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Wednesday, June 11, 2008
We were due to leave for Chicago tonight at the conclusion of Mark’s trade show, but we learned when we woke up that it had been cancelled due to the flooding. We headed downtown to retrieve the booth and
had to be escorted into the downtown by the National Guard. We quickly packed up Mark’s equipment and headed east toward Chicago leaving the flooding behind. We were amazed at how high the water in Cedar Rapids had risen and found out as the days passed that the flooding continued to be a problem there. We arrived in Chicago and checked into the Palmer House Hilton. Once we settled in we walked around the city a bit to get our bearings. We walked up to the Chicago River – it was a beautiful night. We then decided it was time to partake of a famous custom – stuffed pizza! We headed over to Giordano’s for dinner. It was delicious! We headed back to the hotel after that to turn in as we have an exciting itinerary planned for our days in Chicago.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
After breakfast this morning we all headed over to the Visitor’s Center and purchased
transportation passes for the three days we would be in Chicago.
They were only $12 each for unlimited travel on the subway, bus, and trains for all three days. The girls and boys split up. Mark and Grayson headed back to the hotel for some organization time and Darby and I headed north on the bus to the American Girl Place to look around. We have visited the American Girl store in New York and Atlanta, but Chicago is the original location so we had to give it a look. We also spend some time at Water Tower Place shopping. At around 12pm we headed on the red line train up to Wrigleyville where we planned to meet the boys for a baseball game at Wrigley Field. It was the Atlanta Braves versus the Chicago Cubs. The game was close and exciting, but the Braves lost in extra innings. We were tired and hot after the game so we just got some popcorn from Garrett’s Popcorn, another Chicago favorite, and did some window shopping near the hotel.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Friday morning we took the number 10 bus down to the Museum of Science and Industry.
We spent the entire day until about 4 pm wandering
around and exploring the wonderful exhibits housed under this one very large roof. We saw the giant train set depicting the rail system between Chicago and Seattle, Washington; chicks hatching in the Genetics and Baby Chick Hatchery, Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle the Earth Revealed” exhibit by NOAA and NASA; Toy Makers 3000; and Farm Technology where we saw a film of a baby calf being born. It is a wonderful gem of a museum that must be visited on a trip to Chicago. Darby and Grayson are already asking when they can go back. That night we met up with college friends of Jonna's -- Mags and Bill and their kids -- at the ESPN Zone in Chicago. The kids all had a great time together playing all the games there! We had a great visit. It was just one more reason for us to visit the fabulous city of Chicago.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
We were planning on heading east to South Bend this morning, but we decided that there was more of Chicago that we wanted to see before we headed out. After walking around a bit and deciding to forgo the Sears Tower one hour wait time, we caught the 151 bus north up to Lincoln Park. We visited to the Chicago History Museum to learn more about the city of which we have become so fond. It is a very comprehensive collection that gave us a very good overview of the city. Children under 12 are free and adult admission comes complete with an audio tour which describes the various phases or Chicago’s past. We spent several hours pouring over the exhibits which included 7 dioramas depicting the city’s history. The dioramas themselves were a wonder as they were put on display in the museum in 1932. We learned about the great Chicago Fire of 1871, the World Fair in 1893 which debuted the first Ferris Wheel in the world, and learned about Al Capone and his mobsters among many other things. Grayson’s favorite things were Michael Jordon’s shoes and Walter Peyton’s jersey. The kids loved playing in a hands-on area of the museum and making themselves into life-sized hot dogs! After a jam-packed day we headed east to South Bend to the Fighting Irish country of Notre Dame. We arrived in time to watch Georgia baseball defeat Miami in the College World Series.
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