My sister, brother, and I just spent almost a week in Chicago. We had a blast! What a cool city. We got to see so much and did quite a bit in the time we were there. We left on Monday from Detroit and found our hotel easy enough. Once we unpacked we headed for the city.
The first place we went was the Sears Tower. There was very little visibility, but it was still beautiful and you could see a lot of the city. It was neat how the city just kind of faded away in the distance. I'm super scared of heights and was really nervous about going up that high, but that was so awesome. I loved it up there. My sister was pretty scared, but I thought it was amazing.
After the Sears Tower we went to the Chicago Historical Society. This was free on Monday and I was kind of glad it was since it was probably the most disappointing place we went. They are in the midst of a major renovation and only had 3 exhibits open to the public. The one that I really wanted to see, the history of Chicago, was closed. The one exhibit they did have was called "Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America" and dealt with a very dark period in American history. It was very graphic and really emotional. There was also an exhibit of photography done by teenagers showing their life. There were some interesting photos. The other exhibit, "A Compassionate Eye: The Photographs of Declan Haun, 1961-69" was interesting. Overall it was hard to shake the images seen in the "Without Sanctuary" exhibit. After that we left the city and got some dinner and rested in the hotel room.
On Tuesday our first stop for the day was the Field Museum. What a cool place. It is so huge, with so many really cool exhibits. The architecture of the building alone was amazing. I loved the Native American exhibits. The Nature Walk was really cool too. The special exhibit of dinosaurs from China was really interesting. I loved seeing Sue. We didn't get to see everything there since we wanted to go to the aquarium also, but we went through most of the exhibits. We probably could have spent the whole day there.
After the Field Museum we went to the John G. Shedd Aquarium. It is a very nice aquarium. I loved the tank with the fishes found on the reef right at the beginning. The only part I didn't like was the tanks with the Great Lakes fish since I've seen most of them at home. My sister and I had fun picking out the fish from the movie "Finding Nemo" We didn't do any of the special exhibits or shows though. After the aquarium we walked along Lake Shore Dr to the Buckingham fountain. That was beautiful. We stopped often along the way to get pictures of the lake and skyline. It was so picturesque and beautiful that day.
On Wednesday we dedicated the entire day for the Lincoln Park Zoo and Conservatory. I think that the Lincoln Park Zoo is one of the best zoos I've ever been to. It is step up really nicely. There is a nice flow to it. The best part was the polar bears! They were so fun to watch and you can tell that they really like the people. The lions were beautiful also. The Conservatory was also beautiful. So many pretty flowers and plants. I took so many pictures in there! The only bad thing about the day was that it was probably the hottest day of the trip at almost 90 degrees. After the zoo and conservatory we ate at the Hard Rock Café. The food was good, but you definitely pay for the ambience of it.
On Thursday we went to the Museum of Science and Industry, which is inside another gorgeous building. The best part was the U-505 display. That was awesome. The only complaint I had was that it was difficult to get a good picture of it, with the lighting in the room. What an awesome sight it was though. I liked that there was lots of hands on stuff to do also. We each had fun sending coded messages to our selves using the Enigma machine. We tried the games in the periscopes and tried our hand at making the sub dive (my sister and I got us sunk!). Just so much to see and do, which I really enjoyed. I also liked the exhibit "Yesterday's Main Street." My sister was in awe of Colleen Moore's fairy castle. It was beautiful. There was a lot to see here. I thought the third floor was a waste of time though. You can tell that they put a lot of time into creating the exhibits below and less on those on the third floor. Things up there didn't work, it was outdated and even kind of smelled old and musty. Wouldn't recommend going up to the balcony level to anyone. If I went again I would focus on the other two levels.
After the Museum of Science and Industry we went to the Art Institute of Chicago. That is one of the most confusing places I have ever been. The map was difficult to read and it was a challenge to find the things we wanted to see. I'm not a fan of modern art or abstract art. I like the older European and American paintings. It took us a while to find those. Once we found what we were looking for it was much more enjoyable. We didn’t get to see everything because we were getting tired. We stopped by Millennium Park on the way back to the car after the Art Institute. Interesting place.
On Friday we went to Navy Pier. I loved Navy Pier. My sister and I had fun buying some accessories and stuff for our Build-A-Bears from the Build-A-Bear store. The sights from the pier were great. The water was really choppy on Friday. It was very windy and cool on Friday. I loved sitting at the end of the pier and watching the lake. The stained glass museum inside Navy Pier was really cool. There were some interesting pieces and some that were just stunning.
After Navy Pier we went shopping on Magnificent Mile. My sister and I fulfilled a childhood dream when we went to the American Girls store. Both of us have always wanted an American Girls doll. We read the books when we were young, we got the catalog in the mail, even had a subscription to the magazine when it came out. But we never got a doll. I think we both felt like little kids again inside the store. My sister got the newest doll, Elizabeth, while I got my favorite from when I was younger, Kirsten.
After we were done shopping we went back to the hotel and begun packing up our stuff so we could leave the next day. Our hotel wasn't the greatest and you could tell that it was poorly maintained so we were happy to be checking out. We were also happy to leave all the traffic behind, along with the crazy cab drivers and semis. We were all very happy to get back to Michigan. Overall it was a fun trip and I would definitely go back.
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