Chicago Fall Break | Mommy and Me Monday | 878th ed
Mr. Serious had a work conference in Chicago that overlapped with the county’s fall break, so we decided to head to the Windy City together.
Once we arrived, we all realized we needed a couple more layers of clothing, so we got those on and ventured over to Soldier Field and then further on to Lake Michigan. It started off overcast, but the sun came out and warmed us a little.
The Lake was quite rough and true to the city’s name, it was quite windy.
You can even see the waves crashing on the boardwalk. (Is it called that? Not even sure, but that’s what I’m going with).
We grabbed a quick bite to eat and got on the “L” for a ride to Second City. After using public transportation all around New York City, it felt like the city was empty with how few people were on the train.
We grabbed tickets to the $10 show with a smaller stage and setting at Second City where we saw a stand up comedian and a long form improv show. We all agreed it was “worth $10!”
The next day was a city day that started out at Cloud Gate and Millenium Park.
We got family pictures reflecting into “The Bean” (which I’ve read the artist dislikes it being called that, but few people know it by its true name Cloud Gate.)
It is so reflective that you can’t even tell from far away that it has water spots on it. We didn’t even realize they were visible until we looked at the pictures. It really is a cool piece of art.
Then we wandered around some more and found the playground. As it turns out, the kids love a playground and love a fast slide! We found quite a few all over the city. The slides were all metal which you don’t tend to find in Georgia! Nor have we ever seen a whale’s mouth we could get into.
After many runs on the slides and climbing all the things, we went to check out the nearby Chicago Cultural Center.
We didn’t last too long as everybody was getting a bit hungry, but we saw competitions and planning for the city for the next 25 years (very innovative ideas) and The Tiffany Dome with gorgeous stained glass.
After lunch and some legs-up-rest at the hotel, we went back out after dinner for our Architectural Tour via boat along the rivers.
It was definitely the right call to do the tour at night to see the buildings all lit up. But, we also didn’t bring enough warm jackets! There was some shivering that happened.
The next day was a girls day as Mr. Serious’ conference officially started. We decided this would be the day we explored the Obama Presidential Center and Library. It turns out this trip required an actual train ride (the kids were very excited to be on the double decker train).
It’s hard to capture how impressive the Presidential Center is. And there really isn’t anything tall around it.
We didn’t know we’d be taking the trip when tickets went on sale for September, so we weren’t able to secure tickets to see the entire center. However, there is a lot to see without tickets. When we asked where we should enter without tickets, a nice gentleman told us to go to the ticket counter and see if there were any free Sky Room tickets available. It turns out, if you get there early, there are likely some available. This got us access to the Sky Room on the 8th floor. A quick huge elevator ride up and we could see Lake Michigan from one side of the building.
And from two other sides, you could see the rest of the gardens and outdoor space of the Presidential Center as well as the words that adorned the top of the building.
In the Sky Room is the Sky of Hope which is hand stamped words from President Obama’s speech for the 50th anniversary of the Selma marches. There was a QR code on the wall with a 5 minute audio recording about Sky of Hope that we found interesting and listened to while we were in the Sky Room.
We were also able to see some of the art work in the building (and hit the cafeteria for some lunch) without admission. I wish we would have had another person take a picture for us as the glare from the opposing window really takes away from this piece of art, but go see it in person! It’s made of a lot of pictures from the lives of the Obama family.
That evening, the conference allowed us to attend an event at Starbucks Reserve Roastery which was 4 stories of Starbucks and the biggest in the world. We rode escalators to the top floor to the event and didn’t get to explore much. But we couldn’t miss a chance at the fun photo opportunity.
They had very tasty snacks, mixed drinks and espresso martinis and even had non-alcoholic decaf espresso martinis! It was very different and tasty.
If you don’t get a picture, were you even there?
After, we grabbed a car and went to another show at Second City called Pandemonium. The title was perfectly appropriate and the show was wildly hilarious.
We all went to bed way too late for our 3:30am wake up. Very last minute I decided to change the flight for the girls and me so we would be able to make it to the oldest kiddo’s race later that day. The girls and I went back and forth on if we should drive straight to the race city, or drive home, have a nap and then head out. We landed on home and a nap and then made the 2 hour drive to her race.
It was good to see her and see her doing what she loves with her team!
After the race, we drove the 2 hours home, with a quick drive through dinner stop, ate and all went straight to bed!
We all need a vacation from our vacation!
What did you do this week?
GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!
It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.
