Wow! Chicago, Illinois impressed me on my first visit June 18-20, 2022.
From my arrival on Saturday afternoon, June 18, via Greyhound bus to my departure Monday evening via Greyhound bus, I experienced much fun. I’d love to have devoted at least another two days to exploring the city.
Trip Highlights Included:
* A day at the Museum of Science and Industry (largest science museum in one building in the western hemisphere).
* The view from the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower/Sears Tower, including from the “Ledge.”
* Walking part of the Riverwalk, viewing a wide variety of magnificent architecture, people, boats, artwork, etc.
* Taking a guided architecture boat tour
* Eating some tasty food including a moderately-priced breakfast at Valois, apparently one of Barack Obama's favorite breakfast places during his law school days
* Meeting many wonderful people from various places and cultures
Saturday, June 20th, 2022
I arrived in Chicago about 4 p.m. Chicago time (central time) via Greyhound bus, then went to check in at my lodging place for the trip.
Lodging
Saturday afternoon I checked in at the HIUSA hostel
where I stayed overnight two nights. This Chicago hostel is an impressive facility, and my favorite of the four hostels I’ve stayed at. But the other three were nice too (two in Washington, DC, and one in New York City).
The room was clean and included furnished linens (towels, sheets, pillowcases), a large locker for storing items, etc. My roommates in the ten-bed room were all nice and came from locations including Argentina, Columbia, and Mexico. It afforded a nice opportunity to meet persons from other cultures. The shared bathroom down the hall included furnished soap and shampoo, as well as a hairdryer. A shared kitchen and laundry were down the hall as well. Staff were friendly and helpful. My fourth floor room overlooked some tracks for Chicago's elevated passenger rail system. I loved the view.
The Cafecito restaurant in the hostel offered tasty food; I ate a vegan Sabo Impossible burger there on Monday afternoon that included a generous amount of spinach, as well as tomato, onion, and their special sauce.
Sunday, June 19th, 2022
I considered visiting a Chicago church congregation Sunday, June 19th, my first full day in Chicago, but decided not to. I did enjoy personal prayer times during my visit.
Sunday I took the #6 Jackson Park Express bus to 53rd Street and walked a block or two to enjoy a tasty, reasonably priced breakfast at the Valois Restaurant, located on 53rd St. It was apparently one of Barack Obama’s favorite places for breakfast during his college days at the nearby University of Chicago’s law school. Valois is pictured below. As I was walking near the restaurant a wonderful lady said "Happy Father's Day to your dad" which made my day even better. It was Father's Day.
Sunday, June 26, 2022
My First Chicago Visit: A Personal Perspective
In addition to viewing many free exhibits, I paid extra to tour a replica coal mine and a U-505 German submarine captured during World War II. Since I grew up in a coal mining area in southeastern Kentucky and had some experience with coal mining, I didn't find the coal mine tour as enjoyable as many others probably would. But I liked it. And I found the U-505 exhibit and tour fascinating. I saw numerous exhibits about the submarine, then took an educational, entertaining guided tour of it.
My visit to the museum included seeing two train locomotives. The Empire State Express Engine No. 999 is claimed by some to be the first locomotive to exceed a maximum speed of over 100 mph, attaining the record speed on May 10, 1893 according to a placard near the locomotive in the museum. The other locomotive on display was a Pioneer Zephyr.
One of the many exhibits I enjoyed seeing displayed various bicycles over the centuries. I saw a huge display of model trains accompanied by placards that discussed the history of railroads. I saw a large display of model ships accompanied by placards discussing the history of water travel. I stepped inside a booth to experience 80 mph winds.
Among many, many other things, I saw the Apollo 8 space capsule, a streetcar, a 100,000 watt light bulb, human fetuses in various stages of development, a cow milking machine, and two stagecoaches.
Photos below show the streetcar, milking machine, one of the stagecoaches, two of the bicycles (a 2013 Trek Madone 7 and an 1880/1890 American Star High Wheel), the U-505 submarine, part of the exhibit about the U-505, another photo of the U-505, a description of one of the human embryos, the human embryo described in the previous photo, the Empire State Express No. 999, two photos of information about the Empire State Express, a Pioneer Zephyr locomotive, and finally a placard about the Pioneer Zephyr.
