Chicago Family Vacation - Day 1

I know Chicago may not seem like the typical family vacation spot, but if you live in the Midwest or are out there for a family event (like we were), it is a fantastic place to visit.  We headed into the city on Monday morning and were luckily able to check into our hotel room early.  We stayed at the Embassy Suites downtown on State Street.  I highly recommend staying at an Embassy Suites whenever traveling with kids because of the ability to break the suite into two rooms.  Our kids slept on the pull out bed and they loved that they had their own TV.  Plus, a full spread buffet breakfast can accommodate even the pickiest eaters!

After checking in, we were off on our adventure through the Windy City.  The kids' first exciting thing to do, take their first real taxi ride!  (Seriously, that's all they could talk about.)

Our taxi took us to The Field Museum. 

 

There we saw Sue, the Dinosaur - the largest and most complete T-Rex in the world.  

They even had a 3D video about Sue that helped show what life was probably like when Sue existed.  I thought it was kind of scary and violent, but the kids loved it!

We were able to eat lunch at the museum's on site McDonald's and Corner Bakery, and then it was off to the next sight across the street. 

What is that the kids are pointing to?  One of their daddy's favorite places in the city, Soldier Field.  We walked around the entire stadium. 

While on our walk, we ran into the Chicago Bears mascot, Staley.  That was yet another highlight for the kids, for sure!

Staley gave the kids stickers and that was enough to make them even bigger Bear fans than they were before!  From soldier field, we walked over near the Shedd Aquarium where we noticed water taxis. 

Taxi + ride on a boat = Super excited kids and an amazing view of the city!

 The water took us to Navy Pier.  Yes, Navy Pier is definitely a tourist trap, but we had tons of fun there.  We bought ride tickets so the kids could go on the carousel, the light house ride, drive the remote control boats, play miniature golf, and we could go on the Ferris Wheel as a family for even more amazing views.

After that busy day, we hailed another taxi and high-tailed it back to our hotel to rest our feet.  On our way back to the hotel, we passed so many different restaurants.  One of the restaurants we passed that piqued our interest was the Weber Grill Restaurant.  Of course, we had heard of Weber Grills, but had no idea they had a restaurant (well, actually 4 locations in Illinois and Indiana).  And since it was across the street from our hotel, we loved that we could just walk over with the kids and enjoy a nice dinner. 

They have a great menu for both adults and kids and it is pretty reasonable.  Plus, our added bonus of the night was 1/2 off pricing for bottles of wine.  Score one for mommy and daddy! After dinner we were able to walk back to the hotel so the kids could enjoy their $17.99 in-room movie (The Lorax)  and I could relax and watch The Bachelorette. 

All in all, it was a great day in Chicago!

Stay tuned for details of Day 2 coming soon!