Pheasant Run Resort

Markel Family Weekend Getaway–Day Two

We were up early again on day two of our weekend getaway (although not as early as on day one), to get ready to go to downtown Chicago for our big day of exploring. We decided to depart from the West Chicago Metra station this year. I was impressed by how cute the station was as soon as we drove up.

And then our plans for the day came to a screeching halt. It turns out that there are no ticket agents on duty inside any Metra station on the weekend. We did discuss one other option for getting on the train, but we decided it just wouldn’t work out, and so we had to cancel our big plans for the day (an especially big disappointment for Bunny, who was really looking forward to going to the Art Institute), and come up with a “Plan B.”

While we were thinking, we took a walk around the outside of Pheasant Run (it was a beautiful day!), and hit the pool again, which is pretty much our default when we don’t have any firm plans.

We then decided that since the weather was so nice, we’d shift our plans for Sunday (visiting the historic Naper Settlement), up one day. We had a really great time, even if it wasn’t Chicago!

We also took a short walk on Naperville’s River Walk while we were down there, mostly so I could see the Dandelion Fountain:

Our big family dinner out for the trip was at Muldoon’s in downtown Wheaton. The food was delicious and the atmosphere just like I remembered from the old days when it was Cafe Wheaton.

After another evening walk around Pheasant Run (there’s seriously so much to explore!), and more swimming, we went back to Combo Breaker, and the children tried out the arcade machines that were set up in one of the resort ballrooms for attendees to play for free:

After that, we were ready to head back to our room, and enjoy a little more TV before bed. One of the nice things about not having cable at home is that it’s a real treat when we get to watch it on vacation! And while I was admiring the view from our 15th floor window, I discovered that we could even see the Sears Tower (about 40 miles east of us) in the distance! We didn’t make it downtown to see it, but at least were able to get a glimpse of it!

Stay tuned for Day Three!

Markel Family Weekend Getaway–Day One

One week ago today, the children and I loaded up the car and hit the road at five a.m., so we could join Ryan in St. Charles, IL, for what I now assume is the annual Markel Family weekend getaway for Combo Breaker. It took us pretty much exactly five hours to reach our destination, so we had plenty of time to explore Pheasant Run after we took all of our stuff up to our room (which was on the 15th floor and had an amazing view!).

After reacquainting ourselves with the resort, we hit the pool:

Once the Combo Breaker floor officially opened, we took a walk around. We got to see Ryan both play in the Mystery Tournament and run a bracket.

Some of the children had hoped to find a new plush friend while we were there. I somehow ended buying one for everybody!

No trip to Pheasant Run would be complete without shopping at the mythical Super Target that’s just across the street:

The real highlight of the day, however, was a trip to Medieval Times in Schaumburg. We all really enjoyed the dinner and tournament…Bunny enjoyed it so much, she lost her voice cheering for our knight!

We did also sneak in a little Food Network and HGTV on cable TV when we got back to our room, but it was pretty late, and most of the children crashed quickly. Plus, they wanted to be well-rested for our big trip into Chicago the next day!

Markel Family Weekend Getaway–Day Four

On day four of our weekend getaway, we started the day with church at St. John Wheaton. This is the church where I was baptized, confirmed, and married, but I had yet to see their new building. It was beautiful!

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After church, we went back to the hotel to watch the end of Ryan’s Tekken Ball tournament, where he finished fifth. Not bad for his first tournament! And, because I’m me, I had to wear a Pinup Girl Jenny skirt while I was there!

We had time for one last swim in the pool, and another walk around Pheasant Run to again admire how beautiful it was. I’d love to go back someday…it was a great place to stay!

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We went to dinner at Portillo’s, where, even though I enjoy a good Chicago-style hot dog, I had the Italian beef, and it was just as good as I remembered. We then went back to the hotel to enjoy a little more cable TV (including HGTV this time), while Ryan finished up at Combo Breaker.

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Markel Family Weekend Getaway–Day One

We might not be going on a big vacation like we did last year, but we did have a nice long weekend getaway to the Chicago area last weekend.

We got started bright and early last Thursday, but the bright didn’t last long, and we drove through a huge storm. Even with bad weather accompanying us on most of our trip, we still made good time, and arrived in the Chicago area just before lunch. The children had never seen a toll booth before! And they noticed immediately how crazy the traffic was. We even got a peek at the Chicago skyline as we drove towards Oak Park.

Day one of our long weekend included a culinary trip down memory lane, where we stopped at Mickey’s Gyros and Ribs in Oak Park for a lunch of Big Mickeys, Johnnie’s Sausage and Beef in Elmwood Park for an Italian lemonade, and Alfie’s Inn in Glen Ellyn for dinner.

We also had your standard trip down memory lane, as I showed the children things like where I went to grade school and high school, where I worked when I was in high school, and the Jewel grocery store where I used to shop. We spent some time walking around the Concordia University Chicago campus and regaling the children with tales of our college years, and hanging out with family. We found a Super Target (a store I’ve always wanted to visit) before checking into our room at the lovely Pheasant Run Resort, where we immediately headed for the pool!

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