Sunday, September 16, 2012

Chicago Plans

We finally picked a hotel and made our reservation. Here are some pictures of the Club Quarters Hotel on Wacker in Chicago. It's the best deal I could find in the Loop ($179/night). Other hotels in the Loop can cost anywhere from $275-$1200/night. I showed Brent Trump Tower and the Waldorf Astoria (both $525/night for the smallest room), and I thought he was going to swallow his face. We rent a 1700-sq ft apartment for $825/month. ;)

I'm even more excited for our trip now. I requested an upper floor room with a view of the river. I hope they have one available.

Photos of Club Quarters Chicago -- Wacker at Michigan, Chicago
(courtesy of TripAdvisor)

Photos of Club Quarters Chicago -- Wacker at Michigan, Chicago
(courtesy of TripAdvisor)

Photos of Club Quarters Chicago -- Wacker at Michigan, Chicago
(courtesy of TripAdvisor)

Photos of Club Quarters Chicago -- Wacker at Michigan, Chicago
(courtesy of TripAdvisor)

We're still "working on the itinerary", which means I'm looking up places to go and things to do while Brent waits to approve everything.

Don't get me wrong; this is what works best for us. He honestly does not care what we do, so I look for fun things, plan it out, and then present it to him. He makes suggestions every so often, and then I re-calculate and re-formulate. He knows I'm a control freak, and vacations where he wanted to play everything by ear sent me into a tizzy, so this is how we do it now. Whenever he has a specific need/want, he lets me know so I can work it in (for example, we're going to the concert Saturday night, and he wants to head up to The Alley to shop for some new shirts).

Currently, we're planning to work a half-day on Friday and take the 2:25 train to Chicago. It gets into Chicago at 3:58. The new high-speed rail section west of us has cut that trip by a half-hour, which means it's now just as fast as driving, if not faster (and a lot less stressful; plus, no parking!)

Right now, the only firm plan (besides the TKK concert at 9:00 Saturday night) is to visit the Museum of Science and Industry on Saturday. There are a couple of train exhibits I really want to see, and Brent will have fun running around like a kid. He loves to touch things and play with exhibits, even when he isn't supposed to touch them.


This was taken at Adler Planetarium last year


The restaurant choices are up in the air. We'll probably just eat in whatever area of town we happen to be in. We love discovering new places, especially if they're well-loved in that neighborhood but not necessarily "famous". My Urbanspoon app is going to come in handy. :)

We really want to visit Sprinkles Cupcakes. I learned about Sprinkles when everyone got on the bus with them during our day trip in December, and we haven't had a chance to go there yet. They even have a cupcake ATM so you can get your fix if they're closed.


We also want to visit Hoosier Mama Pie Company. We learned about Hoosier Mama during an episode of "Sugar High" last year. Duff Goldman featured the "Fat Elvis Pie", made from bananas, peanut butter, pretzels, graham crackers, and chocolate cream.


Our train leaves at 6:00 on Sunday, so we have to be at Union Station by 5:00 to get into the gigantic line that always forms for the Wolverine. Since we'll be checking out of the hotel around 11:00, we're just going to find something chill to do for a few hours after storing our bags at the station.

Why Amtrak hasn't added a later departure to the Wolverine, I'll never know. I'm sure they'd get just as many customers for a 9:00 departure time, and it would allow more time in the city. Granted, that would mean arriving in Detroit around 3:00 AM, and a LOT of families take the train to Chicago for the weekend, but there are just as many students and night owls like us who would love that option. Oh well. :)

1 comment:

  1. What an amazing view! SO jealous :) I've never had Sprinkles cupcakes, though the ATM idea is intriguing. My favorite in Chicago are from Molly's, on Clark just past Fullerton. They're definitely a "sometimes" food, but oh! so good!!!

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