Thanksgiving in Chicago

November 26th, 2009

Day 1

Once all the leftovers were stashed in the frig and the family members had all made their way out the door, my good buddy Garry and I quickly packed our bags and hopped in the car for a short distance road trip to the “Windy City”. We both had been there when we were young kids on separate trips to see all the museums and such and figured it was high time to go back. This time we could play like kids during the day and grownups at night.

From our home town of Muskegon it is about a 2.5 hour drive. Figuring we have both made this drive a bunch of times over our life we hit the road with the hotel address in hand and no other sense of direction but our vague memories on just how to get there. And, with only 1 small detour once we made it into the city, and found our home away from home with ease.

We chose the DoubleTree Hotel (www.doubletree.hilton.com) for this trip on the ever popular “Magnificent Mile” for its killer rates and location in the middle of everything. And at $89.00 a night, you can’t lose!

After parking the car we head to the front desk to check in. Oddly, in the parking garage to access the elevator you have to hop a concrete step to get to a door that then gives you access to a small room with one elevator. This was the way it seemed on all floors as I tested 2 of them. So I hopped the curb and we made our way down to the front desk. I asked the concierge what the deal was with the step in the garage and he said that only the top floor of the garage actually has a ramp to the elevator, yet each floor had handicap parking.

A quick and painless check in and a return trip to the car to get our bags we step into our room and survey the digs, so to speak. I had made the reservation for an “accessible” room and that can mean many different things so, I am always a bit curious to see what different hotels consider “handicap accessible”. This room did not disappoint. First off, upon entry is a rather large bathroom with a roll-in shower with hand-held shower head on an adjustable height rod and a nice roll under, wall mounted sink. Brownie points for DoubleTree! The walkways were easy for my skinny chair to navigate but would be tough for a standard folding frame. Access to the bed nearest the door would be fine, but getting to the bed by the window might prove to be a bit difficult.

So we drop our bags and try to decide what is on the agenda for the night and after a couple Jagermeister and Red Bulls during the Mythbusters marathon in our room we decide to hit up an old friendly stop first. Just up the street is a hotel we each have stayed at a few times and have grown to love called the James Hotel (www.jameshotels.com). We bundle up in our winter coats and make the trek out in the cold. Ok, it is only about 5 blocks away, but darn it, it was cold! With Jager in our blood we get a bit directionally challenged and end up going the complete opposite direction for only a block or 2 and are back on the right path.

As I make my way thru the turn-style door, because I am too stubborn to use the regular door, we belly up to the bar only to be greeted with a familiar smile right away. Our favorite drink slinger Teyo is winding down his crazy double shift. We order our drinks and trade the short and sweet versions of the time since last we saw each other.

It is always so comforting to come back to a place on the map where people actually remember you and when you find that blip on the map in a city that you truly enjoy. We tossed back a few drinks, laughing and having a good time and of course, enjoying the scenery. Then we made our way back to the “other hotel” to sleep off the ick of the road trip and now a fair bit of alcohol.

Day 2

Getting out of bed and going was a bit slow, but finally we made it. Waking up around 10:00am we decided to get ourselves motivated and actually see more of the city. We walked a few blocks from the hotel to the waterfront near Navy Pier, crossing under Lake Michigan Avenue through the flooded tunnel. The water was deep enough to come over my push rings so of course my hands got wet, soaking my gloves. Garry actually took his shoes and socks off, rolled his pants up a bit and just walked right through the bitter cold water. I certainly got a laugh out of the screams coming from him as he made his way across the moat, only to quickly slip his socks and shoes back on.

We made our way down to a really beautiful bike path along the water that brought us all the way to the “museum campus” where we decided the first stop was the Alder Planetarium (www.adlerplanetarium.org). The price was a bit steep at $19.99 a person including one 3D show.

Both of us were a bit starved after our adventure cross land and water to get to the planetarium so we stopped at Galileo’s Café for a bite. It was pretty good for cafeteria-style food. Once our bellies were full we ventured on.

After wandering around a bit we headed to our show “3-D Vision: Imaging the Universe” which was a bit bittersweet. We were expecting a cool 3D “Epcot” sort of show that has you looking all over the place at stars even giving you the feeling that you were floating around in space, but after we donned our killer, high tech, green 3D glasses we were forced to stare at a relatively small screen while they played unentertaining music to an artist’s visions of space and the galaxy. I give it a 5 on a 10 scale. Killer images if you go in with the right state of mind. Also, wheelchair seating has you going in through the back entrance and down an elevator they don’t seem to use very much and you get to sit in the very back.

After the anticlimactic 3D show we had our fill of the planetarium and decided to wander on. We headed over to Shedd Aquarium where we were confronted with another $20.00+ per person entry fee. While waiting in line we opted to catch that one another time. It might cut greatly into our drinking money. Ha ha ha.

We made our way back to the hotel along a different route more inland and it let us venture through the city streets. I saw an old hotel that I had stayed at once a long time ago when I was a kid. I had made the trip with my parents when I was about 9 years old and we stayed at the Essex Inn. I had fond memories of a corned beef sandwich that was made at the deli inside the hotel. We stepped inside the hotel lobby to get out of the cold and I asked the gentleman behind the front desk where the deli had gone that I had remembered. He didn’t remember there ever being a deli but asked around to some of the other people behind the scenes and found a bell hop that had actually worked at the deli all those years ago. We chatted for a bit, reminiscing of the great food coming out of the deli. As I started to drool on myself a bit over the tasty memories he broke the news that the deli has been gone for over 10 years. Oh well, no corned beef sandwich for me today. I have to say though, I was amazed to see that someone was still working there over 20 years later. They must treat their employees well, that’s for sure.

Off again into the cold, we go back to our hotel to clean up and relax a bit before we attack the Primehouse Bar yet again at the James Hotel. We had a few drinks there then made our way over to Fado’s (www.fadoirishpub.com), an Irish pub that I had been to on another trip thru Chicago. We had gotten a bit of a refresher on the directions from our friend Teyo behind the bar before heading off. After some good Guinness and lively chat with new friends we called it a night.

Day 3

I woke up around 8:00 am feeling pretty good and decided to do some writing while my cohort finished reading the back of his eyelids. We packed our bags, said goodbye to the room that had treated us so well and checked out.

Realizing that the Museum of Science and Industry (www.msichicago.org) was a good ways away from where we were, we decided to drive there. It was also on the way home anyways.

We parked in the parking garage and entered the giant lobby area. At $13.00 per person for the basic general admission this felt a bit better. We got our tickets and hopped on the escalator only to be caught by the security guard, who just happened to be sitting at his desk, RIGHT NEXT TO THE ESCALATOR! Now 3 steps up he finally notices me and tells me to get down. I tell him I can’t now and continue up. He asks in a panic, “Why would you do that?” and my only reply was, “Because I always do. Why would I wait forever for the elevator that is so far away?”

I must say this place was much more fun and way more interactive than the planetarium. There are so many different exhibits and so many things to play with. Ok, not “play with”, interact and experience. From the amazing space exhibit to the body exhibit, there was even a wall with all sorts of disabled sports item and write ups. They had one of Jesse Billauer’s old surf boards and pictures of a group of other disabled athletes. I was thoroughly impressed. I even got to roll through a spacious 727 that they had basically gutted to make an exhibit out of. I will never get around that easy on a plan again.

Once we had our fill of knowledge for the day we headed out on the road again. The drive home was clear and uncongested the whole way. Pulling into the driveway, coming inside and ditching our bags we sluggishly entered our respective rooms and passed out. Home safe yet again!