Road Trip - St. Louis to Chicago!

Chicago or BUST!!

Day 1 - Headed to Chi Town

Speaking of holidays, Mom has been yammering on about going up to Chicago for years now and Dad finally told her that this is really the last time driving to Chicago would be a 1 day journey. Now, keep in mind that Morty and I have both projectile vomit car sick more times than we can count and driving was a risky idea, plus being in a small space together for 5+ hours - yeesh!

Half way there and we stopped to have one of Morty's pre-approved lunches at Subway. 

Dude doesn't branch out much and given the options - this was the healthiest anyhow.

 I'm so glad we risked it because it was the BEST weekend!! As soon as we arrived Morty jumped into his robe, slipper and snuggled in with his new Teddy.

Whats NOT to love about Chicago??!!

Tea time - Pinkies up!

About an hour after Morty decompressed we headed down to the lobby for our very first afternoon High Tea. Who needs Cotillion? Clearly we just emanate grace, style and sophistication.

We didn't have too much time on the first day between our Tea and dinner but we had to burn off our sugar buzz somehow. No better place than the pool I say! There's something about swimming in February that just seems super off, but I like it anyhow.

A stock photo - but if you look at the dumplings on the right - THAT is what makes my mouth water!

DINNER!: Now I was sooooooo in love with out dinner I think we forgot to take photos! 
It was my first Dim Sum (I know - crazy, right?!) experience and I just couldn't stop eating and saying yum. To this day I cannot stop talking about going back Shanghai Terrace is THE best Chinese restaurant!!

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DAY 2

Day 2 Headed to Museum & Acquarium

The  next morning Mom declared we were hitting at least 2 museums so we better eat a hearty breakfast and get on good walking shoes. First stop - The Field Museum!!

Okay, not every part was my favorite.

We sent Daddy an elephant photo to let him know we were thinking of him at home.

Here's Mortys favorite "bird" -- I cant remember the name but its extinct now and I think we should be happy about that or humans might be picked off pretty at an alarming rate. 

We saw Sue, the T-Rex, we saw a 3D movie! I could have spent days in that place but Mom said that if we were going to see the Shedd Aquarium, we had to get a move on. 

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  I have to say that the Shedd Aquarium was not my favorite. I think we are spoiled by the California Academy of Sciences and the Atlanta Aquarium but we did manage to find some incredible hats.Don't get me wrong, it had a lot of cool stuff and if we hadn't just been to the Field Museum it might have been down right cool, but there were high expectations.

The area of the Shedd Museum that blew me was the Beluga whales!! Yes - while whales swimming freely right in front of us. We all were singing Baby Beluga by Raffi by the time we left.

It had been a long, informative, exciting and adventurous day which meant it was time to sit down and recap with a "high, Low, what do you know?" Q & A session over dinner. Mom didn't ask us what we wanted - instead she told us that there was a place we HAD to make a been line for.
 LITTLE GOAT DINER! How cute is that name??!! Everyone gave it a thumbs up and that is RARE!

We had a little more time to kill before heading to bed so Mom agreed that we should get our FISH skills on and head back to the pool. I'm pretty sure Morty would LIVE in a pool if you let him. Hes so friendly in the pool too!

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DAY 3, February 19th !

On our final day in The Windy City we decided to make Dad proud and get our forced march on. Mom said there was a lot in it for us if we just kept hoofing it, so we did and she was right!

First Stop: Cloud Gate. We couldn't come to Chicago without seeking out some public art. This one is a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Sir Anish Kapoor, that is the centerpiece of AT&T Plaza at Millennium Park. Its one of the worlds largest outdoor installations. Its GORGEOUS!

 

Second stop: Maggie Daley Park! Okay, this is HANDS DOWN the best park I have ever seen, heard of or imagined!! This photos doesn't do it justice but its HUGE and you can see the water from it too. Its so so so much fu, even Dad said he was jealous that we were able to go in mid February!

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Third Stop: Dillans Candy Bar. When Mom said it was time for lunch I have to admit we were more than a little peeved.  She didn't tell us where we were going so we dragged out feet the whole way there until we saw the sign. We both thought she was kidding!!

To save Mom's reputation, we did have an actual lunch before this monstrocity - who cares what it was ---- THIS was the goal AND she lets us get some candy for the road!!! #BESTLUNCHEVER ~

P.s. did I tell you it was Morty's Half Birthday too?/!!

Third Stop: Tilt at The John Hancock Building/Center - Chicago360

 

 This place was NUTS! You go allllll the way to the top of the building to the observation deck to see all of Chicago 1,030 feet above the ground and then you PAY to push yourself against a window that Tilts out so you can see directly down!!! NO way Jose! Mom and Morty were all about it but I used my sane brain to keep myself safe and sound. They loved it!

The view was cool but I didn't need to feel like I was falling to the ground to enjoy it.

Half Birthday boy !

After all that excitement, sugar, walking around and playing we decided to head back to the hotel for a rest and to regroup. Naturally we were dying to get BACK in the pool and mom caved.

The Jacuzzi was a huge highlight too!

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Day 4, Time to head back to The Lou

Mom asked us what we wanted to do before we got on the road and for once we agreed without any arguing - The Maggie Daley Park!! All we had to do was eat breakfast and pack our bags... this might sound like an easy task - but lets just say Mo isn't exactly a breakfast lover.

Ready to go!

WEEEEeeeeee!!

Mom said that after all the energy we burned off their better be some peace and quiet in the car, so we practiced!

 On the way out of the park we found this cool area in Millenium Park, sadly I don't know the name of the artist but we took a couple cool photos and we knew that Dad would love the color! Millenium park has sooooo many cool things going on - especially in the warmer months with the fountain, the concert venue and so much more. Its such a cool space.

JUMP!

It was time to say goodbye to the windy city and head back home to our friends, family & pups. Until next time Chicago!!

Unbeknownst to us, Mom had one more stop in mind before we made it back to Missouri. 

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum!

My cousin Leila has been talking about this place since she was in the 2nd grade! 

 We were soooo excited!! 

Mo and I with Lincoln and his family

It was soooo interesting, I wish we had more time to read and see everything, but I'm so glad we went!

See you later Lincoln. It was fun, it was real and some might say Real Fun! - Ha see what I did there?/!!

After a what seemed like forever, we finally saw our beloved Arch in the distance. We had such a fun trip but we were so glad to be heading back to our own beds, in our own rooms and hugging our peeps and pups. Plus we were tired of Mom going on about how much things were "aching" - getting old sucks! Or maybe it was this silly boot shes been wearing for weeks now. Maybe both.