Week 21: You’ll be back – Hamilton in Chicago
When Jeff and I were young and naïve, we followed a lot of life’s (society’s?) unspoken rules. We were pushed along by deadlines and tried to fit our weirdly shaped pegs into those square holes I don’t think anyone really fits into. On our first anniversary amongst the daily procreation questions, we decided to get a dog. Practice baby – check. I fell in love hard. My cubicle was worse than my social media account of my kids. I plastered every inch with photos of my blue-eyed, blue haired puppy. Everyone who crossed my path had to watch videos of him eating ice cubes, falling over his giant feet, dragging his ears through his water. As he grew and Jeff transitioned from law school to work, I started driving 20-30 minutes each way over lunch to let him out. Once the boys were born, he became their guardian telling me when they’d wake from their naps by poking me with his cold nose until I got them from their crib, or blocking the doors so they couldn’t go out the door without me when they tried to escape. He also became my partner at this time when I changed my health to start running a couch to 5k and eventually a half marathon. He was my co-pilot on car rides while taking the boys to school and starting up my art career. He was my napping buddy, always put his chin on my belly when I was sick, and as a chronic migraine sufferer, a quiet, warm, still companion is invaluable. When the boys went to school and I started college again, he was my comfort and study pal. He hung with us through so many life changes, right by our sides as we made our own rules to fit our life. I’m sure I will write more about this and what he meant to us, but for now, all the “was”’s are to say we lost someone who meant a hell of a lot to us.
So for our 14th anniversary, Jeff wanted to do something extra special to get away. If you know our family, you know we are Hamilton fans. Jeff started looking for tickets in Kansas City. Off-hand, he checked Chicago. He found such good prices on seats he called and we decided it was worth taking the boys as well. We have been trying to plan a time to take them to Chicago, we were feeling a little guilty going to Hamilton without them, and this was an amazing deal, so we grabbed it. We are all in this together after all. It took a little extra work to extend the weekend, because we didn’t want it to get too expensive. So we thought we would share how we made it work.
- The seats for Hamilton were $92 each. There was a small obstruction to our view from our box which hindered very little of part of a couple of scenes. The boys sat in front of us and I believe they saw everything (and we got to watch them watch the show which was an incredibly moving bonus.)
- We researched the cheap hotel sites (kayak, trivago, expedia, etc.) to find the best prices. Check for any discounts you have available (corporate, government, etc.) and compare against those online sometimes they’re better, sometimes we have found not so much
- Bring food – sometimes we are lucky and get hotels that have breakfast, this time we didn’t so we packed food for breakfast and lunch/snacks – similar to those able to take on camping trips – check ahead to whether there is a fridge in your room as to which items you can bring
- Bagels, boiled eggs, apples, carrots, bread, peanut butter, honey, ham, cheese, crackers, grapes, cookies (so we wouldn’t be tempted by desserts – but we did share some after dinner, though this helped not to pick up random ice creams, etc.), gallon of water, full reusable bottles, LaCroix/Perrier,
- Then we felt comfortable going out to dinner – we have fun when traveling ordering a few plates and sharing amongst all of us. Everyone tries at least a bite of everything. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat anymore. We usually have one of the dishes be a safe bet. Often this route costs less than ordering kids meals and it gives the kids a sense of the local food culture as well as allowing them to be a bit adventurous with out having to commit to a whole meal they may not want.
- My favorite Chicago tip is Spot Hero – GET THIS APP. When we fly out of Chicago for hundreds of dollars less internationally, when we stay in Chicago for good prices, and everyone mentions “yeh but you have to pay so much for parking.” –NO you don’t. We have paid less than $100 to park in Chicago for over a week with free transportation. We parked the whole weekend for $60. It’s typically an extra $60 a night to park downtown. SpotHero friends is a great money saver and if you’re flying, most of the spots you can get are at hotels and will shuttle you to the airport.
Hamilton was amazing. I cried, a lot. I laughed and cheered loudly. We met some of the actors after and I had no words. Highlights: Ben and Sam leaning on the railing not moving so they wouldn’t miss a thing. The mom next to us who I turned around and saw gathering herself as long as I was because neither of us could stop weeping. Jeff grabbing my shoulder at all the right spots, because he knows. King George and Lafayette/Jefferson playing to the crowd, because it was a matinee and the audience was a step away from a rock concert. The power of Washington’s voice. Eliza. Burn. Forgiveness. The bullet. The orphanage.
