As far as life plans go, Mark and I had set a goal of moving out of Chicago by 2012 or 2013. It's nothing against Chicago or where we live in Oak Park, but aside from my 4 years in college in Missouri and our 8-month stay in Ireland, we've lived our entire lives in this area. We're wanderlusters at heart, wondering what else is out there, and that applies to the place we choose to call home as well. But—clearly—moving away hasn't happened. Best laid plans, ya know? We're still keeping our sights on the future and looking for open doors to a new city, but we're also mostly happy where we are. That's pretty much me in a nutshell—searching for the good in front of me, while also dreaming about what's next.
While we're still living super close to the city, I love the idea of coming up with a list of things we still have yet to do in Chicago and Oak Park. A Chicago bucket list of sorts. I can thank Kathleen for inspiring me to put it down on paper (or more accurately, the internet); she wrote about her Houston Project here. (Side note: it might just be me, but I think it's super fun to read bloggers' lists from other cities, even ones I'd never have thought of visiting before! Every list makes these cities sound so interesting.)
We've already done a lot of notable things in Chicago—from the cliche (visiting "the bean," Sears/Willis Tower, Taste of Chicago, Cubs and Blackhawks games, drinks at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the Hancock, etc.) to the cultured (architectural boat tour, going to the Museum of Science and Industry, Shedd Aquarium, and the Nature Museum, seeing a musical at The Oriental Theatre and a play at the Goodwin, etc.) to the quirky (seeing the drinking play "Bye Bye Liver," taking cooking classes and letterpress class [me] and a knife forging class [Mark], etc.). But there's still a bunch of things we'd love to do before we go...
In Chicago
Pack a picnic and walk (or bike) the lakefront.
Go to an improv show at Second City and/or iO.
Goose Island Brewery tour.
Visit the Art Institute.
Go to a free concert or movie in Millennium Park.
Tour the Chicago Botanical Gardens.
Day trip to the Indiana Dunes.
Eat at Kuma's Corner, Xoco, Big Star, Antique Taco, Bang Bang Pie Shop, Au Cheval, and Hot Doug's (if we can get there before they shut down) for cheap eats.
Eat at The Girl and the Goat, Purple Pig, and Nightwood for nicer dining.
Go to a show at the Chicago Theatre.
Visit the Garfield Park Conservatory.
Go on a donut crawl (Glazed and Infused, Donut Vault, Firecakes, Do-Rite).
Attend the Museum of Contemporary Art's First Fridays event.
See a concert at Ravinia.
Visit the Maxwell Street Market for tacos auténticos, churros, and tamales.
Go to one of the Moth stageshows at Haymarket Brewery.
Go to the Chicago Pride Parade.
Ride the CTA Holiday Train (if we can spot it).
In Oak Park
Take the Frank Lloyd Wright/historic home walking tour.
Visit the Hemingway museum.
Try 10 new-to-us restaurants.
Go to a Sunday summer concert in Scoville Park.
Attend an outdoor play by the Oak Park Festival Theatre in Austin Gardens.
Attend a Unitarian Universalist service at Unity Temple.
That's about all I can think of at the moment, but I'll update this post if anything else comes to me. Any Chicagoans want to weigh in?
Wherever you live, I'd love to see a list of what you want to do in your town! Can I peer pressure you into participating too? :)
How fun! So glad you're doing this! I definitely need to visit Chicago one day.
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