Dietz Summer Road Trip

We have been staying in West Lafayette, Indiana this summer while we participate in a teacher summer seminar at Purdue University. Our evenings and weekends are free so we try to take advantage of that time to see and do things in the area. On our first free weekend we were anxious to go to Chicago! Neither of us have been there before and it was one of the things we had to cut out of our trip last year. From where we are staying it is only about 2-2.5 hour drive in the central time zone.

As we drove north west through Indiana the landscape is covered in huge wind mills. We really liked them but apparently some folks in the area didn’t like what it did to the once flat landscape.

 

Not too long after we arrived in Chicago! We hit a little bit of traffic getting into the city but not too bad. We found a garage near the hotel to park our car for the weekend that didn’t charge as much as most. Since our hotel room wasn’t ready yet we took that opportunity to check out the first of our Chicago Deep Dish Pizza experiences. We headed to Gino’s East. They also have their own micro-brew which we enjoyed while we waited the 45 mins for the ‘zza to cook.

 

 

 

After the room was ready we made a decision to change our wardrobe since the skies were looking a little grey and it was getting cold and changed into pants. Later that would prove to NOT be enough. From our hotel it was almost a straight shot down to the Navy Pier. It was a Friday night and by chance they were celebrating 100 years of the Navy pier that night with a big firework display at 9:30pm. We decided to stay and hang out until then. The navy pier is host to a few restaurants, a food court, souvenir shops, and (if you are a fan of NPR) WBEZ- Chicago. Outside is, you guessed it, a pier that as you walk further you can see more and more of the Chicago sky line. Boats, Sailboats, and Yachts offer trips out onto Lake Michigan. There was a Miller Lite beer garden (serving more than just ML) and a few vendors set up outside also. It was a great night to walk around and watch as they were getting up a local Shakespeare in the Park production.

The biggest attraction however was the ferris wheel that they built for the 100th celebration and to pay homage to the first ferris wheel from the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. For a mere $15 a person you could get a ride in a comfy, air conditioned ferris wheel car. We are tourists that just got our stipend so of coarse we did it. Down below you can the swings and carousel that are set up as the other outside attractions at the navy pier.

 

view from the top

As it started to get later, it also got colder. The clouds disappeared and it was almost a perfect night for fireworks. But we came unprepared for how cold it would get out there on Lake Michigan. We are now the proud owners of an official  ‘Chicago Navy Pier’ sweatshirt and fleece blanket that kept us warm while hung out for the fire works. Don’t worry, about 80% of the people were walking around with the same newly purchased sweatshirt on. It was definitely worth the wait. The fireworks were a huge spectacular show set off from a barge on the water. They blasted music through the speakers that ran all along the pier. It was a great welcome to Chicago!

After the fireworks ended we admired the skyline at night one more time before heading back to the hotel.

The next morning we slept in. It had been a long week at our seminar and we sort of slept right through breakfast. Luckily for us right around the corner from our hotel is a place called Eataly. Think Italian market place, restaurant, and kitchen store all stuffed into a gigantic two floor space. There are about 8 distinct places to eat within the market, we decided on the pasta restaurant. Good choice with homemade and imported pastas.

 

After lunch we headed out for a nice walk to the Sears tower. We had bought tickets ahead of time to go up to the top and on the Sky Deck. It was a nice day and since we were staying right in town we made the decision to try to walk as much as we could. It was very easy, safe, and clean to walk around to the places we visited. However, if it started to rain or if we got tired we saw ample uber, lyft, or good old fashioned taxi cabs to pick us up. We managed to avoid ever having to take one this weekend and were able to take in as much of the sights as possible by walking everywhere.

Our walk to the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower) was great. Little did we know that we would have to wait in a HUGE line to get in. But it was deceiving because you waited in a line outside. Then a line inside to get on an elevator. Then a line to get through security. Then another line for a 15 mins video. Then a line to find out you were in the wrong line. And then another line for another elevator. Finally after about 3 hours, from when we initially got in line, we were able to make it 103 floors above Chicago (or 262 Michael Jordans above Chicago). You pretty much walk around the observation deck and then if you are brave enough, there are 4 glass outlets that allow you to walk out onto glass which allows you to see straight down below you! The feeling of walking out there was very unnerving because even the sides of the outlet are glass so it felt like there was nothing to hold on to. After two girls and their “professional” photographers took about a million pictures of them posing in their denim skirts out on the ledge, Danielle was finally able to walk out. John took her picture, handed her the camera and with one hand still on the wall he hurried out to get his picture with her. He then hurried back to safety!

 

If you are a fan of Ferris Bueller you would love the set up they had up there. As part of Ferris’ day off he goes to the top of the Sears tower. It was just the 30th anniversary of the movie. Not sure if this was just a special promotion or if it was always there, but part of the gift shop had Ferris Bueller swag. There were also props that looked like Cameron and Sloane with a spot for you to pretend you were Ferris in the famous scene where they press their foreheads to the glass and look down below them.

Standing in line that long was something we didn’t expect to happen and took up most of our afternoon. We tried to make it over the Art Institute of Chicago. It was 4:45pm by the time we got there and they closed at 5pm! We decided to walk through Grant park and stop at the Buckingham Fountain. There was a beautiful rainbow going on when we go there. We walked along the water edge and sat down for a little bit until John was nearly attacked by a water fowl.

 

Next we headed to Millennium Park which is not far from Grant Park. Chicago has a a lot of green spaces, bike sharing services, and plenty of great spots to sit/relax/people watch. W were on a quest to find Cloudgate aka The Bean. It was sort of nestled right inside of the park. We walked around and took pictures with a thousand other tourists. But it was cool to see the city reflected in the sculpture.

