@jym626 Thank you for the reminder. That was one of my better written posts, if I do say so myself. 
and I edited my post above to include.
LAX will have the most nonstop flights to Chicago and usually the least expensive. Don’t forget to recheck Southwest fares today to see if they’re lower than you saw over the weekend. Remember that you can cancel and rebook without fees on Southwest if done within a year of original booking date.
@lookingforward I am aware of other airports to fly from. However, I do not want to disclose my location as I feel it is too personal.
@Marilyn Thanks for the tip!
I would consider Salt Lake City. There is the Utah Olympic Park, marina where you can go paddle boarding or kayaking… head over to Park City which is beautiful! Amazing hiking, or skiing if you go in the winter!
Ok, then I’ll assume you have the traffic question answered.
(We weren’t asking for your address or even city.)
@lookingforward Yeah, I got the traffic part handled.
@DecYet Thanks for the suggestion but we recently visited Salt Lake City a couple months back.
The Art Institute will surprise you. Posters- is that the one with the hall of medieval armor? Seems to me we always passed that on the way to the Chagall mural.
Do not expect to spend your money on Michigan Ave- great place to ogle the high end stores. Unless, of course, your tastes run more expensive than I figured with your trip budget concerns. Cook County’s sales tax is 10% as well.
Posters feel free to correct me when I’m wrong. The years keep going faster.
It used to be the medieval hall; that’s now on the second floor and the hallway is Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan art. And the Chagall windows were moved from the center to near the east entrance (much worse location, imo). https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/3172/chagall-s-america-windows
The Chagall mural is in the Chase Tower Plaza. https://interactive.wttw.com/loop/art/four-seasons-marc-chagall
The Thorne Miniature rooms are still on the lower level. And there is still an Arthur Rubloff Paperweight Gallery.
We haven’t been there in three years so our memories are also of years past. Last time we were there we revisited all of my favorite paintings. We may be going back at the end of October for our anniversary.
Hello everyone! I finally finished my day to day plan of activities of what to do in Chicago. I’ll post it below. What are your thoughts and suggestions?
Day 1
The Wrigley Building
DuSable Bridge
Tribune Tower
Magnificent Mile
Chicago Water Tower
John Hancock Center
360 Chicago
Day 2
Chicago Architecture Center
Chicago Architecture River Cruise
Chicago Riverwalk
Navy Pier
Day 3
Millennium Park
Cloud Gate
Crown Fountain
Lurie Garden
The Art Institute of Chicago
Rookery Building
Willis Tower
Skydeck Chicago
What time will you arrive on day one?
@FlyMeToTheMoon The flight I was looking at will arrive at 1:25 so we’re looking to be out by 2:00. Then, I’m estimating with some traffic we will get to the hotel and check in and unpack all our stuff by 3:30. After that, we’ll start doing some exploring. I’m estimating that the sun will set by 7 so 3 and a half hours doesn’t seem so bad to me.
You’ve got a logical progression; north on Friday, central on Saturday, and south on Sunday. Hopefully you’ll be up in the Hancock Building before sunset so can see the views both day and night. Remember that sunset will not be over the lake! (It took a while after moving to SD before we stopped thinking of the large body of water as east and finally started thinking of it as west.)
I don’t think of the bridge as particularly interesting but it is historic and right there. Saturday looks good, especially ending up at Navy Pier in time for fireworks and city lights.
On Sunday…don’t know when your flight is, but you’ll probably have to stop after the Art Institute (yay, you’re going), pick up your bags at the hotel, and head towards the airport. There’s no real need to go up in the Willis Tower if you’ve been in Hancock. The Rookery is architecturally interesting but would also take you out of your way. And you have to eat!
Edited to change Sears to Willis.
@Marilyn I’m planning for the flight to be on Monday. Also, are there fireworks in Navy Pier every Saturday night? I was planning to leave Navy Pier in the afternoon to do some grocery shopping.
Are your parents okay with you making all the plans? Just seems wierd to me that an 18 Year old is planning a vacation for the family.
Sorry, forgot the fireworks end over Labor Day weekend and you’ll be a week later. You might not get to Navy Pier until mid afternoon so perhaps could get your groceries before you go.
Oh, Monday. I still wouldn’t bother going up both buildings and think the view from Hancock is more interesting.
Really, you are cutting time to go grocery shopping? There are many bridges to go under in Chicago.
@CottonTales I kept on pushing my parents to go on another vacation and they got a little annoyed with me and told me it isn’t that easy to just get up and go somewhere you want to go. It takes a lot of planning and there’s so many factors you have to take into account. Then they basically said if you want to go on a vacation, then why don’t you plan it and let us know instead of pushing us to plan another vacation ourselves?
As an experienced quick tourist, imo, you still have too much on the list and have not prioritized here what is an absolute must vs “if we have time, we’ll do that, too.” Are you planning to spend any time at those bullets or just walk by?
I once showed DH everything he needed to see in Paris, in one full day. (And as a historian, he had lots of must-sees, including one a 20 min train ride away.) I think we spent an hour in at Louvre, saw exactly the highlights I knew he needed. But at that point, I knew the city, what’s possible. (And we’ve been back, for a longer stay.)
This is why I used the HO Bus. It showed me the things I’d only walk by, anyway, leaving time to explore, in more detail, what I prioritized.
OP’s gonna do what he’s gonna do.
We often found flying out of Orange County area smaller airports cheaper and so much easier than LAX. Check the possibilities before booking your flight. Consider the overall cost- baggage fees may be worth it. Or just one bag for everyone if you can’t do a short trip with just a carryon. Pack light. Be casual.
So it was the second situation ;).