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Twosday XVI: Chicago & South Bend Edition

Published on June 24, 2014 By Emily. Updated on June 27, 2014

This weekend, Brian and I took a quick trip to South Bend for a college friend’s wedding.   Since we were headed that way we decided to make a mini-vacation of it and spent a couple nights in Chicago.   Brian hadn’t been in forever and I hadn’t seen Chicago since the 2010 Healthy Living Summit.   The wedding was lovely, the weekend was great and now we’re easing into the summer routine.

Emily at the bean

Things I hate about airports, generally and O’Hare specifically
1. The “hurry up and wait” mentality…be early so you can wait in line for security so you can hurry to your gate so you can sit for the remaining 45 minutes so you can hurry to get in line to board 30 minutes before take-off during which time you will sit on the tarmac.  No, thanks.
2. There is a serious lack of signage at O’Hare for the rental car locations.  We probably spent at least half an hour wandering around O’Hare trying to figure out how to get to the rental car place, were given unclear/incorrect directions multiple times and when we finally got there had to wait almost another hour because they were so backed up due to everyone’s flights being delayed on Thursday.

Things that were awesome about our flights
1. No major flight delays, just an hour for arrival and half an hour for departure.  I can live with that.
2. Even though our flight to Chicago was only 2 hours long, there were TV shows (Beat Bobby Flay and Shark Tank) available to watch.  Yes, please.

Decisions I might choose to make next time I travel to that area
1. Flying into Midway.  I’ve flown through O’Hare multiple times before and it was the best deal, but we were not impressed.
2. Skipping the car and using public transportation, though we did drive around a very nice Nissan Frontier for the weekend and I’m not sure how we would’ve worked out the South Bend end of the trip without it.

giordanos pizza

Chicago style foods we made sure to eat
1. Stuffed pizza from Giordano’s, which we ate at 10:40 at night after we finally arrived at O’Hare and found our rental car.  Thank goodness the people at the Rosemont location were incredibly friendly and didn’t seem to care that people, including us, were there after closing.
2.  Chicago-style hot dogs.  I don’t care for ketchup and after a busy morning at the museum we were so hungry.  We purchased our dogs from a food truck just outside the Field Museum and they really hit the spot.

field museum main gallery

Chicago attractions we made sure to visit
1. “The Bean”
2. The Field Museum, which was my primary motivation for wanting to go to Chicago.  It was even better than I could have dreamed; the place is huge!  We checked out the Chicago World’s Fair exhibit and all the other things we could fit in before we felt overwhelmed.  I may have an obsession with Sue, the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

studebakers

Facts I learned over the weekend
1.  Studebaker cars were manufactured in South Bend.  And you can have your wedding at the museum.
2.  Chicago is on central time.  I always forget this.  Adding to the fun, South Bend is on eastern time.  Math is hard.

Books I added to my “to read” list over the weekend after seeing them in stores
1. The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story
2. The Lions of Tsavo: Exploring the Legacy of Africa’s Notorious Man-Eaters (the lions are on display at the Field)

Purchases we made with the rationalization that it was just past our 10 year dating anniversary, almost Brian’s birthday and almost our 5 year wedding anniversary
1.  Spending $25 on a package of mini Vosges chocolate bars in O’Hare
2.  Taking the trip, in general, which included direct flights (see my feelings about airports above), hotels, meals out and the like.  This basically concludes the travel portion of our summer.

Related Posts

The Great GoogaMooga, in Pictures
Twosday XIX: Holiday 2014 Edition
Twosday XXVI: Summer Love (+ a coupon code)
No Reservations: Mexico
Did you enjoy this post? Share it!

Filed Under: life, travel Tagged With: chicago, travel, twosday

« To Do: Summer 2014
5 Wedding Gifts I’d Register For Again »

Comments

  1. Kelly says

    June 24, 2014 at 9:33 pm

    Oh my gosh that Giordano’s pizza looks amazing. It’s been too long since I’ve had a good Chicago style pizza!’

