We’re technically on our annual summer trip to Michigan. However, while we were nearby, we took a quick day-and-a-half trip to Chicago to see a couple schools. It was a fairly easy drive (for the passengers).
Despite my dad’s history at University of Chicago, this was really the first time both Grace and I visited the campus, not counting the time I took my MCAT there (guess how that turned out). All of us were really impressed with the beauty of the campus as well as the undergraduate program. The first photo is of some dormitories, designed by architect Jeanne Gang, who also coincidentally designed the beautiful hotel at which we stayed.
Jen suggested Siena Tavern for dinner and it was (mostly) great. It was a nice night out, so we walked back to the hotel along the Riverwalk. We had to navigate the bowels of lower Wacker, which felt very Gotham-like.
Also despite the fact that I went to Northwestern for grad school, it just didn’t register with the kids that the Northwestern is in Chicago and Kellogg is at Northwestern. That was quickly straightened out when we toured campus, which was all new information to me because my whole experience there was pretty much in one (old) building. It seems like most of the campus is new since I attended, including the very beautiful new Kellogg building. Olivia was really starting to see the advantages of having beaches on campus as well as close proximity to Chicago, which is undeniably a great city. Lucas enjoyed it, too, though conceded it could just be recency bias.
My first college roommate made a career change over a decade ago and founded one of the foremost craft distillers. I spotted his brand (FEW Spirits) on our menu at breakfast, which was a sign to reach out. Within a few hours, he joined us for lunch in Evanston. Seeing Paul was a great end to a successful return to Chicago.
This trip was exactly two years since our last trip to Chicago, which was the last time we traveled with my dad. Like last time, the weather was great, and also like last time, we had to navigate Lollapalooza. Hopefully, we’ll be back again soon.
