John Hancock Building, Water Tower, Omni Hotel and more!
Navy Pier- love the Lego Ferris Wheel!
Absolutely amazing how they make all this stuff out of Legos down to every little detail! Very cool! We ended up spending just a little more time than we thought there. LEGOLAND suggested planning 2 1/2 hours and we were there for three. After wards we headed over to The Cheesecake Factory at Woodfield Mall for late lunch/early dinner. It's one of my favorite places, and when I'm around one I try to go! I had the Thai chicken pasta which was delicious. Unfortunately I was too full for cheesecake!
We then made our way into the city so we could get checked into our hotel. We got to our hotel about 5pm local time. After many hours on the computer earlier in the week, I finally found us a hotel Tuesday afternoon. I was trying to find a place that was in the middle of everything we wanted to do. We ended up at the Hyatt Place which was right on the river. I found a really good deal there that included parking. When we got to the hotel, it turned out that it was even more than I expected. The valet guy directed me to go in and up the escalator to check in. I went through the doors and was a little in awe of how nice the hotel was. The lobby was amazing, and once I got to the top of the escalator and turned around there was this bar along the front windows that was amazing! Very very cool! I got checked in and the guy told me my request for a river/lake view was granted. (When I printed out the confirmation the night before I ran across a link that you could request upgrades. It was only $11 more for the upgrade so I figured what the heck.) He informed me we were getting a really really nice room! When we got to our room and walked in, I couldn't believe how great our view was! It was super awesome. Evan was really happy too because he kept asking if we were going to have a view of the river and I told him probably not. Here's our view.
We made a plan of what to do first and decided on Millennium Park. The kids couldn't wait to see the big jelly bean. They totally remembered seeing pics of it when Greg went to Chicago a few years ago. The park was absolutely beautiful and the jelly bean was very cool! Here's my Ev in front of the jelly bean!
After the park we walked down Michigan Ave. a little and then headed down to Navy Pier. The kids were real troopers with all the walking. We got to Navy Pier just before it was getting dark so we got to see it before all the lights came on and then later with it all lit up. We walked around, went in shops, and rode the Ferris Wheel and Carousel. Evan didn't want to go up on the Ferris Wheel, but Emme did. She couldn't wait to get on it. Greg's mom stayed with Ev, and Emme, Greg, and I went on it. I was a little nervous, but wanted to experience it with my little girl. I got on and we started to move up and up and up, and I couldn't believe I was riding all the way around. No turning back! I did get a little nauseous, and was a little freaked out at the top, but not my little girl. She was having a blast! She loved every minute of it. Here she is with her daddy enjoying her ride! What a kid!
After the Ferris Wheel I went on the Carousel with the kids. We did some more walking around and then went back to the Carousel one more time before we walked back to the hotel. It was definitely a fun-filled day!
We got up early Friday and got going so we could get to the Shedd Aquarium when it opened. We decided to take a taxi so we wouldn't have to worry about parking. The kids thought that was awesome! It was their first taxi ride, and they wondered why there were no car seats. Lol. Everyone had told us there are long lines to get into the Aquarium, and we should buy our tickets ahead of time. We did and got right in. The line wasn't too bad when we got there, but it was super long when we left. It's been years since I was at the Aquarium and there's been some additions. The kids really had a great time there, as did we. It was a great way to spend the morning. We got a late check out and had to be out by 2pm. We came back to the hotel after the Aquarium and got packed up. The hotel said we could leave our car parked until 6pm so that was great! We loaded the car up and had them park it again so we could do some more things.
We headed to lunch at Giordano's for Chicago pizza. Then we decided to do a boat tour. We had thought about going to the John Hancock Building or Willis Tower (a.k.a. Sears Tower), but it was $17 for adults to go up and $11 for kids. We decided we'd get more of our monies worth on the Wendella boat tour which was $26 for adults and $14 for kids. It was a 90 minute tour up and down the river and along the shore on Lake Michigan. It seemed like a better way to spend our time and it was a beautiful day in Chicago so it was perfect for the boat. It was a great tour that we all enjoyed! Lots of sights to see and the kids had fun on the river and going out on Lake Michigan. Plus we had to go through the Chicago Harbor Lock which was a neat experience for the kids (and us as well). The boat tour took a little longer than the 90 minutes because we had to wait in the Lock for all the boats so by the time we got off the boat we only had about an hour before we needed to get the car out. We made a quick trip down Michigan Ave. so the kids could see some things and then headed back to the hotel. We got the car just before 6pm (7pm our time), and then it was time to leave Chicago and head home. I figured we'd hit all the work traffic, as well as the weekend traffic, but we really didn't. We got out of the city in good time and made our way home. We got home about 11:30pm.
We had a fantastic time. I knew the kids would have fun, but they enjoyed themselves much more than I ever thought! We got a lot done in two days, and a big thanks to Greg's mom for everything- Hotel, meals, Navy Pier, Shedd Aquarium, Boat Tour, gas, and souvenirs for the kids. We really appreciated the great trip. It was tons of fun and we can't wait to go back! Lots of great memories for the kids and their first time to Chicago! I'm sure you've seen all my pics on Facebook, but if you haven't I posted tons so check them out!
Before I leave you tonight, I'd like to wish my dear friend Jess a very happy birthday! Hope you had a fabulous day Jess, and we'll have to have that birthday drink soon! Cheers to a great year ahead and fun times!
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