Route 66 | Illinois

We drove out of Springfield on Route 66 and enjoyed views of wheat fields aplenty on either side of the road. This type of drive, with single lane roads and farms as far as the eye can see, is what really makes a road trip feel like a road trip.

-Amanda

Springfield, IL

Springfield, IL... home to Abraham Lincoln.

While there are many sights around town related to Lincoln's history, we visited only one - the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The museum was unbelievably well curated, touching, powerful, and I could just keep going on. This is the assassinated President who led the way for civil rights and ended slavery.  I mean, he wrote the Gettysburg Address (the museum has an original copy, and reading it took me right back to the high school classroom where I once had to recite the whole address from memory). Beyond the history of Lincoln and his time in office, there are also wonderful displays of period clothing and memorabilia - china sets, invitations to parties, medicine ledgers, and more. Photos were not allowed in the exhibits.

We later walked around the downtown area for a bit, where you can find a few quirky shops and some great older architecture. There was even a living history exhibit set up at the Old State Capitol building.

Springfield also happens to be located on Route 66, and we decided food would be the best way to experience this historic route.  Before heading out of town on said Route 66, we had a lunch of root beers and burgers at Maid-Rite, the first ever drive-thru, and then hit up Cozy Dog Drive-In for a corn dog snack. 

-Amanda

Chicago Eats

The way to both of our hearts is food. It's true.  Between Em's guest post and my brother's suggestions (he's a chef in NYC) we had more options than we had time. Since we were celebrating Taras's birthday that weekend, we were up for the challenge to fit in a lot of eating and drinking... a culinary tour of the city, if you will.

-Amanda

Here it goes...
Dinner at The Purple Pig. We got into the city around dinner time and made this our first stop - a very good welcome to the city.  This place was packed, and for good reason. Meats, cheeses, and Mediterranean small plates that are to die for.  And the milk braised pork shoulder could be its own food group.

Xoco is a Rick Bayless restaurant and was a perfect spot for lunch. We shared the shortrib red chile soup and a pepito torta. This place stays packed, so be prepared to stand in line for a while!

That night (our last night in the city) we headed over to the Randolph Restaurant Corridor in the West Loop for a little restaurant crawl...

Dinner snacks at Girl and the Goat, including goat belly that Taras declared to be better than pork belly (also, reservations were difficult to get, so we ran to catch the bus that would get us to the restaurant right when they opened to snag a spot at the bar).

Maude's was up next for whiskey smashes and $3 whiskey shots in the the most adorable setting. Plus the sweetest bartender who treated Taras to a second whiskey shot on the house, and she gave us great suggestions on other restaurants to visit.

We made a quick stop by de cero for spicy salsa and chips with a side of  micheladas (one of Taras's favorite beer cocktails, which consists of a light beer mixed with lime juice and assorted spices/sauces - a beer bloody mary of sorts).

We had heard great things about the beer from Haymarket and loved that we could get 4 oz samples for near $1. We each had a tiny sampling, then were on our way.

Our bartender at Maude's told us to be sure to stop by Sepia. We settled in at the bar for a leisurely final drink of the night. This place was niiice.  Most every gentleman was wearing a blazer - that, combined with the general ambiance of the restaurant, made us feel a bit like we were in the middle of a Harvard alumni reunion.  It was the perfect place to unwind and just chill. Taras grabbed a beer and I settled on the Death & Taxes cocktail (I'm an accountant - I had to!).  And, seriously, this was the best cocktail we had all trip - the perfect mix of smokey, bitter, and sweet.  Some day we'll have to play with the ingredients and remake it ourselves.

We finished the night with a super indulgent late night "snack" of traditional Chicago deep dish pizza at Giordano's. We got there so late that we had to wait 45 minutes for them to make the pizza (after a certain time they no longer have pizzas partially made for quicker service). And, oh my goodness, it was good and worth the wait.  But I'm pretty sure I didn't eat cheese for a few days after this.

For lunch on our last day in town we wanted something a bit lighter and found Mana on Yelp. Everything was fresh and healthy, with a focus on vegan and gluten free foods.  They also have delicious sake cocktails and fresh juices and smoothies.

Our last stop in town was Bangers & Lace where we shared a beer sampler from their large and well chosen selection.  The beers were good but it was the decor that would keep me coming back here - exposed brick walls adorned with antlers and vintage paintings.

So, yeah, we indulged a bit in Chicago!

Travel tip: It's important to know what you enjoy most about visiting a place - for us, when we visit cities, it's all about food.  We knew we wanted to be able to splurge in the city so we made sure to spend less money in the couple weeks leading up to Chicago, that way we were able to enjoy food and drinks guilt-free.  Understanding what we value most makes it easier to re-allocate money in order to have an experience we will enjoy.

all food photos are from the iPhone

Chicago, IL

Chicago! Gosh, we fell hard for Chicago. Such a great city with amazing restaurants, a beautiful skyline (I'm such a sucker for those skylines), and endless fun to be had in the public parks and beaches.

The details from our time in Chicago are after the photos! PS - our food tour of the city will be coming up in a separate post.

-Amanda

When we first got into Chicago we were a bit stunned with all the traffic and tall buildings - we hadn't driven in a large city for a few weeks and it took a bit of time to adjust; it hit us almost like a culture shock. We did come to enjoy (kind of) the aggressiveness of the city's drivers - it reminded us of the spirited drivers in Boston. We found it refreshing to be in a city with well-planned roads (something Boston lacks) and were kind of obsessed with the double-stacked roads around downtown.  Our GPS was less impressed, she couldn't keep track of where we were and lost her satellite signal a few times. Oh, and we had the hardest time with our AT&T service in the city, even though overall on the trip AT&T worked great. 

We learned quickly that Chicago is appropriately named the windy city, as the nights spent walking around downtown were chilly and windy. And then, the days were HOT - we happened to be visiting during the record breaking heat wave over Memorial Day weekend.

We visited the Navy Pier for a couple of hours. It was, of course, touristy, but it was fun to ride the Ferris wheel (Taras had a grand time swinging our cart when we were at the very top, scaring the crap out of me), listen to some live music, and enjoy a couple beers in the hot sun (tip: the beer prices go up and up the further you walk on the pier). We realized later that it would have been fun to visit the Pier at night, when they light up the rides and it's not so dang hot.

Lincoln Park is perfect for walking or lounging and is home to a FREE zoo, where most animals were hiding from the heat, and a gorgeous lily pond, which offered great shade for us humans trying to beat the heat. The Park borders Lake Michigan and the city's beaches.  And, can I just say, holy beaches - the water is a beautiful blue color and the sand is soft, although yellowish in color. Being Memorial Day weekend (and ridiculously hot) it seemed every single person was at the beach - sunbathing, swimming, playing volleyball, sail boating, paddle boarding, and cruising on bicycles. For this native Floridian, I have to admit that lake beaches give ocean beaches a run for their money.

We also wandered through the Lincoln Park neighborhood and eyed the great homes, walked around Old Town to take in the beautiful, historical buildings, and visited The Bean (we suggest visiting it at night when there is less of a crowd to mess with the standard self-reflection photo op).

Chicago, we'll be coming back to visit you soon!

Chicago on Dwellable