My Birthday and Labor Day Weekend in Chicago

Since an opportunity came to go back to the US for work, I was super ecstatic that it was during my 30^th birthday and to top it all off, it was Labor Day weekend too.

I left 3 hours before my flight (because people were telling me that it’ll be busy at the Atlanta airport because it was a weekend and labor day so there might be traffic and long lines checking-in. Eventually, I was at the airport w/in 15 – 20 minutes and was able to check-in within 30 minutes that left me with 2 hours waiting inside. Good thing there was a TGI Fridays so 1, I can eat dinner and 2, I have a place to stay and wait for my flight. An added bonus was that I was seated where there was an outlet so I was able to charge my phones as well.

I reached Chicago almost an hour of my supposed arrival time because we had a delay in Atlanta. When I reached my sister’s home, I unloaded all of pasalubongs from the Philippines which they greatly appreciated. 

Saturday, we were supposed to go to Willis tower but since the weather forecast said cloudy with chance of rain, we decided to put it off until Sunday when the forecast was better.

After getting dressed, first thing we did was take pictures. My sister bought a big balloon and cake so we needed to take pictures so that I can load it in my Facebook page.

My sister said that this is the 1^st time we didn’t have anything planned. So she decided on taking me to Elgin to the Grand Victoria Casino and try my luck since it’s my birthday. Because we woke up late already and we still had to pick-up my niece who watched a concert the night before, we stopped by Portillo’s, famous for their hotdogs, for lunch.

After a quick lunch, and picking-up my niece from a sleep over after watching a One Direction Concert, we were on our way to Grand Victoria Casino. I haven’t been in this part of Illinois and it was a nice drive too, it was a sunny day and I liked that I’m seeing new places.

Grand Victoria Casino is a big riverboat, in a river in Elgin Illinois. Other than the casino, ofcourse, there are dining options (talk about buffet!). My brother in law had a point that the kids won’t be allowed inside, so it was just me and my sister that went in. Good thing my brother in law, my niece and my nephew were pre-occupied with their iPads/iPhones that they didn’t mind staying in the car and playing games or listening to music.

First order of business was ofcourse to take a lot of pictures! My sister enjoyed the camera feature of my Samsung S4 that we were taking selfies left and right.

Once we had our fill with photos, we went inside to try our luck (hoping I had any because I’m usually not lucky with gambling (raffles, lottery, etc.)). We looked for the slots and saw a section that costs a $1 per bet. We were confused on what to do, good thing there was a waitress that showed us “how to operate” the slot machine. Since she was already there, we decided on getting some complimentary drinks as well. Within 10 seconds, my sister lost and we were laughing about it. After her, I tried my luck and lost my dollar too in 10 seconds. We were laughing about it and at the same time taking pictures. Once we got our drinks, we moved and looked for cheaper slot machines, meaning 25 cents per bet.

We saw some and I put in my bet $1 at a time. When I was down to my last .25 cents, I won $6! I was so happy that I cashed it already. I don’t usually win so I was ecstatic!

My sister and I were laughing and just have having fun taking pictures and the experience. We were happy for $8 (Bet = $7, Tip = $1).

   

When we went back to the car, all three were still caught up with their gadgets and didn’t realize the time that we were gone. 

Next stop was to get our early dinner at Magianno’s Little Italy at Woodfield. Since it was a long holiday weekend, so that might be the reason why the only slot available was 5:30 and 8:30 so we chose the earlier schedule.  We arrived early so we went around the area Woodfield which has a big mall and some outdoor shops.

  

When we were seated at our table, I was pleasantly surprised that they had a card prepared with confetti at our table.

The food was delicious and servings were big so we were definitely full after our meal. We topped our dinner with dessert and since my sister mentioned if it can have candles, it came with complimentary lemon cookies with candles on it, a nice touch.

After dinner we headed home but not without stopping by the Target to buy my nephew his Pokemon cards and to pass by my favorite store, TJ Maxx for some birthday shopping. I didn’t get anything but it was alright, it just means I have money for shopping at Magnificent Mile tomorrow. 

before going to bed, we needed to eat my ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. Just like any other birthday cake, my niece and my nephew sang me a happy birthday song and helped me blow out my candle. Crossing my fingers that all my wishes would come true. 

