Today was our second day of Spring Break Week and our first full day in Chicago. Highlights of the day included running along Lake Michigan, visiting the Field Museum, checking out the top of the Sears Tower, and lots of eating and walking.
Morning Run Along Lake Michigan
Will and I each ran 5 miles this morning. There is a path that goes around Lake Michigan and it is absolutely wonderful for running along - flat, wide, no motor vehicles, and a wonderful view of the lake (including a few frozen spots now). Perfect running weather this morning, too.
The Field Museum
This is a natural history museum that arose after the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, and while its heart and soul is still natural history, it has a wide variety of other hands-on exhibits.
The kids were very excited to encounter "Sue," one of the most famous T-Rex dinosaurs ever.
Surprisingly, both of the kids reported that the section on Egypt, particularly with the mummies, was their favorite. They even opted to see a movie on Egypt in 3D over a dinosaur option.
Daniel in particular was fascinated with the mummies.
Annika was fascinated with all of the mummified cats; the fact that cats were such a revered animal in ancient Egypt really spoke to her.
There was a walk-through exhibit on secrets of the soil. The kids are inside giant models of cicadas here.
Sue's skull is too heavy to be included in the skeleton in the museum, so a replica is used for the skull. Instead, the real skull is housed separately upstairs.
I think that the kids' real highlight was visiting the museum gift shop - they both opted to get their souvenir for the trip from here. Daniel was obsessed with this vest and was so proud to wear it.
Annika picked out a Dragon Puppet, which was been dubbed Stinger (I am trying to train myself to say this, and not Splinter or Spitter or whatnot).
The Sears Tower
We headed to the
View from the top. We got to see the sun set and night set in while we were up there - so magical.
The best part of the Sears Tower is getting to walk out into the glass boxes and look down through the plexiglass floor in absolute terror.
Annika and Daniel were both great sports, although Annika did report later that she was more afraid of falling than she thought.
Photographic proof that Will was there, too.
Lots of Eating & Walking
We calculated that we walked at least 5 miles outside today, which is good, since we also enjoyed many opportunities to eat, too.
Lunch at Subway, one of the few restaurants that all four of us love.
Post-museum snack at Baskin Robbins. Notice how D is wearing his vest over this coat, so that he can stay warm and show all random passerbys his new vest.
After the Sears Tower tonight, we hiked over to Giordano's for some of their famous deep-dished, stuffed pizza. The children ordered off of the kids' menu instead, but Will and I can attest that it was absolutely delicious.
We did NOT go swimming.
After all of today's adventures, we did not make it back to the hotel until 9:41 p.m., while the pool closes at 10:00 p.m. Fortunately, I convinced the kids that we could all go swimming first thing tomorrow morning while Will is doing his long mid-week run.
On tap tomorrow: visiting the Museum of Science & Industry, and having dinner with my high school friend, Ashley!
1 comment:
Collin was so excited/envious that Daniel got to meet Sue!!! ;)
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