This past weekend was my wife’s birthday. When debating what to get her for her birthday, I thought about past conversations we have had about gifting experiences rather than objects. For us, that is something that has become more and more meaningful over time, but we haven’t always had the chance to do that. But this year, thanks to enjoying the benefits of the Southwest Companion Pass, I decided now would be as good of a time as ever for gifting an experience of a surprise weekend trip!
The Surprise
I did my best to keep the destination under wraps all the way until the day of the actual trip. There were a few times when I wasn’t thinking and I almost let the destination slip off my tongue. Luckily, I was able to hold it in and upon arrival at the airport, I gave her one hint: I pulled a single bean out of my pocket and handed it to her. Since my wife had a few hunches of where we could be going, she was able to guess it pretty quickly: CHICAGO!
The Windy City
They don’t call it “The Windy City” for no reason. We left what would be 70 degree temperatures at home and traded them for a 40 degree day with 26 mph winds. Luckily, that was just on Friday and on Saturday it warmed up a little bit. But needless to say, it was windy and COLD! Despite the weather though, we had an absolute blast exploring the city.
We arrived Friday at about noon and headed to our hotel at the Hyatt Regency. Because our trip was going to be pretty short, I wanted to find a hotel that was pretty central, and I have to say, this one was perfect! And on top of that, we had the most amazing view from our hotel room, I mean check this out!
Pretty impressive right? It made leaving our hotel room a little bit tougher, but we managed.
The Food Scene
From our hotel room, we could spot a Giordano’s just across the street. I must admit, the pizza scene at Chicago was one of the things I was most excited for, and it was a pleasant surprise to see one of the most popular pizza places in the city just steps away from our hotel. Being hungry after our flight, we made our way straight there to get in on the deep dish action!
The deep dish did not disappoint at all. We ordered a fresh spinach deep dish, which was absolutely incredible. I loved their marinara sauce. It had a salty flavor to it that made it pop and taste incredible. It was very cheesy as well, which I’m usually not the biggest fan of, but in this case, it tasted amazing. If you ever go to Chicago, don’t miss out on a deep dish from Giordano’s or Lou Malnati’s (I would recommend the former, and my wife would recommend the latter. Both are incredible options though). And if you aren’t in the mood for pizza, try out the Signature Berry Bliss French Toast at Wildberry Cafe (which was also conveniently located just steps from our hotel).
What to Do for Quick Weekend Trip
Besides eating delicious food, we of course wanted to see as much of Chicago as we could as we could! Because we essentially only had a day and a half there, I tried to find activities that would maximize our time in the city. Once again, the location of the hotel was a game changer. It was about a 5 minute walk from Cloud Gate, which is also known as “The Bean” since it resembles a gigantic, reflective bean with amazing views of the city.
Besides being close to the bean, our hotel was also very close to a Architecture River Cruise (in fact, it was literally across the street/river). This is one activity I think is a must if you want to see Chicago and don’t have a lot of time. The tour itself took about 1.5 hours and it was super interesting and took you right through the heart of the city. A tour guide explains the various styles of the architecture you see throughout the city and gives some historical facts as well. It was really neat to be able to see so much of the city while relaxing on top of a boat.
Another thing we did that gave us great views of the city was visiting the 360 Chicago observation deck. Be warned, though, because the lines to get in can be quite long. If you buy the Chicago City Pass, you get to cut the line but take a look to see if the benefits of the pass outweigh the costs. We personally did not buy it, but then again, I didn’t research it much either.
The views from the observation deck are incredible! When you are in a big city, it’s a must-do to get a higher vantage point to oversee the city. Minus the long line, we really enjoyed the views. The walk to get to 360 Chicago was also pretty fun! It takes you into the heart of the city and there is a lot of shopping and cool churches in the area.
Experiences to Remember
Overall, this trip was a blast! Although it would’ve been awesome to have more time, we felt like we were still able to see and do so much in such a short time. It confirmed to us that gifting experiences can be so meaningful. We love to travel, and doing stuff like this creates memories that we will never forget. So when you are debating what to get loved ones in the future, consider gifting experiences! It doesn’t have to be a trip like this, but find something nearby that allows you to spend time with each other and do things you may not do otherwise! This will create awesome memories for the future and won’t be forgotten or lost with time as most gifts do.
Check out our video we made of our trip to Chicago! We love to make videos and plan on making many more in the future of our travels and activities around home! If you like the video, feel free to subscribe to our channel!