One thing y'all gotta understand - we're from Memphis, and these parts of Chicago are pretty tame compared to some of what we saw there.
So we have gone and returned. Good times all around. Flew into Midway Saturday and took the Orange Line into town, stayed at the Hilton Chicago on Michigan Ave., where we walked to from the station at Roosevelt. Ate at the hotel that night at Kitty O'Shea's, which left a bit to be desired, and walked around Michigan Ave and a little bit of the park that night.
Woke up and walked down to Yolk for breakfast, which was really good. Walked the rest of the way to the Field Museum, checked that out for a few hours- Egypt and dinosaurs, mainly. Cabbed back to the hotel and had lunch. Cabbed back to the Art Institute for a few hours (great Impressionists and Contemporary collection), then cabbed back to the hotel. Walked to Lou Malnati's for dinner, which was good, and walked back to the hotel. Explored it a bit (Christmas decorations were still up - cool). Bed.
Walked back down to the Roosevelt station, accidentally jumped on a Green Line train, got off at the first station and took the next train back to Roosevelt to jump back on the Orange Line train back to Midway. Plenty of time, got randomly screened at security (which actually expedited matters, I think), delayed at gate, grabbed a Pot Belly sammich. Boarded a little late but the gate attendants were nice enough to let us do family boarding despite the daughter being older than their guidelines. Sat on the tarmac another hour or so then back home.
Luckily we missed the mall fight and the arrest of captain "Kill the cops and white children".
Good times, and we will probably be back at some point when the weather is a little better for exploration.
Didn't even get to have a hot dog.