Lincoln Park, Chicago
Urbs in horto, “City in a Garden”
The motto of Chicago
I was raised in Memphis, Tennessee–land of the blues, barbecue, and hot, sticky summers. Whenever I heard of friends visiting Chicago, I would invariably shiver, convinced that the city was only one thing: cold. A few weeks before we got married, Matt convinced me that we needed a “pre-wedding mini-moon” to relax and celebrate what was coming. When he suggested Chicago in August, I was skeptical.
“Isn’t Chicago just like . . . cold?” I asked.
“In August?!” he responded, understandably baffled.
So we went to Chicago, and I didn’t get cold. The true meaning behind this story is that Chicago totally surprised me. It’s lush and green and beautiful. It has beaches! And verdant, flowering parks filled with ponds, bridges, and animals.
On our final day in the city (you can read about the rest of our Chicago adventures here), we decided to explore the Lincoln Park neighborhood in North Chicago. Our first stop was North Avenue Beach, situated off the chilly waters of Lake Michigan. We bought ice cream and fought our way through the summer crowds to bury our toes in the sand.
The lake (which looked like an ocean from our point of view) was far too cold to swim in, but we both got sunburns watching people play frisbee on the beach.
A sprawling, 1,208 acre green space spans the length of the beach, encompassing a lakefront trail, museums, and the Lincoln Park Zoo. After the beach, we continued north along the park until we reached the zoo, which offers free admission. I love animals but am still on the fence about zoos, so we passed this up and enjoyed walking around the Lincoln Park Conservatory instead.
The Conservatory (admission is free) is a botanical garden that makes you feel like you’re definitely not in a major city. Ancient ferns, exotic plants, and orchids are all on display in the conservatory’s four greenhouses. Just a few paces north, you can find the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. We explored its outdoor walkways and garden paths and enjoyed the sunshine.
Sometime in the afternoon, we turned and headed back south, walking through Old Town Chicago. The buildings along Armitage Avenue in the Old Town boast quaint, Victorian-era brick, whereas tree-lined Wells Street is home to Second City, the famous improv comedy club where greats like Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Steve Carrell got their start.
We finished our day with some shopping, popping into boutiques and coffee shops, before walking along Clark Street to reach our hotel.
It’s amazing how traveling can change your perspective of the world, and that’s a major reason I do it. At the end of this trip, my vision of Chicago was no longer that of a bleak, drab city and a frozen lake. Instead, I see rich, exuberant gardens, warm, sandy beaches, and the royal blue of Lake Michigan glistening under an August sun.
