We took a 2-night, 3-day trip to Chicago during spring break!
First stop: Museum of Science and Industry. The children enjoyed many parts, but none as much as the Idea Factory, where they could play with water, a crane, pulleys, etc. My favorite was the U-505 exhibit, even though we reached that exhibit too late in the day to take a tour of the inside.
From the MSI, we found our VRBO, after navigating the maze that was the VRBO's parking garage, parking garage elevator, building lobby, and building elevator. Later we walked to Chipotle for supper.
On the second day, we walked 2-3 blocks to breakfast at a place Jim had researched online. He had looked at the menu online, but couldn't see any prices. That was our first clue that it was a lot more than we expected!
Next we walked to the Field Museum where we spent most of the day, eating lunch while there. After resting at our VRBO for awhile, we set out to ride the train (!), a new experience for both of our children.
Walking home from the train station at 5 pm, I *finally* got a good cup of hot tea for the day, when we stepped in Starbucks. :)
For supper, Jim ordered pizza, and we ate in. The children enjoyed the streaming services & MeTV while Jim went to the CSO to hear Tchaikovsky!
On the third day I walked to Trader Joe's to explore & buy a few things (Ranch seasoning mix, coconut cream, etc.) and then got the largest hot tea I could get at Starbucks. :) I brought grocery store breakfast back to the VRBO.
We packed up the van (in the parking garage) and then used Uber for the first time and went to the Children's Museum, but were unable to get tickets. So we walked around Navy Pier, enjoying the fresh air and scenery and a place to run. And ate McDonald's there. :) Little Miss spotted a Starbucks and pointed it out to me, saying, "There's hot tea, Mom. Do you want to get hot tea?" So considerate!
We took a taxi to Shedd Aquarium, where Jim said, "After awhile, the fish all look the same." Shedd tickets have to be purchased online for timed entry. Our tickets were on Jim's email on his phone (which had died). Thankfully he remembered his email password, and I was able to pull it up online on my phone ... or we would have lost a lot of money!
After the Shedd, it was frigid and our legs were tired, so we Ubered back to our van, and attempted to leave the parking garage.
We ended up third in a line of 6 vehicles waiting at the unmanned pay station. The hydraulic gate was broken and would not lift. Finally a car coming in stopped, and the young man ascertained we needed help. He acted like it was old hat, as he moved the gate permanently up.
And, just like that, we were on our way home ... back to a different world. A world where we don't have religious refugees from Jordan driving our Uber. A world where we don't share an elevator with others (& their city dogs). A world where we fall asleep without listening to sirens. A world where we cannot walk to Starbuck's, Trader Joe's, or the Museum Campus. A world that is home. <3
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