Destination Driftless: A Summer Weekend in Chicago

I grew up in a town whose identity was largely in relation to other nearby big cities. Belvidere was "next to Rockford and outside of Chicago". We were an hour and a half outside of Chicago, not exactly a suburb. I often wished my town to be bigger and better but some of my favorite memories are the county fair, the ice cream truck, the local pool and our neighborhood candy store...So we did a lot of great small-town things but then also treated Belvidere as a Chicago suburb. My dad spent years commuting into Chicago for work and driving us all in to visit the Art Insitute, or to eat at one of his favorite restaurants or to just walk the city streets. Every time I go to Chicago, I'm still the girl from Belvidere whose adrenaline races as the skyline comes into view. So my husband and I sped our little car down I-90. Wisconsin was in our rear view and the windy city was in our sights. And all of that to say that I still think of Chicago as being an hour and a half away even though now it's five long hours away.

Wrigley Field is the oldest National League Ball Park and in many ways, it shows. The green ivy climbing up the walls, the red art deco Wrigley Field sign and the perfect stadium view of the city skyline, this is Wrigley Field.

Walking through Wrigleyville

Bernie's Tavern is a must. Bernie's is family-owned for 3 generations and right across the street from the stadium. Both craft and domestic beer and Chicago style hot dogs at cheaper prices than Wrigley so fill up. This is signature Jim Forsell with his Chicago Sun Times hat, his Chicago Cubs shirt and a can of Old Style. Go, Dad!

Mike enjoying his first Bernie's visit.

We were waiting for my brother and I was so busy focusing this shot I didn't realize until later that he was in the photo.

Tula had the best seat in the house.

Cubs lost to the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers fans were everywhere practically drowning out the Chicago fans.

Ron Santo statue

Walking the streets after a huge, spicy meal at Big Bowl.

Photo courtesy of hotelpalomar-chicago.com

Our hotel room was comped. We stayed at the Palomar Hotel (River North) after being bumped from the James Hotel. Hotwire is a great way of keeping hotel prices down. You specify the neighborhood and the star rating and hotwire will show prices and customer reviews. You find out which hotel after you book. I've never had a bad experience with this site. Even with the service fee, the hotel fee is much smaller than booking direct.