Chicago, Illinois day 1

Honesty, I have not planned our trip that much . . . we have a list of things we would like to do but nothing that we must do the next few days.  I have been watching tickets to see the musical Annie but just did not buy tickets in advance because our plans were not firm.  So as we slowly woke up . . . Hello Chicago O'Hare Airport . . .

. . . it wasn't so awesome outside but maybe the city will be better.  I continued to think about going to see a musical.  Our options were Annie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Christmas Carol . . . now I will be honest . . . I only want to go if I have good seats . . . make that awesome seats.  We saw the Grinch last year (which we both enjoyed) and wasn't sure Colin would appreciate The Christmas Carol so Annie it was.  I looked for tickets on the theater website but nothing that great was left so I turned to Craigslist.  I have never bought anything from there but have scoured it from time to time so when I saw someone selling their front row seats for the show at 7pm, I decided to take a stab and text the person.  I quickly got a reply and the tickets were still available.  The only problem was Mitch lived 20 minutes north of Chicago and wanted me to meet him.  I replied we were visiting the city and taking the Blue Line in to Chicago shortly.  He came up with a plan for me to meet him at a stop on the Blue Line, exit the train, and would be waiting to make an exchange.  Sort of sounds crazy but people do it all the time so I said DEAL.  I did text my friend to let her know about my crazy plan just in case.  I explained the plan to Colin who seemed less than thrilled but went along with it.  So we went the 5 stops, climbed the steps with our luggage, and there was Mitch in his white Maxima just as he said he would be.  Super nice man . . . very friendly and willing to help if we had any problems using the tickets.  Back down the steps and on the next Blue Line train we went.  I am now a successful Craigslist purchaser.

We quickly walked the three blocks to our hotel tonight which is the trendy TheWit Chicago.  Thankfully we were able to score an early check-in so dropped our bags and headed out to explore with a map of course.  It was cold outside but no rain or snow so that was great.  First item of business was to eat lunch and since we are in Chicago it was a hot dog from Gold Coast Dogs.  Nothing special or famous but it was a yummy Chicago Hot Dog . . .

We were close to Millennium Park so quickly walked around until someone started to complain they were cold.  I took the long way back to the hotel, because I wanted to stop by the Chicago Christkindlemarket!  Oh yes, I did!  I mean if you can't be in Germany and this is happening you really must stop by.  And it was so adorable and beyond crazy crowded!  Colin wasn't so thrilled but I was loving every minute.  So many memories from my days in Germany.  The lines to go inside the Kathe Wohlfahrt store . . .

. . .  was so long that we posed for a photo and moved along because even I did not even want to stand in them.  So instead I grabbed another glass of gluhwein in the cutest snowman mug and moved on to the next stop.  It was mid afternoon so decided to just go back to the hotel to relax until showtime tonight.  It was nice and so not me to do this!  Did I mention that adorable snowman gluhwein mug?

We made a stop for a bottle of water at the Walgreens and WOW this place is amazing.  They have a deli and people making fresh sushi.  I guess you get this type of stuff in the middle of a huge city.  TheWit Chicago is really awesome; in the heart of the theater district and all the beautiful signs . . .

I loved the location and the views from our room on the 16th floor were pretty awesome too.  I loved lounging in this chair . . .

. . . and looking out the window watching the day pass by me.  It was time to head to The Cadillac Palace Theater to see Annie . . .

Colin didn't really know anything about the back story of Annie so he was in for a treat . . .

. . . view from our seats was amazing!  At the bottom is where the conductor stood but he was never blocking our view.  I don't think I ever want to sit anywhere but front and center!  I swear it really is nice to see the facial expressions and all the details.  The kids in the show were all adorable with outstanding talents!  Colin enjoyed the show and told me the music was fun too!  Money well spent . . . and I got to do something I wanted to do!