And now, for something I don’t do very often– a personal travel post!

Oh man… I think I have a new favorite city. Mike’s cousin was married earlier this month just outside of Chicago, so we decided to go up a day early and spend a day in the city. My friend Haley joined us to accompany Mike’s brother, Jim, to the wedding. My dad, sister, and brother-in-law graciously offered to watch the boys while they headed up to Wisconsin without us.

Some of my favorite spots (discovered with the help of our friend Vuko) included:

BUZZ BAIT TACOS: If you know me, you know that I would willingly eat fish tacos for every meal for the rest of my life, so you can only imagine my excitement when we stumbled upon this “premium fish taco” joint. I went with an ahi poke taco (with a teriyaki glazed tortilla!) and mahi mahi taco, coupled them with a mango django margarita, and avocado salsa. Heaven.

HAPPY CAMPER: Tire swings, local craft beer, FANCY STRAWS, and oldschool Nintendo games made this place THE BOMB. We especially enjoyed Revolution’s A Little Crazy, Half Acre’s Vallejo, and the Pink Flamingo Cocktail.

OLD TOWN ALE HOUSE: I’m a sucker for dive bars, and this one didn’t disappoint. Right across the street from Second City, this one was a favorite for sure. The walls were decked out with hysterical pictures (that I mostly had to black out) and Haley and I left with epic souvenirs: Vladmir Putin Ballerina Prints. Yes, you read that right.

JUDY MAXWELLS: I loved this general store owned by Joan Cusack (who works there most Fridays!) Tons of comical gift items, political jokes, and baby clothes. We loved it.

THE J. PARKER: Hands down, the best view of the city from a public place. Delicious cocktails and an interesting food menu (that we didn’t actually try) and a killer view of the lake and city.

Many thanks to everyone for letting me stalk them with my camera. Check out our Wisconsin trip over on my mom blog!