Our Weekend in Chicago

I mentioned last week when I was recapping our Mid-Western excursion that we took a little trip within our trip.  On Saturday morning we drove a little further up I-65 to a little town called Chicago.  I love Chicago.  It's my favorite big city to visit and explore. And on top of that some more of my favorite people just happen to live there which is a HUGE bonus!

We arrived at my Aunt and Uncle's house mid morning and walked to the train station.  They live in the cutest little suburb with the most awesome downtown area.  They are just blocks away from restaurants, shops, and of course the train into the city. After we arrived at Union Station we headed to our 1st destination: Gino's East.  Why Gino's? Because Eric saw it featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network a few years ago and he has had his heart set on trying their deep dish Chicago Style pizza ever since. This isn't the first time we've eaten at a Food Network recommended eatery; we sought out a couple of places on our trip to New Mexico a few years ago.  Gino's did not disappoint.  We tried a half supreme-half cheese deep dish pizza and it was amazing.  I am a huge fan of Chicago style deep dish, but this was Eric's first time trying an authentic one.  He loved it.  Gino's has a cornmeal based crust that we had never encountered in a pizza crust before...and now I'm on a mission to create one. =)  I've attempted deep dish pizza before [I've even made a Chicago Style Buffalo Chicken Pizza], but it's been at least 5 years since I've made one.  Rest assured it will happen again sometime this fall.

Aside from amazing pizza they had a really great beer selection.  Eric's favorite was a Wisconsin brew called Supper Club.  I had a really delicious pear cider..it had just the right amount of sweet without tasting like juice....delicious!

After we ate we headed to Navy Pier to do some sight-seeing.  While we were there we took a really neat catamaran tour of the city from Lake Michigan.  They drove up and down the coast so we could really see the skyline.

After an impromptu carousel ride [because the line for the swing ride was ridonculous], we hopped back on the train to head back to their house.  I didn't think that the day could get any better than it already was, but it did because shortly after we got back to the house this kid pulled in the drive way!

And I did everything I could to hold it together because I was so excited to see my brother who I hadn't seen since Christmas! He lives a few hours north of Chicago and came down to spend part of his weekend with us.  Like I said....my family is beyond amazing!  We finished off the evening with a couple of rounds of badminton [my cousin totally smoked Eric and Matt], walked into town for dinner, and played a few rounds of Just Dance which is now my new favorite Wii Game.

Little did we know, we were in for a real treat on Sunday. The town they live in used to hold a bike race, Tour De France style. After a 5 year hiatus the race had come back to town and just happened to be that Sunday, and one leg of the race course just happened to be down the street where my Aunt and Uncle and cousins live.  So we did what any ration people would do....we tailgated on the front lawn with all of their neighbors and cheered on the bikers all day long.  It was so much fun! 

We took a couple of breaks for golf and shopping, but were back in time for the last three races which featured all of the top racers in the Masters Division [men over 35], Women's Division, Men's Division [under 35]. To say the races were intense is an understatement.  I was blown away at how fast they were going up their street.  They were doing 1.2 mile laps in 2:15-2:25...for an hour and a half.  We did see one wreck right in front of the house...the guy clipped the tired of the guy in front of him and went down hard.  He seemed to be alright, so Eric of course asked him if he was going to finish the race.  I guess it's the coach in him.  

1. Eric and I at the bike races AKA standing in the front yard.

2. The Men's Division race.  Yes I was that close to them and can you see how far back that line goes?!

3. What do you do after a bike race?  Why you offer the riders a beer.  One of them actually came back and watched his wife race the next race with us and educated us on the ins and outs of street bike racing...FYI it can be a very shady sport. 

4. Bike Blur!  I was trying to get a picture that captured how fast they were going....this was about as good as it got and it doesn't come close to doing their speed justice. 

5. Eric and I with my cousins. I still can't get over that they're teenagers/pre-teens now!  

6. Since we were not by the Finish Line, we had to resort to asking who won when they came around on their cool down lap...Eric is high-fiving the guy who ending up winning.  

7. More bike blur.  The Under 35 Men's race was by far the most exciting. Not only was it longer than the rest, but every time they came around there was a different person in the lead.  The guy who ended up winning was at the very back of the pack with about 7 laps to go.  

I think it's safe to say that Eric thoroughly enjoyed his first trip to Chicago and I seriously doubt it will be the last.  As I said in the Indiana portion of this trip recap, this trip was right on time.  I'd been missing my family it was so good to see at least a part of them.  I was completely blown away by my brother making the trip down. As we drove back to my grandparents' house Sunday evening and I replayed the weekend's events in my head, and I was completely overwhelmed by how amazing my family is.  We may not get to see each other but once a year if that, but the times we do spend together are always so wonderful.