Travelogue: Chicago

April 2023
Where We Stayed: The Hampton Inn Chicago Downtown/N Loop/Michigan Ave

In one of my very first conversations with Mike, before we officially started dating, he mentioned that he was dying to see Book of Mormon. I filed that piece of information away into my brain for future use!

Three years later, Book of Mormon came to Chicago and I immediately bought us tickets!  Here are the highlights of our 24-ish hours in Chicago.

  • We drove down on Saturday morning, stopping at Cook’s in Milwaukee on the way.  Cook’s is a baking supply store in Milwaukee that I adore.  It’s not much from the outside, but it’s heaven on the inside.
  • Book of Mormon was playing at the Cadillac Theatre and we had matinee tickets.
  • Somehow, unbeknownst to me, our tickets included Suite Service.  Suite Service basically meant that we got to hang out in a private area before the show and during intermission — this area had food, a full bar, and a place to leave your coats.  It was awesome!  Highly recommend, though I still don’t quite know how we ended up with that because I don’t remember choosing or paying for that extra feature.
  • The show was really funny and we both enjoyed it… would highly recommend if you aren’t easily offended.
  • After the show, we had a weird amount of time to kill before our dinner reservation.  So we walked around and stopped at Stan’s Donuts for a coffee and donut.
  • Dinner was at the St. Clair Supper Club.  We decided to see how a Chicago supper club compared to the real deals in Wisconsin. It was a good effort, though I will always favor the Wisconsin-style old fashioned vs anything else!
  • The next morning we headed home early because I was not feeling well.  Aside from that issue, it was a great visit to Chicago!

See what I mean about Cook’s being very un-exciting from the outside?!
Stopped at the Mars Cheese Castle on the way — a must!
Hotel room views.
The best light for pics!
We cute.
Time for the show!
Me, a musical hater, and Mike, a musical lover.
Our little Suite Service area.
Show time!
The wall of the Suite Service area.
They don’t make ’em like this anymore.
As seen on our walk back to the hotel.
A great window display.
Another must-visit.
A pre-dinner snack.
It was still very much winter on April 1st.
Dinner menu!
Had to get a wedge salad! The food was good, would recommend.
And the next day, we stopped at IKEA on the way home.