From October 13th…
I was so excited to wake up the next morning and check out our view. I’d paid for an upper floor and a lake view. I figured since this was our big trip for the year we might as well do it right. And as the sun started to rise the view did NOT disappoint. We had a full lake view with very little blocking it.
I’d also gotten us a suite, so the girls had a sofa bed and we had a small (separate) bedroom. It makes all the difference in getting just a little personal space. And in everyone sleeping better since I usually get up and hit the gym.
I’d say the girls slept…..tired…..their first night.
I’d also gotten us upgraded to the “executive lounge” access which meant we could go to the executive lounge for breakfast and also stop in throughout the evening for soda, coffee, snacks, etc. That ended up being such a great deal to have a nice, healthy breakfast before we headed out for the day. And the girls flipped their lids over the sodas in the fridges. We just don’t keep soda at home, so they lost their mind over getting to have it at breakfast. I lost my mind over the really nice latte and cappuccino machine up there.
After we ate we checked out the fitness room and indoor pool on the top floor. It did not disappoint!
The view from the pool floor – who could ever get tired of this?
After we got showered up, we went online and bought tickets to ride one of the boat tours of Chicago. Since Brent and I have been to Chicago several times we wanted to at least do one or two new things on this trip, and we’ve never done a boat tour.
As we walked down to the River, Lilli loved all the sights and shops – we were right across the Street from their fantastic American Girl store.
We got to our boat right at time, and by the end it was nearly full! This was our best weather day of the trip, so we wanted to take advantage of that. We also thought this would be a fun way for the girls to see the major landmarks of the city and learn about Chicago.
Setting sail – right past Trump’s giant building.
We did the 90 minute combination of river and lake tour. We weren’t sure which one to do, and we’re glad we did the combo. The River portion was more interesting with stories of the buildings and their architects and history, while the Lake portion gave some amazing views. Here we are stopped next to the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower.
Our guide was fantastic and we all learned so much about the Chicago Fire, history of Chicago, and all the major buildings.
Abbi enjoyed it, but got bored about the last 20 minutes when it was more of the same views over and over on the lake. She liked seeing the trains above us and all the buildings and people on the river more than the lake. If we went back, I’d definitely try the 90 minute River tour and see more of the River and hear more of those stories.
Abbi really loved this iconic building and how the cars were parked.
We had to wait in the lock to go in and out, which took a good portion of time for the Lake tour, one reason why I don’t think I’d repeat a Lake tour. I’m glad we did it once, but it’s not something I’d repeat.
A view back of the skyline as we went around the beach area. The boat had bathrooms and a cafe downstairs, and during this portion you could get up and move around.
That gorgeous skyline! Sorry, NYC, but Chicago is my favorite town.
Family selfie on the boat!
The Lake ride was so windy and chilly out there! We were going a lot faster and we were glad to get back into the River. The boat ride was the perfect way to kick off our Chicago vacation and get our bearings of all the things we wanted to do.