Monday, June 20th, 2022
Monday morning I had a 9:30 a.m. appointment at Willis Tower to go up to the SkyDeck and Ledge. I loved the marvelous view walking around the 103rd floor observation deck viewing south, east, and north, and then on the west side got to walk on the Ledge, on one of the clear glass boxes that let you walk out and see directly below and out on three sides a great view of Chicago. Looking down at other skyscrapers helps one appreciate how high up one is. Some photos from Willis Tower are below. The last one shows my feet and legs as I stand on The Ledge.
Among other things, in Millennium Park I saw Cloud Gate (The Bean), as well as the Crown Fountain that spews water from the mouth of a projected image of a person. Below are photos of The Crown Fountain appearing to spew water from a person's mouth and of The Bean.
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I took the #29 State Street bus north to the Navy Pier area and took a Shoreline Architecture River Tour. It was a nice tour with a guide pointing out numerous architectural features and discussing the history of the city. The Chicago Architecture Foundation Center architectural river tour may be even better though.
Before that I walked part of the free 1 1/4 mile Chicago Riverwalk. This walk offers marvelous views of magnificent architectural structures, the Chicago River and boats on it, public artwork, etc. I also saw part of the Lakefront Trail, which goes 18 miles along the shore of Lake Michigan. The trail has four lanes, marked for pedestrians and bicyclists going south and north.
Below are photos of an area near the entrance to Navy Pier and of one of the many great views from Riverwalk.
Excessive reading may be one of my weaknesses. I love libraries and bookstores. I saw the main Chicago Public Library, the Harold Washington Library Center. When it opened in 1991 it was the largest city public library building in the world.
The library was closed for the Juneteenth holiday on Monday, the day I’d planned to visit, so I didn’t get to go inside. But it is a huge, impressive structure. I also resisted the temptation to go inside the bookstores, due to limited time, budget, and space in my luggage for books. I'd love to have visited the library, part of which is pictured in two photos below.
Chicago features an excellent mass transit system. I enjoyed multiple bus rides and appreciated the fact that bus stops were labeled with routes and some destinations. I took one ride on the subway and one ride on an elevated train (better known as “El” and even better known as “L”). Chicago’s passenger rail system has some subways, but most of its trains are elevated above the street. For a $5 daily pass a person can take unlimited rides on most buses, subways, and “L” trains in the city. The Chicago Transit Authority seems to offer wonderful service. Below are two photos of elevated trains ("El" or "L"). The first photo was taken from a sidewalk at street level. The second photo was taken from my room on the 4th floor of HIUSA's Chicago hostel.
The Chicago Theatre is an icon at 175 North State Street that opened in 1921. I just took some photos, like the one below, and didn’t see a movie there.
Chicago has a reputation for having a high crime rate. But what I read in multiple sources indicated crime was focused in the south and west, with the tourist areas downtown, east, and north relatively safe during daylight hours. I found that to be true. I saw large crowds of tourists, many wheeling luggage along streets safely. During June when I visited daylight hours are long. I stayed indoors at night; one can’t see as much at night anyway.
C3 City Pass
In advance I purchased a C3 city pass that allowed me to see three ticketed attractions at a reduced price. A similar Chicago City Pass exists for persons seeking to see five attractions at a reduced price.
Final Thoughts
My first Chicago visit was wonderful. God willing, I look forward to visiting again. I’d love to tour the huge public library, visit some bookstores, visit the Shedd Aquarium, tour the Field Museum of Natural History, walk more of the Chicago Riverwalk, walk or bicycle part of the Lakefront Trail, and maybe visit The Art Institute of Chicago. I’d also like to visit the Chinatown section of the city, and to devote another day to the Museum of Science and Industry.
But while Chicago is a marvelous city to visit in June with typically warm mornings and not too hot afternoons, I don’t think I’d want to live there year round. Winters are apparently significantly worse than in Kentucky where I live, the cost of living is higher in Chicago, and the city is a long way from Kentucky. It’s also a long way from Washington, DC, and New York City, two other cities I enjoy visiting. Overall, I’d rank Chicago #2 among my favorite cities to visit, behind Washington, DC, with its numerous free Smithsonian Museums, Capitol, White House, and various monuments, etc.
However, if you can budget the time and money, I strongly encourage a June visit to the Windy City of Chicago. By the way, one theory is that the Windy City nickname originated from Chicago’s verbose, successful application to host the 1893 World’s Fair, not from winds.
ChooseChicago.com, the city's official tourist site, offers much information to help plan your visit. Plan ahead and enjoy!
NOTE: This article was last revised on June 27th, 2022. All websites linked to were accessed on June 26th, 2022 except for The Chicago Theatre website, which was accessed on June 27th, 2022.
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