We've had a lot of adult travel and trips this summer - between work, milestone bdays and weddings, Greg and I have been quite the travelers. But of course wanting to take full advantage of summer break from school, we had to sneak in a little family trip, too. Liam has been asking to go to Chicago for a couple of years now - I'm not really sure how he became such a fan, but guessing it's from watching the Chicago Cubs play baseball.
We thought taking the train would be an extra fun addition to getting there, and the kids were pumped. Nora told everyone "we are going to Chicago on a traaaaiiiiiiiiin" months before the trip got her. It was quite cute. So, when we got to the big day to leave - we were all bursting with excitement (for me, traveling with my own little family!!).
The train was actually pretty fun, and because it's so roomy - it was comfortable. But two issues, 1) it took 3 hours longer because the Amtrak has to yield to freight trans, and the 7 hour trip took 10, and 2) I forgot the bag of lunches and snacks I packed. We started to get a little antsy at the 7 hour mark and we had to eat train food (starting with lunch at 10am before it ran out).
After we finally arrived - now way late and STARVING, we dropped our bags at the hotel we stayed at, the Marriott Courtyard Chicago Downtown/River North (which had a two-bed suite with two separate rooms and easy to walk and take the L everywhere), and headed out to find food and exercise our legs - me with my eye on the prize: Eataly!
After our first night in the hotel - me snuggling with Nora and Liam and Greg sharing a bed, we had a full and fun day planned! After a ride on the L, which the kids just LOVED, we met a friend for brunch at Little Goat (my second time there, and it's so good).
After brunch, we walked to a nearby park, which ended up being way cooler than I had anticipated. We don't have parks like this in Kansas City...
After food and play, we were headed to a day game! The Chicago Cubs game was SO much fun to share with the kids! Greg was especially excited to take them. Liam has loved the Cubs (following his first love for the Royals, of course), since he could even understand what a sport was.
We had great seats in the shade, and an overall nice day. While the Cubs lost, we had so much fun.
After a brief rest at the hotel, we just walked up the street for dinner at a Mexican restaurant, Cantina Laredo. My favorite part was the table-side guac. The kids were fascinated by that. Recently I was talking about wanting some guacamole, and Nora told me that I could just eat some avocados! I was impressed she remembered that they make up guac.
After another, surprisingly, good night sleep - we were ready to take on our second full day in Chicago. This time, we grabbed breakfast to-go and headed out to the Museum of Science and Industry. We spent a TON of time here, even had lunch - there is so much to do!
First we watched the film, the Story of Earth on their giant dome screen. We felt like we were inside the earth at times - it was really cool. After that, and exploring space artifacts (like an astronaut space suit), we checked out the Pixar exhibit - the Science behind Pixar. We learned about how all our favorite movies were made, and got to experiment with the technology ourselves!
After spending most of the day at the museum, we headed to Navy Pier to take a speedboat ride around Michigan lake. I thought it might be a little too fast for Nora, but she loved it, and at one point, I looked over during a fast part and she was yawning. Liam, of course, loved it. He is our thrill seeker! And I love anything with boats.
{Liam took the picture of me and Greg!}
On our final day in Chicago, we had most of the day before our train ride back home later that afternoon. We started with brunch at
Yolk, which was terrific.
After breakfast, we walked to the
Picasso Sculpture - which the kids quickly turned into a slide. Shortly after, we took the L - which by now, the kids were little pros. I was quite proud watching them navigate through on their own.
I was so excited to introduce the bean to these kiddos! And Nora-bean was especially excited to meet the Chicago-bean! We had way to much fun playing with our reflections here. We walked around the area more before finding ice cream.
Our train ride home was MUCH better than on the way there because 1) it was on time and only 7 hours, 2) we got proper snacks and dinner to eat on the ride, and 3) we had already walked a full days worth of steps and had had a busy few days!
We can't wait to go back with them soon - they just LOVED it. And I think now that they've gotten the train out of their system, we'll be good to fly. ;) . Have you ever taken your kids to Chicago - what should we do for our next visit (because I'm already planning for another!!)?
