William and Claudia,
We recently got to spend some fun time in the city. Our week went like this...
Thursday, we checked into the Hyatt on Wacker and then walked to the red line to take the subway to Sox Park to watch the game. You guys were excited to be riding the subway. You, Claudia, had fun looking at all the people and scenery and you, William, demonstrated his knowledge of reading.... by reading all the advertisements aloud...
several times. The Sox game was exciting, but very cold. And... because Mom did not dress you in (or pack) warm enough clothes, we had to leave in the fourth inning. Sorry guys!
Friday morning, Dad got up early and went to his class. We three took our time getting ready and got a cab to Navy Pier where we went to the Children's Museum. After a bit of museuming, you two spotted a McDonald's where you both insisted we have lunch. We did and then headed back into the Museum for the rest of the afternoon.
After the museum, we stopped for ice cream and did a little more sight seeing around the pier. Instead of taking a land taxi back to the hotel, we caught a water taxi at the mouth of the Chicago River. The taxi took us to Michigan Avenue, right by our hotel. It was bit chilly, but a fun ride!
We waited for Daddy to come back and headed out by foot in search of the Rain Forest Cafe. Unfortunately Dad's internal GPS failed and we ended up by Water Tower and not the restaurant.... that's why we ended up in a cab. Rain Forest Cafe was fun, even though we had quite a bit of a wait. William, you thought the "elephants were annoying and disturbing your meal". Personally, I think since you're now older, fake animals are not so cool anymore.
Saturday, we got up, ate at the hotel and walked down to Millennium Park. We explored the "Baked Bean" as Claudia called it, the water walls and the amphitheatre. After exploring the park and surrounding area (you liked the unusual wind "sticks" at the AON Center), we headed back to the hotel to meet up with Daddy. Saturday was the day of Alex's graduation party so we headed out to Bolingbrook to celebrate.
Sunday, we took a taxi to the Peggy Notebaert nature museum in Lincoln Park. The museum was "cool", but we didn't get to see all of it because our stomachs started growling and the cafe was limited to "icky" pre-made sandwiches. Luckily the zoo was withing walking distance. We headed there and actually found a healthy lunch. After lunch, you two asked to stay at the zoo which was fine with me. We checked out the exhibits. You both loved the baby monkey (I don't remember which kind of monkey). Your second favorite was the leopard. Dad met us at the zoo after his class and we walked to the Wiener Circle for dinner. Greasy burger,. hot dogs and fries!
Monday, we took another water taxi to the Sears Tower (I don't care for the new name) and went to the 103rd floor of the tower. You guys were quick to find the ledge... the
only thing that interested you. You both stood out on the ledge while I took a few pictures. I took one step out on it, looked down and quickly jumped off.
After our quick visit of the Sears Tower, we had lunch at Giordano's... thin crust pizza because neither one of you will eat thick crust. And, Claudi, you still won't eat melted cheese! Just crust and toppings for you. The three of us had a fun time sitting by the window and people watching. We took the water taxi back to the hotel.
When we got back, we had dinner at the hotel with Dad and ended our evening with an architectural tour on the Wendella boat. You guys didn't care so much for the narration or the buildings, but you did enjoy the ride down the river.
Tuesday, we ordered room service for breakfast, packed up and headed back to Valparaiso.
Great time we had!!!