    • Emily says

      June 27, 2014 at 8:31 am

      Oh, it was amazing! I’m already ready to go back and get more!

      • Kelly says

        June 27, 2014 at 9:11 am

        Fun fact: You can order them and have them shipped to you! They obviously aren’t as good as they would be fresh, but they are still tasty when you are craving that classic deep dish style!

  2. katie says

    June 25, 2014 at 10:15 am

    Its been a few years since I’ve been to chicago, and that really needs to change!

  3. Krista @ Can't Survive on Yarn Alone says

    June 26, 2014 at 10:48 pm

    MIDWAY all the way! If I can help it, that is my departure airport out of here. I’ve even paid slightly more (not a ton more) to not have to deal w the madness of O’Hare.

    • Emily says

      June 27, 2014 at 8:35 am

      I’ve flown through O’Hare before with no problems AND we could get direct flights from Albany there, which saved us a lot of time and stress. If we do it again, at least we’ll know what to expect.

      • Krista @ Can't Survive on Yarn Alone says

        June 27, 2014 at 9:05 pm

        TOTALLY makes sense then. :)

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Emily
Always a magical night at Gardens Aglow at @coasta Always a magical night at Gardens Aglow at @coastalmainebotanicalgardens.
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#GardensAglow #Boothbay
My love of tea, especially chai, is no secret. New My love of tea, especially chai, is no secret. New on the blog: the chai mix recipe from @thekitchn that I use to create my own chai blend at home. 
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Read the post at the link below or by clicking my profile:  https://www.relishments.com/blog/chai-season/
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#chai #chailovers #tea #teablends
We finally got to cross @eatatbluebird off my rest We finally got to cross @eatatbluebird off my restaurant list tonight for a belated birthday celebration. The atmosphere was great and the food was delicious. 
- Grilled Kefta
- Traditional German Sausage
- Fall Spritz & Gold Rush cocktails
- Apple Crisp
- Banana Pudding
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Despite the cool temperatures and wet weather, we Despite the cool temperatures and wet weather, we had another fantastic year at @freshgrassfestival. I can never get over how, in addition to all the incredible music, the event features a great venue (@massmoca), delicious food from mostly local vendors, a great local beer tent and bar stocked with @berkshiremtdist and a kid-friendly atmosphere including a @kidspacemm art tent.
Shout-out to some of my favorite acts of the day @ajleebluesummit, @cj_field with @gregcaproni and @theblacklegacyproject.

Looking forward to next year!
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#WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #FreshGrass #FreshGrassFestival #bluegrass #MassMoCA
I am literally weeks behind in my work life and my I am literally weeks behind in my work life and my blog posts, but I just hit publish on my end of August/beginning of September meal plans! Some blogging progress is better than none! Click the link below or visit my profile to see how we used these 2 CSA pick ups from @mightyfoodfarm.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/august-slipped-away-csa-meal-plan-153/
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare  #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
It's always a beautiful day at the @coastalmainebo It's always a beautiful day at the @coastalmainebotanicalgardens.
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#Maine #CoastalMaineBotanticalGardens #Boothbay
We made our annual trip to @thebistrobox in Great We made our annual trip to @thebistrobox in Great Barrington today, bringing along our 6 year old for the first time. 
Pictured: onion rings, pressed Cubano, BOX burger, raspberry mint iced tea/ (huge) side of fries, grilled hot dog, strawberry lemonade. Everything was delicious and my daughter especially enjoyed trying out the lawn games.
Until next year!
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#igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #GreatBarrington #TheBistroBox
New on the blog: a list of everything I made for d New on the blog: a list of everything I made for dinner this week. A double @mightyfoodfarm CSA pick up plus hosting my in-laws for dinner resulted in me actually planning quality meals.
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Get the recipe links at https://www.relishments.com/blog/twice-as-good-csa-meal-plan-152/ or click the link in my profile.
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare  #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
I had the opportunity to visit the Bridge of Flowe I had the opportunity to visit the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls this morning. It was as beautiful as I remembered and a great morning for hanging out with some friends.
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