The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Windy City Christmas
It’s cold, but Midwest metropolis a fine designation to consider this time of year
While planning my family’s trip to Chicago, I’d hoped the unseasonably warm temperatures would continue into late fall, allowing us to experience more moderate weather than typically associated with the Windy City in November.
Fortunately for us, Mother Nature had something else in mind. During our four-day visit, temperatures dipped into the 30s, it rained periodically and the sun disappeared before 6 p.m. each day — contributing many unexpected perks to our trip. The cloudy skies and setting sun provided an amazing backdrop for our architectural boat tour (not to mention smaller crowds everywhere we went). Early sunsets also meant we had hours to enjoy the skyline, lit up each evening, before retiring to our hotel.
As for the cooler temperatures? They — along with the Christmas decorations that were starting to pop up — helped put us in a festive mood. And it was readily apparent that Chicago is an ideal place to visit during the holidays.
Our first indication things were getting merry in Chicago was at the Museum of Science and Industry, where volunteers were setting up for their annual “Christmas Around the World” celebration. The display’s four-story “Grand Tree,” is surrounded by more than 50 trees representing holiday traditions from many countries.
Though I must confess our boys, 11 and 13, were thinking less about Christmas miracles and more about the miracle of life when they discovered the museum houses a chick hatchery. We returned to the exhibit three times during our visit to watch the chicks peck out of their shells and take a few wobbly first steps.
They also learned a bit about World War II while checking out the U-505 Submarine — a German submarine captured in 1944 — and got a lesson in assembly lines while watching the ToyMaker 3000 crank out toy tops.
We stayed until the museum closed and were eager to experience another Chicago institution — deepdish pizza. We headed to Lou Malnati’s Pizza where, we shared a Classic — extra cheese and house-made sausage. The flaky, buttery crust and chunky tomato sauce were more than just a different style of pizza — they were emphatically, uniquely Chicago.
Afterward, we took the kids to CSz Theater Chicago for their first comedy show. The family-friendly “ComedySportz” show pits two teams of comedians in an interactive battle of wits, capturing an authentic comedy club vibe that’s both “clean” and entertaining for parents and children. Though nominally sports themed, the show covers the wacky assortment of material you would expect from an improv troupe.
Despite having a mother who earns her living as a writer, both boys were dreading The American Writers Museum. Their complaints were short-lived once they realized how interactive and modern the museum, which opened in May, is. They lingered in the room dedicated to children’s authors, enjoying displays about E.B. White and Maurice Sendak — who wrote two of their favorite books. They snickered at the captions previous visitors penned for the funny news photos on display and even wrote a few. They were completely intrigued by the working typewriters, although my oldest deemed them “practically unusable.”
During our walking tour with a volunteer “Chicago Greeter,” we saw more evidence of Chi-Town’s holiday spirit. Our guide, Jacob Kolar, took us to Macy’s department store, where window displays already featured Santa and Mrs. Claus and large, decorative bugles hanging from the building were trumpeting the arrival of the holidays.
On another corner, Kolar showed us where the German Christkindlmarket was being set up. The market, which stays open through Christmas Eve, features German gifts, food and entertainment.
The free tour, which Kolar personalized based on our interests, covered local history and architecture and was a great opportunity for us to ask questions and get a local’s perspective of the city. We all enjoyed it immensely.
It also served as a good warm-up to our visit to Skydeck Chicago, the glasswalled viewing floor at the top of the 103-story Willis Tower — formerly the Sears Tower — where we got a taste of how intertwined the city’s buildings and its history are. Commissioned in 1969 by the thenworld’s largest retailer, the building took three years to complete, using enough concrete to make an eightlane, 5-mile-long highway.
To get the full story on Chicago’ skyline, we took an architectural boat tour — a must for anyone curious about the stories behind the Chicago’s magnificent skyline. Sitting on the deck of a boat while slowly cruising down the Chicago River is a view like no other — perfect for appreciating the amazing buildings that make up the city’s downtown. The boat ride also made the massive amount of information shared by the the guide more tolerable and entertaining for the kids.
Our boat left at 4 p.m., allowing us to observe how the skyline changed as the sun dipped into the horizon and the buildings began to light up. The views were amazing as the sky — still cloudy from an earlier rain — changed from orange to purple.
The following day we timed our ride on the Centennial Wheel similarly. The ride commemorates the city’s connection to the Ferris wheel, which was invented for the Chicago’s World Fair in 1893. The current Ferris wheel, complete with heated cars gondolas, was installed last year in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Navy Pier. Standing 196 feet tall, the Ferris wheel offers breathtaking views of the skyline and Lake Michigan.
The lake also provides a scenic backdrop for the Museum Campus, home to the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium. We were fortunate to arrive at the Field just as a volunteer was giving a talk about its most famous resident — Sue, the largest, most-complete Tyrannosaurus rex ever found. From there, we let the boys’ interests dictate our schedule. Nick, our budding botanist, was completely enthralled by the “Plants of the World,” exhibit while Alex insisted we seek out the narwhal diorama. The museum’s huge collection of scientific and historic artifacts, taxidermy, and gemstones means there’s something to interest every kid.
After several days of touring museums, we were questioning whether we had enough stamina to visit the Shedd Aquarium. Our last stop before leaving town, it did not disappoint. Everything from the layout of the exhibits to their interactive elements to the live shows combines learning and entertainment. The kids marveled at the seahorse exhibit, ooh’d and aah’d at the live dolphin show and were appalled by the amount of litter that fills the world’s oceans, which the Aquarium cleverly used to create awesome sculptures.
As we reluctantly headed back to our car to begin the drive home, we came across one more Chicago institution we knew we needed to sample — a street vendor selling hot dogs.
We ordered four Chicagostyle franks — topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato wedge, a pepper and a dash of celery salt — and found a corner out of the wind to enjoy them.
Invigorated by adventure and food, the likes of which can only be found in Chicago, we bid farewell to the city — reflecting on