Yeah…it’s not quite spring here yet, but we’re working on it.
Henry’s working especially hard
Mom and I are just hoping sunny smiles and cool shades will do the trick
On my trek out to California, I had an adventure with knitting a scarf. It had several lives, but ultimately, it ended up quite lovely. I asked Henry to model it for me, and he did a great job.
And he had so much fun modeling, he just couldn’t stop!
Last week was the boys’ spring break from school, so we hit Union Depot to start our journey to Chicago
A weird filter happened on my camera, and I captured some oddly blue moments before I realized it.
The first hour of the train ride seemed to be the most magical thing the boys had ever experienced.
And after that it was just plain fun for the rest of the day. Card games, reading and activity books were well-used, but more than anything, they just wanted to explore the train.
Here, Charlie is writing I LOVE THE AMTRAK!
Dining car lunch
We made it to town around dinner time, so we cooked up some food and then hit the hay. The next day was our big explore day!
Crystal Garden fountains that Joe remembered fondly from childhood.
His sons loved them as well
Navy Pier
Wandering downtown. Joe’s up on that pedestrian bridge. Charlie is hiding from him somewhere up there! Ack!
We spent a lot of time examining the rocks embedded in the Times building
Namesake of Charlie’s school
Joe’s fave
And then…CLOUD GATE FUNTIMES
Nothing better than interacting with public art
After all that, the boys headed to the airbnb and I experienced some not-so-public art in the Institute. Look what I found! Miniatures!
Then that evening, Jane and Darren hosted a delightful dinner gathering. I had assumed that having the boys with us meant this Chicago trip would not also be able to be a friends trip. But I was wrong. We saw people every day, which was a wonderful treat. Way to go, friends!
Darren and Charlie always seem to end up connecting with each other on a whole other level.
The next day, we headed south to the Museum of Science and Industry, because that’s pretty much what my kids are into.
Mad scientists!
In that space, there was a huge Tesla coil hanging from the ceiling that would go off every so often, making an abrupt, loud and unpleasant noise, so the boys couldn’t wait to get out of there. Henry could wait even less, so he and I took off in a hurry. Turned out well, because this place was huge, and dividing and conquering was the best way for the kids to follow their own hearts.
Looking through the bottom of the plane to see the model of Chicago below
I felt like I was in the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum with Grover. “Wowee, what a tall hall!”
Henry really hates when strangers offer to take our family photo
Streets of yesterday. Reminded me of The House on the Rock
A toy manufacturer, where people could design their own toy and watch it made from start to finish. We watched other people’s toys being made, which is kind of cheating, but just as cool!
This was the total highlight. A pinball machine designed for the Swiss National Tourist Office. Seriously. They were so into it, and watched it over and over and over. Henry cried when we finally had to walk away.
This was pretty amazing, too. A captured U-Boat towed from the coast of Africa with a giant hall built around it.
A fairy castle!
Bye Bye, Museum! Thanks for entertaining us on a rainy day.
After those action-packed days, the boys wanted to do one thing: to be surrounded by books. So we spent the whole morning at a library.
Then, after a ramen lunch on Milwaukee Ave, we headed to Myopic Bookstore.
On our walk to lunch, we had passed a park that the boys liked the look of, so we wandered back. Charlie and I got on a street that split and veered the wrong direction, though, so we had quite a time figuring out how to get back there. Worth it in the end, though.
Of all the things we did, the highlights for Charlie and Henry seem to have been taking the ‘L’ and the Amtrak, so we ended the journey on the perfect note: heading down to the subway on our way to Union Station.
Joe chose a sleeper car for us for the way back, and we were all grateful.
Happy Spring! Hopefully it will be here soon, anyway.
