Chicago

We took the train....that's about all I have to say about that.

Kalamazoo Train Station

I think the kids enjoyed it.

I won't do it again, unless it's my only choice.

It was late. It was dirty. It made me a little motion sick.

So I guess I did have something to say about it.
Once we got to Chicago we went to our hotel. It was really nice.
The Courtyard Marriot on Ontario St.
Right off of Michigan Ave.
For lunch we walked to Ed Debevic's. Not too impressed, definitely go for the atmosphere but not for the food, just average diner food.
But we had a good time.

From there we took a cab to the Shedd Aquarium.
We really liked it. I think the prices are ridiculous but we still had a great time.
The view from there looking into the city is awesome.

I love the jellyfish.
I am not fond of them in the water when I'm swimming but they are amazing creatures.

There were a lot of people there but we were able to see and do everything we wanted to in about 2 1/2 hours.

For dinner that night we went to Ginos East. Jacob really wanted to try Chicago style deep dish pizza. So after waiting about 30 minutes outside we sat down and ordered only to wait another 45 minutes to get our food. Thats standard with the deep dish. It was good.

After we ate we rushed down to Water Tower Place only to have 5 minutes to shop.

So we decided to come back on Sunday to shop.

My favorite place of the weekend was the Museum of Science and Industry. I wasn't feeling very well but I loved it. I think the kids did too. I think that we could've spent a full day here. Because we had other things to do and a train to catch we only were able to spend about 3 hrs here.

Next stop the Sears Tower......well its called something else now but I can't remember what.

It will always be the Sears Tower to me.

I LOVE the glass floor.

So did the kids. Jeremy stepped out on it for a second but had no desire to take pictures lol.

FINALLY, the Lego Store. Jacob has been wanting to head to the lego store since I told him about it years ago. We shopped for a little bit but once again we were in a hurry.

And the Hershey store. The kids enjoyed using the chocolate machine and picking out some favorite candies. Fun!

All in all it was a wonderful trip. Not long enough. We needed a whole day to just walk (not run) around on Michigan Avenue. We also could've spend more time at the museum. I think they would've enjoyed the Cheesecake Factory, the Disney store, Crate and Barrel (well that was for me), and several other places.

I hope Jacob enjoyed his 12th birthday trip.