#11: Take a Vacation Together to Chicago

Ok, I promise this is my last post about our trip to Chicago/ Wisconsin!  It just might be a really long one... :) 

Trevor and I have been talking about taking a trip to Chicago ever since we moved to Kansas City.  His cousin, Sara, and her husband Michael live in Chicago and they had graciously offered for us to come and visit and stay with them.  So we decided to finally take them up on their offer!

The first day we decided to start walking from Sara and Michael's condo towards downtown.  Lincoln Park was on the way so we stopped at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  It was interesting that this was right in the middle of the city.  You could see the skyscrapers in the background the whole time you were inside the zoo. 

Some pictures of the animals we saw at the zoo.  I especially liked watching the mama gorilla and her baby cuddle together.

 

After we left the zoo, we kept walking towards downtown Chicago.  We did a little bit of shopping on Michigan Avenue.....

And then we stopped to have some Chicago-style deep dish pizza at Giordano's.  Mmmmmmmm.... :)  They look little, but they were SO filling!

We then took Sara and Michael's advice and took an Architecture River Cruise on the Chicago River.  I have to say I would never have thought of doing this myself since I'm not really "into" architecture or anything, but it was really interesting.  It was a great way to see the city and it was a nice change from ALL the walking we'd been doing.  It is really mind-blowing how they build these skyscrapers.  Here are some pictures from the river cruise...

 

We then walked over and explored Millennium Park for awhile. Here's some pictures of the Cloud Gate sculpture that Chicagoans have affectionately nicknamed "The Bean" for obvious reasons.  When Trevor first took my picture in front of it, he took the picture really up close where it looked like I just had a mirror behind me.  I had to have him retake it after I explained the point was to have the reflection of the Chicago skyline in the background! :)

We then went and had dinner at the Navy Pier.  I think we were getting pretty tired by this point from all the walking he had done.  Somehow this is the only picture we took that shows we went there...

I did convince Trevor that we needed to take a bus BACK that night.  We figured out that we walked about 9 miles that first day.  I had just worn my Old Navy flip flops and, let me tell you, my feet were HURTING that night.

So the next day we slept in a little and after Trevor went to Walgreens to buy me some blister band-aids, we decided to do some exploring of  Sarah and Michael's neighborhood.  They live in an area called Lakeview, which I believe is also referred to as Boystown.  There's a reason it's called "Boystown" apparently....let's just say there were a lot of really neat, eclectic shops and restaurants.  Google it if you still don't catch my drift.... Trevor felt a little uncomfortable walking around there! :)   Anyway, we stopped at a Thai restaurant and had some really good Pad Thai and then we went and got some hot fudge sundaes that Michael swears are the best he's ever had.  I think he may be right!  The picture on the right is of Trevor eating his sundae in front of the entrance to Sara and Michael's condo.

We then took a bus (thank goodness!) to the Field Museum of Natural History. 

Here's Trevor in front of Sue, the largest, most complete, and best preserved T-Rex fossil yet discovered.

This next picture was also a highlight to Trevor for reasons I still don't completely understand since I haven't seen the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness." These two lions are the Tsavo Maneaters.  I guess the history is that in 1898 the British started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo River in East Africa. Over the next nine months, these two large male lions killed and ate nearly 140 of the railway workers until they were finally shot and killed.  The movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" is based on these lions.

After the museum, we spent a little more time walking on Michigan Avenue before we met up with Sara and Michael at Soldier Field to watch the pre season Chicago Bears vs. Kansas City Chiefs game.  Michael got us tickets, so now I've finally been to an NFL game!  I still have to say I'm more of a college football fan, but it was still a fun experience and the Chiefs ended up winning!

We had a really great time in Chicago on our first "official vacation!"  Thanks so much Sara and Michael for being great hosts!