We walked out of the park and rounded a corner and got blasted with a long stretch of crazy wind! We had to hold Riley up and it was blowing Roy's jacket right off his shoulders! It was so funny to see Riley's pony tails flying in the wind and Leighton's pants blowing all over his legs.
Roy had a bit of time left for an early lunch, so we went to RJ Grunts, which Leighton had collected a business card for when he was 2 (and we have a wonderful collection of hundreds of business cards and gifts cards we've collected in the years since and go through every now and then for a trip down memory lane!) and we've wanted to try ever since. I don't think Leighton could have been more excited about his burger (which he ate all of. And I was full before finishing mine even without a bun!).
The kids and I then spent a few hours at Lincoln Park Zoo. It wasn't busy and the weather was lovely. We rode the train (MUCH shorter and less exciting ride than at Hermann Park, but fun for them nonetheless!) and carousel. Seeing the sea lions from underneath and watching the river otters play were certainly highlights. We also got super excited for the kangaroos and camel, both of which we don't have at our zoo here.
When we exited the zoo, we ended up at the ideal skyline photo spot.
And then we went to the Farm in the Zoo, which we had seen earlier in the morning and Riley had been desperate to get to all day!
I then gave them a few options because we were on our feet all day:
1. take the bus to go to Maggie Daley Park and Millenium Park one more time (I had hoped for enough time to go to the Art Institute but we ran out of time).
2. walk back to the hotel.
3. take the bus back to the hotel.
They chose to get on the bus (a city bus is so exciting!) and go back to the parks. We realized we had not gone to the Crown Fountain the other day and that playground was just too amazing to not go to one more time! And Riley went on every big slide this time!
 |
| Go Cubs! |
The sun was going down and it was time to get back to the hotel for dinner (the benefit of staying at the Residence Inn - they provide dinner on some weeknights and this night was pasta and salad - perfect!) for the three of us, so I once again gave the kids some options:
1. take the city bus back to the hotel
2. take a cab back to the hotel
3. walk back to the hotel to do Michigan Ave one more time
Leighton really wanted to walk, but we both understood that Riley was pretty tired from all the walking already. Plus - seeing how hailing a cab and riding in one worked was a novelty! It got dark fast so I needed to use my flash to get a picture of the kids in the cab and laughed so hard at the bug eyes they kept giving me.
Such a wonderful, fun filled day with lots of city adventures. When I was little, we had a book (I'll ask Nick which one) that had a part about riding in a taxi with "little let down seats." These were small, flat disks that folded down from the back of the front seat to provide extra seating. The mommies and daddies sat on the real back seat. We used to love getting into a taxi and sitting on those seats. Now, of course, safety says wear a seatbelt.
ReplyDeleteThe little let down seats sound fun!!
Delete