Blitz Chicago Outing

We had a blitz (ie super super fast) trip to Chicago on Labor Day weekend. We got up in the wee hours on Saturday in order to get to the Field Museum early-ish in the morning. We toured the Mythic Creatures exhibit- very cool for adults but not so interesting to small children we found out the hard way (translate...whining). Annika was freaked out about the background noise (bubbling noise like an ocean), the fact that rooms were dark and the large displays of unusual creatures. I would have loved to have spent hours reading all the descriptions but alas our little girls were having NONE of that. So, onwards...towards the dinosaurs!

Actually, days before our trip to Chicago we were describing the Field Museum to Annika and how it had dinosaurs in it. That's all she wanted to see. It took a little time to wander through the interesting maze of the Evolving Planet displays (which were very cool to those of who can READ) to get to the dinosaurs. Annika recognized some of the dinosaurs from a book she has (but it's an old book so it has some of the dinosaurs listed incorrectly).

After the dinosaurs we ate lunch at the museum. Let me tell you - the museum food there is actually pretty darn good! We were shocked!

After lunch we hit the Underground Adventure exhibit. Now, I thought that one was lots of fun...you get to see what's in the soil from the perspective from the size of an ant. Naturally, that meant they had some super huge objects that frightened Annika (a GIANT crayfish that moved).

Ava was so tired she fell asleep in Mark's arms and being that we forgot to take a stroller with us- well, that ended our trip to the Field Museum. We shall return! (but probably when both girls can read)

We then found our hotel...took a nap...blah, blah, blah.

Next up we headed out find the Navy Pier. Mistake! It's a GIANT TOURIST TRAP. There's a Children's Museum that perhaps would have been lots of fun but we didn't go there. Too crowded, too many overly priced carnival rides, too many boat tours- where can they possibly take you that's interesting? I will say that it was a beautiful afternoon and the lake looked lovely and the ice cream we had was delicious.

On our way back to the hotel we ate dinner at a Thai restaurant called the Star of Siam...we'd promised Annika that we would eat sushi but as our legs couldn't walk any more we ate at a restaurant close to our hotel. Funny thing- from the outside it looked like a hole in the wall but inside it was cavernous and packed with people! It turned out to be an excellent choice. Whew!

We took the girls swimming in the hotel pool afterwards. Fortunately, that was the ONE promise we did manage to keep!

On Sunday we were one of the first in at the Shedd Aquarium. No lines. Highly recommend going there EARLY so you don't get stuck in super LONG lines. You should have seen the nearly half mile long line as we were leaving the aquarium. What can I say about the aquarium? We loved it! The dolphin show and the penguins were favorites of the girls. I loved it all. OH...and we were smart enough to park closer this time (quite a bit of our time the previous day was spent walking to the museum since we parked so far away).

We promised Annika we'd do sushi for lunch (get it...seeing fish...then eating them?) at a restaurant close to the Sears Tower. Can anyone spot the flaw in our decision? NOTHING is open in the Financial District on Sunday. The Sears Tower is in that distract. Therefore, none of the restaurants were open! Ack! We parked the car a gazillion miles away but I think we were determined to go up the Sears Tower just once. And we did. I don't think you can ever talk me into doing it again. Fortunately I had a bag of snack and a bottle of water. Thank goodness for cute looking little girls that behave reasonably well even when they're hungry. Thank goodness the line moved quickly. AND THANK GOODNESS for the City Pass we had bought the day before - because with it we managed to bypass some very LONG lines. We went up. Looked around. Yep. Chicago is one heck of a BIG CITY. Took some photos. Went back down. Felt like cattle in a cattle car...herded from one place to the next. Walked the gazillion miles back to the car (even carried Annika who was really tired of walking).

Next we went off in search of a store I'd seen in a Chicago magazine called Tai Nam (I think that's the name). It's a Vietnamese grocery store in northern burbs of Chicago. We had interesting Vietnamese food for late lunch. I thought I was getting a cool sandwich I'd read about but instead I got a piece of baguette and two sunny side up eggs. Okay! I'll eat that too! Oh..and the grocery store had some VERY INTERESTING items for sale but we didn't buy anything as the lines were long and I couldn't stand the thought of standing in yet another one.

Naturally I had to check out Ikea- but I was a good girl and spent only an hour there while the girls napped. Last stop - take out cheesecake slices from the Cheesecake Factory. Yummy! We had intended to visit a giant mall but we forgot that malls still close early (6pm) on Sundays. So we ate our cake and drove home.

Now...we never managed to get that sushi we promised Annika. I never got my excellent baked goods (read French or other European -style baked goods). Oh well. Perhaps we'll go to Madison soon. I know they have both those there!

Okay..enough with the blabbing...where are the photos already?

Bright and sunny in front of the Field Museum. That's Sue...the infamous T. rex.Oh NO! Sue got Annika! Aaaaaaaa....Cool display....
Sleepy Ava. Navy Pier. Shoot me if I ever suggest that I go see it again, okay? At least we all agreed that the ice cream was yummy!Annika realizes that dulce de leche is a tasty flavor despite its odd name.
Mommy and Girlies in front of the Shedd Aquarium. Look...no lines!

Top of the Sears Tower. Whoopee. Will you please shoot me if I ever suggest going up it again? Vast city in back ground. It really is. just. huge.

Whew! Home after four hours of driving, several miles of walking, being herded like cattle, paying about $85 in parking fees just for the privilege of parking in downtown Chicago (that's just for TWO DAYS people!). I find the Big City amusing but I'd rather live here in our forest....far, far away from the chaos.