Back from vacation.

I am back, and the split stitch is now open again.  Myself, my kids, husband, in-laws and their kids all went to Chicago last week and over the weekend.  We had a blast, and hit all of the touristy places, rode the "L", the bus and water taxi, and had some really good eats.  And of course I took a bunch of pictures ...

Myself, husband and kids @ Navy Pier.

View from Water Taxi on the way to the Navy Pier.

Upside down jelly fish @ Shedd Aquarium.

Jelly fish @ Shedd Aquarium.

The Navy Pier @ Night.

Benjamin on the Sky Deck 103 floors above Chicago.

Walking through "the bean" (Cloud Gate) in Millenium Park.

"Sue" @ The Field Museum.

We went to Chicago last summer too, but were only there for around 3 days, and did not feel like we got our fill, so we went back again this year. Now we feel as though we have "done" Chicago, and are planning on going down south or to the East Coast for our vacation next summer.  The great thing about Chicago though, is that it is less than a 6 hour drive for us. 

This year we were smart and bought City passes . With City passes you get reduced rates to the major attractions, and in some cases get to get in your attraction faster.  We went to: The Field Museum, The Adler Planetarium, The SkyDeck, The Museum of Science and Industry and The Shedd Aquarium.   We had already been to Shedd and the Willis (aka Sears) Tower SkyDeck, so those were nothing new to us, but we really enjoyed the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry.  Both museums are a nerd's dream.  And, being that I am such a nerd at heart, I loved them both.  My favorites were seeing Sue the T-Rex fossil at the Field Museum and the indoor lightning and tornado at the Museum of Science and Industry.  

If I were to go back to Chicago I would visit both museums again, because there is so much to see.  I would however skip the planetarium, it was pretty boring to me, but maybe that is because I am not that interested in space.  They had some funny shirts in the gift shop though, my favorite one said "Pluto, Revolve in Peace" (referring to Plutos downgraded status from planet to dwarf planet). 

We also window shopped along the Magnificent Mile (which is all we can afford), hit up the Water Tower Place,  bought fabric in Bucktown and strolled along Armitage Avenue.  We went to the Navy Pier, the Taste of Chicago and saw "the bean" in Millenium Park.   At the taste of Chicago we of course had some Chicago style hot dogs and fries, and dessert from Eli's Cheesecake Company.  When we were not at the Taste of Chicago we ate at several places including Lou Malnatis for some Chicago style pizza, the Weber Grill (where I had the BEST burger ever), Bubba Gump Shrimp on the Pier and Garrett Popcorn.  Whew!  That was a lot to fit into a vacation that lasted less than a week, but such a great time!

The smartest thing I took with me this year, that I did not last year?  This book:

I borrowed this from the Library and really got a lot more out of my Chicago trip this year, having this book on hand.  The pull out map with transit info was also really handy. 

Have you gone anywhere fun this summer?

Hugs,