Some of my favorite places to visit are where Mother Nature meets the city. The Chicago North Shore is one of those places. It has all of the amenities of a major city—world-class museums, fantastic restaurants, and shopping galore—but with less traffic, plenty of parks, and glorious Lake Michigan shoreline where we could enjoy the outdoors.
My husband and I drove from our home in Columbus, Ohio, one Friday morning and arrived at our hotel, the Doubletree by Hilton in Skokie, Illinois, late that afternoon. It was centrally located near all the North Shore attractions and right across the street from the Westfield Old Orchard shopping center—an upscale, outdoor mall with luxury brands like Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Tiffany and Rolex. We checked into our spacious room, warm chocolate chip cookies in hand, courtesy of the front desk.
Excited to see all the area had to offer, we headed right out to the Halim Time and Glass Museum, located in a residential neighborhood in neighboring Evanston. The five-story building had a sleek, modern feel while showcasing old-world things—clocks and stained glass art—both of which have become rare in today’s fast-paced, digital world. One exhibit, “Clocks of the World,” took us through the history of clocks. Organized by region, it was interesting to see how clocks have evolved in places like England and China.
As an art major, I was fascinated by the creativity that went into these timepieces that otherwise served such a practical purpose. Years ago, the grandfather clock was an integral part of the family home. In today’s world—where we can access the time on any device within reach at any time—that’s a truly fascinating concept.
The exhibits were well laid-out and easy to navigate, and thorough and informative without being overwhelming. One of my favorite features was the screens that accompanied groups of timepieces that allowed the viewer to see all sides of the clocks, how they moved, and to hear the sounds they made. It added an additional dimension to the exhibit and helped bring these functional pieces of art to life.
In addition to timepieces, the museum also houses a beautiful stained glass collection, showcasing the American School of Stained Glass, as well as works from Tiffany.
For dinner, we decided to stroll around the neighborhood surrounding the museum, as there were many options. While trying to decide, a local resident recommended Lulu’s, just two blocks away. We were not disappointed. Lulu’s offers Thai, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine in a fun, hip space. We started with the crispy vegetable spring rolls. They were light and crunchy and came with two dipping sauces, a spicy sweet chili and a honey mustard. I ordered the Big Bop Rice Bowl—Lulu’s take on Korean Bibimbap. It included a nice variety of seasoned and pickled veggies around rice topped with spicy-sweet gochuchang sauce and kimchee. The regular version is served with an egg, but I opted for the vegan version. As a vegetarian, I appreciated all of the vegetarian and vegan options they offered and had a hard time choosing just one. They even had a separate menu for vegans and vegetarians, which I thought was a nice touch. My husband chose the Nabeyaki Udon Noodles, with chicken, tofu, tempura shrimp, and vegetables in a Japanese broth. He said it was delicious.
Following dinner, we drove down to the waterfront to get our first glimpse of the lake. Although it was Friday evening, we were easily able to find free, public parking.
Lush, green parks—with lagoons, fountains, amphitheaters, and athletic courts—line the shore, with sandy beaches just beyond. We strolled along the walking paths and took in the beauty of Lake Michigan, as we watched local residents enjoying barbeques, birthday parties, and even a community Shabbat dinner.
On Saturday, we woke up early and headed to Colectivo, a local, Midwestern staple with locations all over Milwaukee, Madison, and the Chicago area. They roast and serve coffee from all over the world. I had an iced mocha, and a breakfast bowl with rice, beans, eggs, and a touch of cilantro. My husband had a decaf latte and a Southwestern breakfast burrito, with eggs, vegetarian sausage, cheddar, red peppers, jalapeños, onions and tortilla strips. It was excellent and just the right amount of food to fuel us up for a morning exploring.
We wanted to get to the Chicago Botanic Garden early and I’m glad we did. I probably could have spent an entire week there, with 385 acres to see! The grounds have a two-mile walking path around the perimeter. There is also a tram visitors can ride. The main part of the gardens is on a center island. One of my favorites was the Aquatic Garden, which featured water lilies, lotus flowers, and cypress trees. I also really enjoyed the fruit and vegetable garden, which was on its own island, with 400 edible plants. It was amazing to see how much food can be grown in such a small space. I have a small porch garden at home so it inspired me to think of new ways to plant, and additional plants I can grow. There is also a small cafe that serves smoothies using ingredients from the island. I had the watermelon flavor, which was incredibly refreshing on a hot day.
Following lunch, we made our way to the Illinois Holocaust Museum—the third largest Holocaust Museum in the world. I have been to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. and a concentration camp in Europe, but the emotion hits me every time. Every aspect of the museum was carefully planned and thought out, including the architecture. Visitors enter on the dark, angular side and exit on the light, softer side. There is also a remembrance pool, “Fountain of the Righteous,” honoring those who risked their lives to help rescue Jewish people during the Holocaust. We were careful to give ourselves time as the topic was heavy. I would highly recommend everyone see this museum that shares such an important message, and plan on leaving a little time to process it.
Our last activity of the afternoon was visiting the Baha’i House of Worship in nearby Wilmette. The temple is a globally recognized holy landmark, the largest and oldest of the seven Baha’i temples in the world, and the only one in North America. It is a beautiful, unique building on the National Register of Historic Places, its nine-sided, intricately carved 138-foot white dome a recognizable landmark on Chicago’s North Shore. The number nine figures prominently in the Baha’i faith so many elements of the design occur in groups of nine. There are nine gardens surrounding the temple, with nine fountains, and nine entrances to the temple, with nine verses above the doors and nine inside, above the alcoves.
The auditorium is open to the public from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for quiet contemplation. There are also services the public is invited to attend. We heard a multitude of languages and observed people from all over the world strolling the grounds of this holy landmark. We went inside and took some time for quiet reflection. It was a nice way to end a long, busy day, especially after having come from the Holocaust museum.
We had dinner that night at Taco Diablo, which offers fresh Mexican cuisine. We kicked off our meal with a basket of chips and salsa, and I had the taqueria guacamole, elote esquite, and a salad. The guacamole was fresh, with plenty of chunks of avocado, and was full of flavor. The elote was delicious sweet corn with mayo, roasted poblano pepper, caramelized onion, chile piquin, and cotija cheese. My husband had the chilaquiles, a traditional Mexican dish that features strips of corn tortillas, smothered in a sauce of poblano and guajillo chiles, with meat, queso fresco, and topped with a fried egg. It is traditionally served using pork, but Taco Diablo offered a version with chicken, which my husband enjoyed.
We ended our stay with a stroll along the water. It was the perfect way to contemplate all we had seen. Our weekend on Chicago’s North Shore may have been quick, but it was one to remember. It offered city life excitement, with an ease and beauty not always found in the city itself. I’m already looking forward to our next visit.