Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Our quick trip to Chicago

Me and my boys

Orlando and Tyson in the hotel lobby

On our drive from West Virginia to Wisconsin the boys and I made a short stop in Chicago. I've been trying to get to Chicago for some time now, so I was really excited to finally get a chance to visit. Although it was a quick visit, I really tried to make the best of it. I was a little apprehensive about exploring the city because once I got off the expressway, driving to the hotel was a bit stressful. I'm from a big city (Atlanta) but Chicago was different...really different. More people walking, more traffic, and more cars. It was a real city!! I felt like cars and people were coming at me from every direction! A nice gentleman even relaxed his hands on his horn to let me know that I was driving too slow !! I thought that was so kind of him (not). It really freaked me out. Luckily, the hotel was close and the valet was nice enough to take my car off my hands for the night(for $60/night...I thought that was ridiculous but I was so frazzled I didn't even care). We stayed at the Wyndham Grand Chicago Riverfront. It was really nice and I would stay there again. When we finally settled in, I decided that the boys and I would lock ourselves in our hotel room to stay away from the "crazy horn people." After calming down and realizing that I only had one day in Chicago I decided to go out and explore with the boys. We grabbed a cab and headed to The Children's Museum of Chicago, and I'm so glad we did. Chicago truly is a beautiful city! The Museum was located at the Navy Pier which was a nice experience. I can only imagine how beautiful the Navy Pier is during the spring/summer months.The boys love going to Museums and they thoroughly enjoyed the one in Chicago. Of course the visit wasn't complete until they scored something from the gift shop (they negotiate well). After leaving the museum we took a stroll down Michigan Avenue and let me tell you, that's a shopper's dream! After drooling over retail we made our way back to our hotel and enjoyed room service while watching cartoons.  The boys had to wear the same shirts two day in a row, but that's a story for another day.
The next morning we headed out but not before grabbing breakfast at the hotel's restaurant downstairs per Orlando's request. I was thinking about picking up breakfast on the road but Orlando wanted to go all out before leaving the "Windy City!"

Since Madison is only 2 1/2 hours from Chicago I'm hoping we can visit again during the summer. I'm sure my little travel buddies wouldn't mind and maybe daddy can make a cameo appearance. He has a lot on his plate these days...a good problem to have.  I'm extremely grateful that he works so hard to provide all these opportunities for the boys and I. I'm so Thankful.

Their first cab ride

Tyson trying to be cool, Orlando always doing the right thing! Lol
My little builders
 
 
Orlando walking through the obstacle course


Water table. They loved this. They also had this one at the Chattanooga Museum

Quick photo. Can you tell that we were tired but trying to pretend not to be?

Navy Pier (frozen)
What would a visit to the Museum be without a photo with T-REX!


View from our hotel room. Beautiful.
 
Room service - Calamari
 
Hotel room view
                          

Room Service (for the boys)

Room Service (crab stuffed Salmon w/risotto)

 

Breakfast with the boys at hotel restaurant

Boys eating good!

1 comment:

  1. You are indeed a soldier, Chicago can be intimidating and you survived. There's also a premier African American museum there also. You have a lot of family in the City. I'll let you know how to reach them on Facebook. Love you!

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