7:31 AM - Our train arrives at the Amtrak station in Bloomington. We hop on!
9:15 AM - We arrive at Union Station and ask lots of questions and obtain maps. I'm thankful that I married someone who is good with directions. In Grant's words, he "enjoys figuring out cities". I think we both do - he's just way better at it. :)
We spent the day exploring and wandering through Chicago. We weren't on a strict time schedule and had time to just relax and enjoy the beautiful day, too. Our main stops were Skydeck Chicago (in Willis Tower), Millennium Park, and Shedd Aquarium. Here are a few pictures:
Willis Tower
on The Ledge - it was a little scary!
If I sit, I can't fall... right? :)
We walked a while and came to Millennium Park. We had some time just sit and relax here, and also walk around a little bit. There were some Latino Dance/Singing groups from Texas performing randomly throughout the the park kind of like flash mobs - so that was kind of fun to watch them.
There's this long stretch of concrete with really shallow water in between these two tall "waterfall" things. It was fun to just sit there and people-watch - these little kids were splashing around and this couple was taking some wedding pictures.
We had to check out the Bean, of course - it was fun to experiment with the reflections.
Shedd Aquarium
Turtles - we thought of you, Addie!
The Aquatic Show
The "4-D Experience" was pretty fun - it was this video that was in 3-D and also with wind and snow effects.
After Shedd Aquarium, we took a walk around Lake Michigan before catching a bus back to Downtown to eat and then board our train.
We ate at Pizano's - we had deep dish pizza AND a deep dish cookie pizza for dessert. :) Yum!
It had plenty of whipped cream for me - I scraped it off. :)
7:00 PM - We board our train for home. I fell asleep almost immediately. We also read a little bit - Grant has been reading When Helping Hurts and I've been reading Captivating and Teaching with Love and Logic - all are books that we would highly recommend! Teaching with Love and Logic takes a fascinating approach to classroom management and discipline. I sometimes wish I was still teaching so I could try out all the techniques on my students!
10:30 PM - We arrive home!
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and were so thankful for the time we got to spend together. Time to start another week!
So at first when I saw the pictures of the ledge on the Willis Tower I didn't realize that there were walls behind you and I freaked out a little bit with how close to the edge you were. :) But looks like fun... glad you had a great time!!! Love you, Leah
ReplyDeletethat's what Auntie said too - but there's no way b/c the wind would blow you off if you were right there! :) I NEVER would have gone out there if there were no walls... it was a little scary as it were!
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