Last year we were not able to attend the Christmas light display at the Lincoln Park zoo due to the coronavirus. We were disappointed as we had been enjoying the yearly event ever since our first visit in 2016. Even though positivity rates for Covid had increased greatly over the past few weeks, we decided that we would renew the Heinisch tradition this December.
In order to limit the amount of guests coming into the zoo at one time, the event required tickets this year. By the time we were able to confirm that we were going all of the early tickets were taken. None of us minded going a little later in the afternoon as it allowed us to sleep in this morning. Our first stop in Chicago was Giordano's for a late lunch. Cal took the train and met us there. We arrived just as he put our name in for a table. There was a thirty minute wait, but we didn't mind. They let us order our pizza ahead of time and we enjoyed catching up with Cal while we waited for our name to be called. The pizza was really good and I was glad that we ordered larges as it gave us leftovers to bring home. The only downside to lunch was the spacing of the tables. It really wasn't crowded, but they placed us a little too close to the table besides us. I wasn't too worried, but didn't feel completely comfortable. It could have also been because the table was full of Trump supporters. Either way we did really enjoy it.
After we ate we walked over to Michigan Avenue. Unfortunately, the Disney Store was no longer there. We were disappointed, but decided to see where else we could shop. We were surprised to see that the Disney Store wasn't the only store that had closed on Michigan Avenue. Several of our other favorites were gone including Dylan's candy shop. We did find one store that had gifts from Mexico that we really liked, but other than that there wasn't much for us. We decided that the best idea was to head to the Water Tower Place. It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. We checked out a few stores. Cameron and Meg each bought several some clothes at Ragstock. We all liked that store.
Doug wanted to get to the zoo early and we were very glad that he made that decision. We arrived close to 5:15 for our 6 p.m. entry and there was nowhere to park. We got stuck in a traffic jam trying to get around the zoo and then ended up having to drive several miles out of our way to get back across the Lincoln Park area just to find a spot on the street. We had to walk to the zoo, but we didn't mind. We were just glad to make it by 5:45. We also appreciated that they let us in early.
The zoo was just as wonderful as in years past. I felt that this was the best year for lights and really enjoyed our walk through the park. We ordered hot chocolate to keep us warm, but overall the weather really wasn't very cold. In years past we had arrived closer to 4 p.m. Meg and I liked the later entry time as it was a lot darker than our trips previously. Maybe that's why I enjoyed the light displays even more. Overall, it was a wonderful day in Chicago and I appreciated getting back to our Heinisch tradition very much.
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