eagles feeding, and learn more about seal conservation! It was an amazing trip and I always love hearing how these zoos are contributing to wildlife outside of the exhibits. Plus, it is AZA accredited so you know that this zoo is created for the betterment of the animals.
After checking into our hotel (which I highly recommend Best Western at O'Hare! It was inexpensive, cozy and offered free shuttles to the airport/train station), we boarded the train to downtown Chicago and took in the scenery of Wrigley Field.
Wrigley is an amazing ball park! I have had the opportunity to go to Wrigley a couple of times growing up. You just can't beat the smell of fresh popcorn and the sound of Cubs fans getting riled up. The game we attended was against the Miami Marlins. And, thankfully, we won! My dad is a huge baseball collector so he was trying very hard to get some balls autographed, especially from Ichiro Suzuki and Barry Bonds. Unfortunately, we weren't very lucky and no one was in the giving mood. So we left after the game and headed back to the hotel.
I absolutely loved taking the train and the environment that went with it. If I ever live in Chicago, I am taking the bus and train everywhere! It gave me the opportunity to unwind at the end of the day and just read my book while I waited for my stop. I also loved seeing people earlier in the day with their business suits on heading home from work. I felt like I was in New York! I went to bed that night dreaming of city life.
The next morning, Allie joined us for our hotel's continential breakfast. After filling up on eggs, bagels and sweet treats, we checked out and took the train to downtown again. This time we were heading to the Shedd Aquarium, which I had never been to. I love Marine life and always dreamed of becoming a marine biologist so I knew I would absolutely adore this place.
However, it wasn't exactly what I expected. I thought we would see a lot more "Finding Nemo" animals. The aquarium only had one sea turtle (my favorite!) and while they had creatures from the ocean at the basement level, there were many more river/swamp creatures than ocean. Which is fine! Just not what I expected. When we first arrived, there was a huge line! For a Wednesday, I was rather shocked but we eventually got through the line and spent hours enjoying the different animals. They had a special Amphibians exhibit that we snuck into, not realizing it was an extra expense. Whoops! But it was my favorite because I love toads and frogs! It was a morning well spent.
We were starving after all the walking we did, so we decided to go seek out a good place to eat. My parents had already visited the cafe inside the Aquarium so it was just Allie and I: the two coffee addicts. We were in desperate need for coffee and found Goddess and The Baker (Hey, I wrote a review here!) offered free coffee if you checked in at Yelp. So off we went!
The walk was very scenic and we had the opportunity to walk past Buckingham Fountain as well as different parks. While it was only a 1.5 mile walk it seemed much longer. My feet (in sandals) was dying but the walk was well worth it after I ordered a (lifechanging) salad! Allie sipped on my free coffee and we both agreed that we cannot wait to return! The atmosphere, the food and the service was all phenomenal and everything we could've asked for!
Next door on Wabash Ave, was a friendly juice bar called Protein Bar. Allie has been wanting to try it since it is dairy/gluten free friendly. They offered Bar-ritos, salads, blended drinks and bowls. Allie tried the super organic Pier-nut Butter & Jelly drink. I honestly thought it sounded disgusting but it ended up being really delicious and filling. I tried the Fruit Loop'd, which was simple with vanilla protein, almond milk, blueberries, and a banana. Refreshing nonetheless!
It seems as if this whole trip was centered around food, but you have to splurge when you visit a new location! The last stop of the day before heading back home to Dixon was my absolute favorite! I had heard wonderful things about a pink ATM that served single cupcakes but I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it. It is, in fact, very pink and very popular! The Sprinkles ATM is unlike anything I have ever seen. I am not even a cupcake person but I still encourage you all to try it!
The ATM is attached to the Sprinkles bakery but was a little tucked away from the street making it a bit difficult to find. Sprinkles bakery stocks the ATM with a fresh variety of cupcakes bursting with flavor each day. My mom tried the carrot, Allie the gluten free red velvet and I ordered the peanut butter chocolate. It honestly was one of the hardest decisions I had made all day. They all sounded wonderful! We placed our order, paid and waited for the cupcakes to come out of the ATM. It is a totally cool and widely popular concept. Plus, it makes for an awesome photo opportunity!
It's safe to say I had a wonderful couple of days in Chicago! There truly is always something to see or do. Hopefully, one day I will live closer to Chicago with Allie so we can experience new restaurants and venues on the daily.
Tell me, what is your must-stop location when you go to Chicago?