The Windy City – we visited Chicago when my older son was 9 months old. My husband had to be there for work so, my son and I tagged along since I hadn’t seen Chicago before. I’m so glad we did! The weather was beautiful in June, which made it all the more enjoyable. We spent three nights there and since my husband did have to spend much of the time working, I took my son to go out and explore places. It was easy enough to get around just by walking and pushing my son in a 3D Lite Umbrella Stroller. Thankfully, my son stayed content for the most part so that I was able to enjoy myself. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, which was a great location and we got a wonderful upgrade upon check-in to a wonderful king suite. I was so excited! They also provided a full-size crib for my son, not a pack-and-play, which was perfect. We arrived in the evening and were tried so we pretty much just grabbed dinner and went back to the hotel. We went to Giordano’s on Rush Street, which was a short 8-minute walk from the hotel. We ordered some delicious deep dish pizza that I still think about.

The next day after my husband went to the office, I headed out with my little buddy to go visit the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was almost a 2-mile walk, but it was nice and doable (I love walking). I thought my son would be a little more excited about seeing the animals, but maybe he was just too young to even realize what he was looking at. He probably would have enjoyed it more if he were a bit older. I enjoyed the zoo though as it was a nice to walk around, the weather was nice, and it wasn’t too crowded at the time. They have plenty of animals to see there and entry is free, which is wonderful. So, definitely a must-do with kids. After the zoo, we walked back to the hotel and I definitely needed a bit of a rest by then. While waiting in the room for my husband to finish work, my son started to crawl for the first time! He was having so much fun crawling around the room and exploring. I was thrilled!

That evening we went to Portillo’s & Barnelli’s on Ontario Street, about a half-mile from the hotel. There’s plenty of seating, but it was definitely a busy place! We ordered some Chicago-style hot dogs, which were great (not halal though). Afterwards, we went to Millennium Park to see the stainless steel “Bean“. The official name is “Cloud Gate”. Not the most exciting, but it was cool to see the skyline mirrored and it’s iconic so of course we had to stop and snap some photos. I’m sure my kids now would enjoy it. Millennium Park was nice to walk around so it was worth a stop. We stayed until sunset and then headed back to our hotel so the little guy could sleep. It was about a mile to the hotel so we took a cab to get back.

The next day I took my son to walk around Navy Pier, about one mile from the hotel. Currently, during the summer, from May to August, they have a fireworks show there every Wednesday and Saturday. As with other piers, they have many food options to be enjoyed such as pizza, hot dogs, popcorn, and ice cream. They also have games and rides like a carousel, the Centennial Wheel, Drop Tower, etc. Tickets can be found here. It’s definitely a place kids would enjoy. I pretty much just walked around and headed back to the hotel as my son was a bit cranky and I was tired myself. He was also too young to be able to enjoy any activities. Once my husband finished work we grabbed dinner (I can’t remember where) and walked along the Riverwalk. I really enjoyed that and would have liked to spend even more time walking along there. There are many restaurants and cafes to sit at and enjoy the view and weather. We had some ice cream and then headed back to our hotel and would fly out the next morning. I really enjoyed our time in Chicago and it’s a city I would like to visit again.

Next up – Morocco