This past Saturday I turned 29. My parents, nephew, boyfriend, my boys and I went to Chicago. I have never gone to Chicago to be a tourist. I’ve only driven by it whenever my family and I use to drive to New York to visit family. So for my 29th birthday, I wanted to do something fun that involved my boys and parents because usually every year I would celebrate with close friends and my boys would be gone for my birthday with their dad.
My parents have been to Chicago before so they knew where to go and what we should see. My goal though was to definitely see the “Chicago Bean”. I’ve seen so many people go there and take photos and I knew that I had to go see this bean. But first, we went to the Navy Pier.
Navy Pier, Chicago IL
This place is huge! When you walk into the Navy Pier, you are welcomed by so many choices of restaurants, shopping places, children’s museum and much more. We decided to go on the “Shoreline Sightseeing – Classic Lake Tours“. You get to tour around the lake and learn all about the fun facts and history of each monument surrounding the lake.
Campgrounds and RV parks in Chicago
[bctt tweet=”Travel Diaries | Chicago ” username=”thejasminemaria”]
I must say that it was beautiful seeing Chicago from the boat. It was so breathtaking and I enjoyed every minute of it. As you can tell so did my boys and Brian (of course my parents & nephew). The tour around the lake was about 20 minutes I want to say. They even had a bar on the boat.
Jimmy Buffet – Margaritaville, Chicago, IL
Because it was my birthday I definitely wanted to try something new to eat in Chicago. I saw that they had the Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville restaurant so of course, we went there. I had their fish tacos and it was so good that I realized after eating it all I never took a photo of it. But I did manage to take a picture of their “5’oclock Somewhere” drink. If you’re a country music listener, then you know that the moment you see that title of the drink you automatically think of “Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffet’s song – 5’oclock Somewhere”
The restaurant is sort of small but we were able to snag some a table right away instead of having to wait. Especially since it was mid-afternoon on a hot summer Chicago day. But overall we loved the restaurant.
[bctt tweet=”Jimmy Buffet – Margaritaville was so delicious. ” username=”thejasminemaria”]Centennial Wheel – Chicago, IL
We went on the Ferris Wheel, which is HUGE and tall. Landon and I have a fear of heights. We both conquered our fears together on my birthday so made it super special for us. Although he was screaming and crying while waiting in line and told me “I was ruining his life”, after realizing that there was nothing to be afraid of once he was inside he definitely loved it.
Millennium Park, Chicago, IL
Cloud Gate a.k.a “CHICAGO BEAN” was so cool to see and witness. My boys and nephew kept saying “oh my gosh it’s big”. Of course, everyone there was taking selfies because it’s like a huge mirror. When you walk inside the bean (the middle) the mirror is so cool and different.
I would say that I had the best time in touring a part of Chicago. We are planning to go back to see the Willis Tower and go to the 360 Chicago building. I highly recommend going to the Navy Pier and trying out the Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville restaurant.
Have you been to Chicago?