 

It was approaching dinner time and we had another deep dish recommendation that we needed to try. We walked to the closest Lou Malnati’s we could find. It was bit of a walk and an even longer wait. However you were able to pre-order so your pizza could cook as you waited for your table and it would essentially be ready the same time you sat down. We waited about an hour and 15 mins to be seated. This time we each got our own personal pizza. We both agreed it was better than Gino’s we had the day before.

 

 

Not pictured above was also the delicious salad with their homemade sweet Italian vinaigrette. Hunger got in the way of the photo op! After dinner we walked back to the hotel and crashed. We walked about 7 miles total around the city and loved it!

The next morning we had made reservations to go on a comedy tour with The Second City. We originally wanted to try to see a show, or a recommended comedy brunch, but they were sold out. We figured the walking comedy tour would be nice since we didn’t do any other paid tours of the city. It started to rain as we walked to Old Town but luckily cleared up just as we started the tour. It lasted for about 1.5 hours and was lead by Margaret, an improv actor with Second City for 20 years and Chicago native. She started the tour with asking us where we were all from and joking about everything we said. We then walked around most of Old Town. It wasn’t just a comedy tour, she shared information about the Great Fire of Chicago, the ballon style German houses, immigration, and other notable things about the city. She gave a great description of their name Second City and how much New York sucks (in their eyes). We saw a rib joint around the corner that Sinatra visited when he was in town and the church. The highlight by far was when she just dished out gossip and tales about some of Second City’s best. She talked in length about the recent and current SNL cast members and who was a surprise that they made it (Vanessa Byer) and who wasn’t getting the spotlight she deserved (Aidy Bryant). Then she just started telling us about Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Chris Farley, and many others. Here were the big take aways from the tour: Jack McBrayer= nicest guy you’ll ever meet. Michael Myers= no one could stand him because he only did one character ever (Wayne). Joan Rivers= horrible improv actor. Jim Belushi= best comedian to ever live and Steven Colbert= second only to Jim Belushi. It was hilarious and informational, but when we get back to Chicago next time, we are making it a point to get in to see a show!

 

After our tour it was nice and bright outside so we headed back to pick up our truck. We had one more stop we wanted to make and then had to get back on the road to Indiana. Across town and on the University of Illinois- Chicago campus is the museum/house of Jane Addams and Hull House. Although most of Hull House has been torn down, the main house still stands with a museum on the first and second floor, as well as the actual bedroom set up of Jane Addams.

We ran out time before we could do everything. We still wanted to go to the Art Museum, a Comedy Show, a boat tour, and the museum of Science and Industry. Lucky for us we get to come back in a few days with our group as part of our summer seminar!

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On our return trip we started the day by going to the Chicago Public Library- The Carter G. Woodson location. As part of our program we had a guest lecture, Jim Grossman, that talked about the Great Migration (1920’s) and the Second Great Migration, along with the impact it had on cities like Chicago. We also met with the head archivist and got to look at some special collection materials.

 

Next we headed back to the navy pier for lunch! Giordano’s has a location there so we got to complete our deep dish trifecta and eat there for lunch! It was the third of our three deep dishes pizza places we wanted to try.

 

After having three of what some might say are the most popular deep dish pizza “chains” in Chicago here is our official ranking. We couldn’t agree.

Danielle

1. Lou Malnati’s- best all around pizza/crust and menu
2. Giordano’s- sauce was really good
3. Gino’s East- but they did brew their own beer so its a close second

John

1. Giordano’s- real cheesy flavor, thick crust
2. Lou Malnati’s- best sauce
3. Gino’s East- basic in comparison, but had their own brewery…

There are probably a dozen other pizza places in the city that have just as good stuff! After lunch our group then visited the DuSable Museum of African American History. This tied in directly with the summer program we are doing but is also a fantastic museum. It was self-guided and not very long. We spent about 45 mins there looking at art, as well as a historical time line starting with the slave trade up to present day. It focused on African American history as a whole but also tied in some local Chicago history and Caribbean history with it.

 

 

 

 

 

After the Du Sable museum a group of us wanted to go to the Art Institute and lucky for us they are open until 8pm only on Thursdays, the day we were there! We negotiated for our bus driver to drop us off at the museum before he took the other half of the participants back to the navy pier to be dropped off. We managed to get in at student price which just sweetened the deal! The first place we headed was the special exhibit wing featuring a Photography exhibit called Invisible Man: Gordon Parks and Ralph Ellison in Harlem. We are reading a expert of the book Invisible Man as part of our program and was very topical.

The museum was also featuring a special collection called 1930’s: America After the Fall. It had some fantastic artwork and American Gothic which might be the coolest painting ever.

Chicago’s Art Institute has a little bit of everything and is huge. While we were there we saw everything from Picasso, O’Keefe, Monet, Pollock, Warhol, and everything in between. It was surprising what great pieces they had there and such a variety. It was big but not too big that you couldn’t get around to see the highlights. Definitely could of spent more time there. One of the most impressive pieces was A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. However the ancient buddha, stained glass, and old Stock Exchange room were great surprises. In our opinion it beats the National Gallery of Art in D.C. by far!

We stayed as late as we could before having to make sure we could walk back and catch our bus back to Purdue University. We were exhausted but so satisfied we were able to get back for a little more of Chicago. Chicago is a big city that everyone should visit and it has something for everyone. It might be windy and might be “second” to NYC but in our opinion we would go back in a heartbeat!!!