City Pass

Part of spring break was a quick getaway to Chicago to enjoy what we could of downtown. Luckily enough we got to experience quite a lot with the "city pass" think of it like a "fast pass" a la Disney.....ie not waiting in any lines ( bypassing the 90 minute wait for the skywalk and the 2+ hour wait to get into the shed!) admission to all the extra shows and exhibits to 6+ museums and attractions, and a chance to force ourselves to go to places we wouldn't normally fork over the $$ to go to just to "check it out".......

Our first stop was the Willis Tower (aka Sears Tower) SkyWalk......Brady thought it didn't look that tall driving into the city but when we stood underneath it thoughts began to change and a small "I don't want to do this" may have squeaked out.....

Then that quickly faded away as he stepped out on the glass ledge like no big whoop and I will say it again, this kid won't swim, ride a bike, or talk with adults but this .......this he will do??

Mom didn't really like the feeling of them being out there alone....its quite a weird sensation.

But truly once you get out there .....you get used to it.....

The views were great as we had a beautiful clear sunny day!

The kids actually went back for seconds.......

Oh and dad too......

After about an hour and a half up on the 103rd floor we were all ready to move onto the next site.

But not before we got suckered into the commemorative photo!
Next stop Museum of Science and Industry....this is one that we could definitely go back to as there was SO much to see and do we didn't get to it all before the kids were dying to get to the hotel and go swimming!

There was plenty to see and do at this place probably not the best place to start at 2pm... you could have definitely used a full day here.

We checked out the submarine.....

Looked in awe at the model trains and model cities....

Experimented with lights and sounds.....

Tested our climbing skills.....

Then finally it was time to check into the hotel and soak our tired feet in the pool/hot tub......

We got to meet up with cousin Coco for the the hotels 2 hours of free drinks and appetizers before heading to Gino's for some pie.....Brady fell asleep before dinner even came, lucky enough he nabbed about 37 maraschino cherries from the buffet table at the reception (think...."mom I am just going to throw this napkin away".......then doing a cherry drive by every time stuffing about 3-4 in his mouth each time) So I didn't feel that bad when he missed dinner. But I did feel bad for one Dad who had to lug him home the whole way.

Brooke and Brady mid cherry and hummus/chips inhaling....

Third stop was the Shed Aquarium...

We got to see the dolphin show.

Check out lots of fish...

experience a 4D movie (think mist in your face when its making a splash, gusts of air when it is windy.....and a nice jolt in the seat back when they landed with a thump....lets just say I didn't have my gimpy neck prepared for that one!)

Took breaks for lunch and snacks.

Experienced the Jellies exhibit.

Watched the Beluga Whales.

Said goodbye to the Shed after 4+ hours of sea life.....

Brady wanted to bike to the Field museum.....its literally the next building in the picture.

As mentioned the Field Museum was next, we figured this would be a quick visit since there are only a few items the kids would be interested in.

Including picking this Gorilla's nose.

And seeing Sue, the T-Rex. She who was named after the explorer that found it not necessarily a girl was pretty impressive.

Last and final Museum stop was the planetarium.......We only had an hour and a half until closing time but still fit in a 3d movie and a lot of running around on a kid space craft ....(which of course they both loved!)

Brady dressed and ready for take off....

Brooke trapped while her brother threw foam rocks at her.....ahhh memories.

So after 48 hours of walking the city non stop our kids finally learned the term "my dogs are barking" and literally "enjoyed" the 3 hour drive home because we were sitting!