The next day, it was sunny as expected so we went early to go to the Skydeck at Willis tower (formerly Sears tower, I also want to call it as the original Skyscraper). Once we were there, we noticed a lot of people at the entrance of the building. Apparently, the Skydeck was closed that day (they said it was closed yesterday too) because the express elevators weren’t working. There was a little confusion on until when the tickets would be valid, until when would this be closed or how refunds will take place. Disappointed to be at the glass box way up in the Willis Tower, we just took pictures at the street level.

         

    

Next on our list was to get lunch. We parked at Millennium Park (as usual) and we’ll go on foot for the attractions that the city had to offer.

From there, 1^st stop again was The Bean (everytime I visit here, I have a picture with this shiny stainless steel structure (read my other blog post about Chicago and you’ll see it)). We just had fun taking pictures of ourselves and our reflection.

    

Next we headed to the Crown Fountain. Last time I was here my niece and nephew were still small and they enjoyed playing by the fountain to cool off. Well, there’s still a lot of people, young and old enjoying the cool water on a hot sunny day.

        

Since it was almost lunch already, we headed out to our planned restaurant which is The Purple Pig. Having visited downtown a couple of times already, I’ve passed by this place everytime so I wondered what the food tasted like. We got there around 11:10 AM and there was a line already. We thought that there was a line for a table but it was because they open at 11:30AM. Good thing we were just 5^th in line because when I looked back, there was a long queue already.

The place was nice and had an outdoor terrace as well. The place was packed and I’m guessing it was a popular place. They serve Mediterranean food as well as a good selection of wines and cheeses. Stand outs for me were the Pork Blade Steak and the Crispy Pigs Ear (kinda like reminiscent of the Filipino dish Sisig).

       

After our lunch, we were surprised that there was still a long queue outside that they started serving drinks already while the people waited.

Next on our list was to go to the Water Tower Place to check-out the Chicago Sports Museum. But before that, we had to stop by Hershey's and get candy!

I wasn’t too familiar with baseball but I least I still was able to take a picture. The place was a restaurant and a museum at the same time. There's also a gift shop to get your memorabilia and other souvenirs.

 

After taking some pictures, I told my sister that since we weren't able to go up the Willis tower that we should go back to the John Hancock observatory to take pictures. She agreed but once we got there, there was still a long line of people wanting to go up the observatory as well. 

Not wanting to wait in line, we called it a day and headed back to Millennium Park, not without me taking pictures of downtown ofcourse.

Since I wasn't able to go up this time, let me take a selfie instead with the John Hancock building.

The next day, I was super excited because we will be shopping! Before, we'd always go to the outlet stores at Aurora which was quite a drive. This time around, we'll be going to the Fashion Outlets of Chicago. Although missing one of my favorite brands, which is Ralph Lauren, it was still OK because it still had my other favorites like CK, Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole, Coach, Guess (Guess Factory to be exact) and Michael Kors. They also carry other brands like Nike, Banana Republic, Sperry and American Eagle to name a few. Other than that, they have high end labels like Gucci, Armani, Burberry, Longchamp and Hugo Boss to also name a few. We went there early (opening time) and we were lucky because there were a lot of parking available and the first 5 hours was free. I went to all my favorite stores and spent like an hour at CK trying on clothes. Come afternoon, there were a lot of people already and lines were being formed outside popular shops like Coach and Tory Burch. I had to wait in line for 5 minutes before I was able to come to the Gucci store. At Banana Republic, there was a long line at the counter. I guess the crowds picked up after lunch and probably because it was Labor Day so they were expecting a additional discounts as well.

We met my deadline of 3PM and I had a few minutes to pack everything I bought in my suitcase before heading to the airport. Good thing the mall was just beside the airport so I was there within 10 minutes.

I'm glad that after a year, I was able to go back again and visit my sister and her family. I'm also happy that I had spent my birthday there surrounded by family and definitely full of good times and memories.