Hey, Chicago! {Part 1}

Last week, Chris and I headed to The Windy City to celebrate our anniversary. We had an amazing time!!! We were only gone a few days, but it was great to get away and get some alone time. Huge thanks to Noni and Papa for keeping the kiddos and managing their schedules, and also to my mom and Grams for taking care of our Huck. We were at ease while away knowing that every child (2 legged and 4) was well taken care of!

We got into Chicago around 7 on Wednesday evening… just as the sun was going down on the city. It was gorgeous!

I snapped this in the car while driving! Breathtaking!!

We found our hotel, gave our car to the valet, dropped our bags off, and immediately headed out to eat. First stop on the Chicago Tour of Foods (b/c I promise you.. I ate the entire time! ha!) was Gino’s! DELISH!

  

Everything was great! The atmosphere, the people, the food… great!

We actually got seated next to a group of guys from Memphis. Although they were all wearing Mississippi State shirts, they were great company! ;) They were in town for a “guys weekend” – Cubs game on Friday, Michigan v Notre Dame on Saturday, then Bears game on Sunday!! Chris was definitely jealous! What a weekend!!

We woke up Friday morning and headed to Lake Michigan and Navy Pier. Our hotel was right off of Michigan Ave, so everything was within walking distance. It was only about a 3 min walk to the lake and pier. It was cloudy and COLD! The views were still amazing though and I definitely loaded up my camera with some skyline shots.

   

We stopped by Navy Pier. The shops and rides weren’t open yet, but it was a great to walk around.

After walking around for a while, we went back to the hotel to get ready for Chris’ favorite part of the trip…. Cubs/Cardinals game! I had bought him tickets way back in March and he had been anticipating it since then! He’s grown up a huge Cubs fan, but had never been to Wrigley Field. The entire way to the field I heard “We’re going to the Cubs game!” over and over. It was like I was Ethan, not Chris! ha! I couldn’t blame him though!! Boys and baseball! ;) The meal of the day… Italian beef and sausage sandwiches in the ballpark! Heaven!

      

      

The area around the stadium, Wrigleyville, is super fun! We had a great time walking around before the game taking in the sites and sounds. It definitely puts you in the mood for baseball!

Little did I know, but I purchased awesome seats!!! We were literally right on the field! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Chris so happy!

      

The players were warming up right in front of us! He was like a kid in a candy store!!

    

Even though I’ve grown up a Cardinals fan, I sported my blue and red for my hubby!

Mid-way through the game, it started raining. We were prepared though with raincoats and boots! I was afraid that they’d end up calling a rain delay but they never did. Thank goodness!! I would have had one disappointed 28 year old on my hands!

Score of the game… 5-4! CUBS WIN!!!! We got to see the W flag flown!! Chris was ecstatic! Especially since they came from behind to tie at the bottom of the 9th, then won in the 12th inning. It was the perfect game!!

After the game, we hung out by the stadium and grabbed a burger at one of the burger bars in Wrigleyville. Again, super yummy!

It was a great day!! It rained the rest of the day and evening, but that didn’t stop us from wandering around Michigan Ave a bit. By 9pm, we were exhausted!!! We had been out and about since 8am!

More to come…..