This expression makes me laugh, Turner had gotten her first sniff of a "random city stink " and she was trying so hard to smile through her agony!
See that line in the background? We arrived about 20 min before it opened and we were right at the bottom of the stairs. Then we got to go around to another entrance, with no line, since we had a stroller. (Note: The stroller is the TICKET to faster lines at both the airport and several attractions. If you are willing to haul it, it can be worth it for sure!) When we came out of the aquarium around noon, the line was five times this long! Go early!
Awesome JELLIES exhibit going on this summer!
We caught up with Dora and Diego in their 4-D adventure - which was very enjoyable!
For lunch we explored a bit and tried a local establishment called Bockwinkel's. This was a great little restaurant/grocery/deli mainly frequented by locals. We devoured fresh deli sandwiches, yummy soups, and the fattest homemade rice krispy treat I've ever seen. This is a place we will visit each time we come to this city - it definitely made the list of favorites for Chicago!
The next stop was the Children's Museum at Navy Pier. Much like the McWane Center in Birmingham, this is an educational fun-house for kids and Turner had a blast! They had a cute fireman exhibit with trucks, poles, uniforms, and "stop, drop, and roll" simulation rooms. They also had a huge rope climbing activity, as well as the "Circus Circus" simulation where kids could give their best efforts at performing in the Big Top!
This was right outside Circus Circus and made for interesting conversation for sure!
Turner's favorite exhibit including using the provided parts to design and construct an airplane of your choosing, and raising it up about 40 feet in the air and timing how long it takes it to hit the ground. She built several airplanes, but was most proud of the one that flew the longest shown below!
Since the aquarium/children's museum area was quite a distance from our hotel, we knew we had a taxi ride to go at the end of our day. We decided to splurge on the water taxi on the Chicago River, which took us on a scenic tour of some beautiful city skyline views.
We realized we were totally exhausted, and that it was the best decision to stop in at a restaurant sooner than later. It was obvious that once we got in the hotel we probably weren't coming back out for the evening! The concierge recommended a quaint, but authentic and fabulous Italian restaurant nearby called Trattoria No. 10. It's funny that I told him "not fancy but nicer than McDonald's", and he sent us to what I call a nice/fancy restaurant with white table cloths and fancy china! I would highly recommend this restaurant - definitely a quiet and romantic setting if that's what you desire, but it was also a friendly environment for Turner and other children. The homemade ravioli was completely indescribable, in particular my butternut and acorn squash ravioli with sweet walnut butter--divine!
It was an exhilarating and exhausting day! We all slept well that night I can assure you!
1 comment:
Ok...trying not to be sad...you, Wade and Mason were in Chicago at the same exact time!! Wade and M had a Dad/Son trip eating pizza all over the city and hitting some of our favorite museums and a Cubs game....wish they could have seen you! Love the photos!!
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