Robby and Katie Wedding in Lake Forest - June 1 - June 4, 2023
The Skinny
Thursday, June 1
Arrive ORD - rent Tesla
Drive to Milwaukee - lunch at Sobelman's near Marquette
Driving tour of Milwaukee, then on to Chicago Peninsula Hotel
Dinner at RPM Seafood
Friday, June 2
Walk to Chicago River for Architectural River Boat Tour (90 mins)
Navy Pier Bike Rental - cruise river front trail south about 8 miles and back
Lunch at Picadillo's for classic Chicago hot dog and Italian beef sandwich
Checkout and head out to Libertyville to turn in rental car
Uber over to Forester Hotel near Lake Forest
Dinner at Le Colonial with wedding crowd
Wedding after party at Le Colonial
Saturday, June 3
Rent car for day
Drive into Lake Forest Park Beach
Drive/walk around town of Lake Forest
Check out Deer Path Inn
Lunch across street at Francesca's Intimo with Zach
Wedding at St. Mary's - dinner/reception at historic Exmoor Country Club in Highland Par
Sunday, June 4
Uber to ORD in morning - back to RDU
The Meat on the Bones
Thursday, June 1
Let’s get Katie and Robby married, but first let’s do a flyby of Chicago and Milwaukee. Arrived to a Chicago that was hotter and better weather than NC which is unusual, but no city better than Chicago in early June. Decided to drive to Milwaukee just because we could and rented a Tesla to do so. That is an experience in and of itself and maybe one that I am not ready to commit to fully until the infrastructure gets a bit more user friendly. Milwaukee has lots to offer with a renowned art museum, great restaurants, Summerfest music festival, Marquette University, Lake Michigan, Frank Lloyd Wright among other things, yet still prides itself on its brats and beer blue collar roots. We cruised around getting an overall view of the city and then jumped all in with the famous burgers and Spotted Cow beer at Sobelman’s, a famed watering hole known for its array of burgers and bloody Mary’s in the Marquette area. And that was our flyby and headed back down I-90/94 to run into major traffic and out of juice. But a quick charge at Woodman’s MASSIVE grocery store and back in business to go 11 miles in 1 hr on the Kennedy “expressway.”
Checked into our hotel, had a drink on the rooftop looking over the Water Tower and Pump and down the Magnificent Mile. Dinner was at RPM Seafood patio on the Chicago RIver which was very cool and delicious. Apparently, our daughter was just below us with friends at Portofino Pizza.
Friday, March 31
What a gorgeous day! Walked over to the river to catch our Architectural River boat tour which was fantastic. The “Grand Canyon” of buildings is historical, interesting and really beautiful. Highly recommend.
We walked over to Navy Pier and rented some bikes and cruised south on the River Front Trail for about 8 miles and back. You can go all the way to Indiana if your heart desires. Fun to hear the sound check for the big Taylor Swift concert that night at Soldier Field.
In keeping with staying true to the culture theme and living our best “The Bear” life, we went for a Chicago hot dog and Italian Beef sandwich at Picadillo’s. Prob Picadillo’s. Def touristy, but there is usually a reason for that as they have figured out how to capitalize on their fame and reputation. We were rookie partakers, but still felt authentic with the tomato, poppyseed bun, relish, pickled peppers, mustard and dill spear across the top. Then Italian beef is delicious, but ordered incorrect condiments. Need the hot peppers and gravy.
We shopped the Mag Mile for a bit and then headed out to Lake Forrest for the wedding festivities. Traffic as usual terrible on the Kennedy Expressway.
Wedding HQ was at The Forester Hotel which is out by the interstate (and right beside the Bears training facility), but if you visit, 1st choice would be in the very charming town of Lake Forest at the Deerpath Inn. Historic and really attractive - great place for lunch in the courtyard, but make a reservation. Rehearsal dinner, our dinner and welcome party were all right in town at Le Colonial restaurant, an Indochine fare that was fantastic and great atmosphere.
Saturday, April 1
Wedding in town at 3pm so we took the morning to go onto Lake Forest Park right beside Lake Michigan, which is lovely, but come summer, they charge entry fees, so we just walked the trails above the shore before walking into town and checking it out. Lunch at Deer Path Inn was full, so we went to the very authentic Francesca’s
Intimo Italian restaurant for a lovely patio lunch before heading back to fluff and puff. All this can be done with Ubers, but if you have a rental car, I would opt for
that. This could be a better jumping off point for Milwaukee perhaps and if going into town, train might be optimal.
Wedding at St Mary’s Catholic Church followed by gorgeous reception at the Exmoor Country Club. Happily ever after.
Sunday, April 2
30 min Uber to ORD Sunday morning and back to RDU!
Comments