Chicago Marathon - Part III - After the Race

Not wanting to be miss out on some time to see the wonderful city of Chicago, I made plans to shower and relax for a bit after the marathon before heading out to see the sights. The hubby was very pleased with himself for figuring out how to navigate the El. He offered to grab me a cab to get back, but I thought taking the train would be more fun...and it would force me to walk, which in turn, would prevent some of the post marathon stiffness. He also offered to get me some ice for an icebath, but I decided that I had enough cold for one day. After relaxing and getting dressed again (and taking a Tylenol 8 hour), I called my parents to see if they wanted to go for a celebratory meal. No luck, they had just eaten, but we agreed to do dinner instead. So, the hubby, kiddo and I walked to the deli on the next street and had a slice of pizza. Afterwards, we met up with the parental units and headed to Sears Tower. Everyone loved the views, but the kiddo was bored before the pre-elevator movie was over. It had been a long day for her with no naptime. So, afterwards, we decided to skip the dinner and the hubby grabbed hot dogs from Portillo's instead. Yum!

Here are some pics from the Sears Tower (pic 1, pic2, pic 3, pic 4) and Portillo's (pic1, pic2)...land of the fattening, but yummy hot dogs. Hey, after a marathon, who cares? I wasn't bummed about not doing dinner, but was a bit bummed that the evening didn't include any tasty adult beverages...oh well, we'd have time for that later!

Monday
I rolled out of bed at 5:45 am...yes, life with a toddler! I was feeling stiff, but overall, not too terrible. I think walking up and down all those stairs at the El platforms helped! I took a Tylenol 8 hour, just in case. The hubby was still asleep, so the kiddo and I walked across the street to McD's for breakfast. Next, we met the parental units for an Architectural Boat Cruise on the Chicago River that was awesome. Um, it would have been more awesome if it we 20 degrees warmer with no wind. It was so cold!!! Lucky for us, they had coffee and hot chocolate on board.

Here are some pics from the cruise - pic1, pic2, pic3, pic4, pic5, pic6

Next, we headed to Navy Pier. We looked around and had lunch at The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company..we had vowed to not eat at any chains, but it was the 1st thing we came to and we were hungry. After chowing down (and I finally had my tasty adult beverage!) we headed to Wrigley Field so the hubby could see it up close. I promised to bring him back in the Spring/Summer so he could actually go inside. :-) We also ran into the man and his wife that I had met in Pam's hotel before the marathon. He swapped marathon stories from the day before...we both finished and had a pretty good race. Next stop - "Big John" or the John Hancock Building. I personally think the view from Big John is much better than the Sears Tower, but decided to keep my opinions to myself and let my parents & hubby decide for themselves. Later, we headed back to the hotel. We had eaten such a big, late lunch that we decided to get a light dinner and a couple of drinks at the hotel restaurant. Mmmm, Pino Grigio for me and a Goose Island for the hubby. In fact, even the parents had a Goose Island. The kiddo stuck to mac & cheese with apple juice.

Here are the pics - Navy Pier - pic 1, Wrigley Field - pic 1, pic 2, pic 3, pic 4 & Big John - pic 1, pic 2, pic 3, pic 4, pic 5.

Tuesday
We decided to be typical tourists and take the double-decker bus tour. The 1st bus that came around only had the upper deck...we tried to sit there, but after 20 minutes, we were frozen. We switched to Trolley at the next stop, which didn't allow for the greatest photo opps, but it was much toastier. Our tour guides were fabulous! After about 2 hours of seeing the city, we decided to have some famous Chicago deep dish pizza at Gino's East (pic). (Thanks to Marcy for recommending it!) Next, we headed to Millennium Park for a close up view of the amphitheatre and the big silver bean. Finally, a trip to Chicago would not be complete without some shopping on Michigan Ave....aka "The Magnificient Mile". We also had to stop at the American Girl store, for the kiddo of course! By the time we made it there, she was fast asleep! Later that night, my parents offered to watch the kiddo so the hubby & I could go out. We were still stuffed from dinner, so we decided on drinks at the Signature Lounge (pic) which is on the 65th floor of "Big John". It's quite a swanky, romantic place with awesome night views of the city. I had a delicious very dirty, vodka martini and the hubby had another Goose Island. Once upon a time, I was a martini girl...but, I've been on a margarita kick for awhile. The martini was awesome...I think I'll be switching back! It was a great way to end our trip.

Here are some pics from the bus tour...pic1, pic2, pic3, pic4, pic5, pic 6, pic 7, pic8
Here are some from Millennium Park...pic1, pic2, pic3, pic4, pic5, pic6, pic7

Wendesday
Time to head back home. Here's a pic of the kiddo at the airport.

Thursday
Back to work. Look what I came back to here...my co-workers rock!