Ethan and the Mom

Day 1 - Ethan and I rode the Blue Line from Lapeer into Chicago after a bit of a false start (I realized a couple miles from the house I left my purse sitting on the kitchen table!) we doubled back for essentials left behind and still made it to Starbucks for a Peppermint Mocha before boarding a slightly late arriving and soon-to-be-very-full train. Read mags/books, played cards together, I listened to a great message called "Faith is a Verb" from Pastor Andrew Kluck, Ethan did some DS games, I napped and before you knew it we were pulling into Union Station. My friend Gidget's owners picked us up (see her at the top of the collage!?) and drove us to Schaumburg to check out Lego Discoveryland after first enjoying a fantastic lunch at Big Bowl. Gasped over the displays, took the Factory Tour, rode the Lego Train, did a Lego Workshop, explored the Test Area, and shopped. Toward the end of our visit Ethan was complaining of a terrible headache (probably too much excitement and a very early morning). Headed back to Gidget's house where 'E' tucked in for a refreshing nap with a cool compress while dinner was prepared. He awoke miraculously recovered and ate all his steak, veggies, and brownie with ice cream dessert before snuggling back in to read some "Hunger Games" before lights out.

Day 2 - Started off the day with an expertly prepared breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, and fruit. Ethan had a little time to play some guitar while I got ready, then we got dropped off at the Metra Station in Prairie Crossings by Gidget's owner and rode down with the regular commuters to Union Station. Realized I forgot to bring my city map with me, although I had the Garmin it was having difficulty finding the satellite and reconfiguring to Chicago (it was still in California mode from my trip with Rob). Finally got things in order, walking through the city along the river, found a Walgreen's which sells maps, got our bearings and made our way to Ohio Street & LaSalle, checked into the Best Western and took a few minutes to chill, unpack the heavy books and electronics from the backpack then repacked with the essentials for our day's adventure.

Today was bus day. I bought a 1-day pass from CVS and kids ride for $1 so transportation expenses were very reasonable. Got on the #156 at LaSalle which took us right up to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was a beautiful day for it and they had some wonderful animal houses, the primate house in particular was really cool - even caught a snap of a true zoo keeper's life....cage cleaning! Didn't see many of the big cats, I think they were behind-the-scenes being fed when we got there but the polar bear was hilarious to watch, a real character, giving everyone a great show from above ground and below tank. The African Safari house was also impressive, and we took a moment to talk with a keeper at an open exhibit of spiders which I found a very unusual way to display them but he explained that when there's only two or three out, they find their little niche, make a web and stay in place. Purchased some items in the gift shop, a beanie cougar for Ethan, a ring-tailed hand-puppet, and a sale book "Puppet Play: 20 Puppet Projects Made with Recycled Mittens, Towels, Socks and More" by Diana Schoenbrun (can you say enrichment class!). Hopped on the #151 bus to head back down to the John Hancock building but totally missed our stop, doubled back but decided to reassess the situation.

Decided to skip the John Hancock Observatory because the wait would have killed the rest of the day, good call. Instead we got a few hours in at the Children's Hands-On Museum where Ethan had fun building with the giant beams, nuts, and bolts. Got silly in the Circus Zirkus area hanging on the trapeze, spinning in the hoop, walking the tightrope, and of course doing some weight lifting. Before they called for closing time he had some serious fun in the water area using "wave blocks" (small plastic dividers) to control the flow of current down a long river. There were also levers and buckets to lift and pour water plus things to pump and squirt water. Awesome. The kids museum is right at Navy Pier so we stood in line at the ONE ticket booth that was open to get a 3-Ride Pass for each of us, then rode the giant swings (in a double seat), played 18-holes of putt putt (Ethan got a hole-in-one on #17), and made the slow round above the city on the Ferris Wheel. Caught the #65 back to LaSalle, made an 8pm reservation (first available) at the Rainforest Cafe across the street, chilled for a bit watching the new 'Bones' episode then walked across for a late dinner. Had time to hit the pool before it closed then crashed for the night!

Day 3 - Walked up Ohio Street a couple blocks to Starbucks for breakfast then took a cab to Shedd Aquarium arriving almost a half hour before opening time and there was already a line past the awning! Got longer as we waited but thankfully it didn't take long to get our tickets once the doors opened. Last February when Ben and I went we walked right in at opening! First thing on the agenda was the Aquatic Show, this time featuring the Beluga Whales, then the 4D Planet Earth movie, and a little time to relax and investigate the regular exhibits. Ethan was most interested in tracking down the Japanese King Crab and the Pirahnas - mission accomplished! Next, lunch at the Soundings Cafe, Fish Slider for Ethan (as recommended by brother Ben) and the Chicken Florentine Panini with a delightful fresh greens salad for me. Perused around the Great Lakes tanks before checking in for our behind-the-scenes Penguin Encounter! It was absolutely amazing to be up close to a penguin and get to observe it waddle around an area at our feet. The trainer Naomi was very personable and answered all our questions about the Magellantic penguins and #409 in particular, we all got a chance to pet the penguin and get a picture taken with her. There were 8 in our group, four moms with their sons, two were 9 y.o. and two were 10 y.o. Lastly we went downstairs to the Wild Reef to stare into the shark tank then cruise though the Jellies exhibit which in comparison to our adventures thus far was a bit of a disappointment. Most of the displays were videos and there wasn't much variety in the jellyfish. Picked up our Penguin Encounter photos, got our backpack and coats out of the locker and said farewell.

Following our fantastic aquarium experience we jumped on an overcrowded #146 bus that headed up State Street to the Magnificent Mile area, popped out on Randolph and walked the couple blocks up to Millennium Park to check out the Bean and have some fun taking pictures. When we were done exploring the park we hoofed it back down Ohio Street stopping at a grocery store a couple blocks from the hotel to pick up some dinner: salmon rolls, tuna rolls, Pringles, Wild Cherry Pepsi, and Ben & Jerry's Late Night Snack ice cream. Ate, watched some Big Bang Theory, hit the pool, then lights out!

Day 4 - Woke up on our own, watched an Arthur episode on PBS then headed up to the pool for a quick morning swim. After showering, packing up, and checking out we took a lovely walking tour down Grand making our way to Yolk for breakfast. Ethan tried something new...crepes, but was more a fan of the sausage, bacon and scrambled eggs. I again enjoyed the Irish Benny (Eggs Benedict with a grilled tomato on an English Muffin with corned beef hash, homestyle hash browns on the side and some fabulous fresh fruit). Grabbed a cab and headed over to the Field Museum to use the free pass Gidget gave us. It was crazy! We only went through Development of Planet Earth, Dinosaur Hall, Restoring the Earth, the Maori Village, and the Gems exhibits before retrieving our items from coat check and taking a cab to a Gino's East for pizza! Made it to the train station with little time to wait and thoroughly enjoyed our cushy business class seats for the ride back. Ethan did all the scenes in a sticker book we bought at the Shedd Aquarium, played some DS and read a little bit more of "Hunger Games" while I enjoyed a great teaching from Pastor Jeff Wells and listened to some tunes. We also had time to fit in a round of the card game 'Garbage' before he finally fell asleep for the last hour and a half of the trip. Thankfully the weather was good, we arrived to Lapeer on time, the car started, and we made it home safely to our comfy beds, snoring family, and loyal pets. All in all a successful trip but for the record I will never do Chicago during Spring Break week again! It's off-season only for this traveling mom.