My wife and I made plans to visit Chicago a year before the pandemic hit.
We were going to travel during the summer of 2020 but had to cancel all of our travel plans when the pandemic started in the spring of 2020.
We waited patiently for the pandemic to improve before trying to take a trip out of state, let alone going to Chicago like we originally planned. Honestly, we stayed in the house in general for a good part of two years despite having the vaccines on time and following protocols past their enforcement in our area. However, we finally felt comfortable taking our planned trip out to Chicago this summer when we both managed to secure the paid time off for the duration of the planned trip. Aside from visiting outdoor places like Millenium Park and North Avenue Beach, we also wanted to see a few live concerts in West Town and West Loop after buying cannabis from one of the 17 dispensaries currently open in the metro area alone. But there were other cheesy touristy things we planned like walking out onto the Navy Pier and seeing the Cloud Gate. In fact, we ended up planning a weekend around visiting the Cloud Gate after stopping at a cannabis store on Monroe St. The Cloud Gate is this massive metal bean with reflective surfaces. It reflects the skyscrapers in the background and any person who approaches it. The Cloud Gate is the centerpiece of the Millenium Park where it is located. After walking for a few hours we made our way back to the location where we planned to meet our Uber driver.