2018 Summer Road Trip: Day 6

Okay, before I write about Day 6, I have to finish Day 5. I can't believe I didn't include this in the previous post. After our trip to the beach got rained out, we decided to get out of the city quickly and find somewhere to eat on our way out. We were staying at a wildlife refuge (of sorts) southwest of Chicago. I put the address into my phone and searched for restaurants along the way. We wanted pizza. We found a place and went inside. It had decent reviews on Google, but we could see the food sitting out under warmers. Depressed-looking people pumped coins into slot machines. Nobody was eating. We decided that wasn't really where we wanted to eat. We looked for another restaurant with decent reviews. Eric ran in and said it was just like the other place. Finally we looked for a family restaurant with decent reviews and found a pizza place. We all walked in to find that it was an order and pick-up sort of place, not a sit-down restaurant. The wait time was about 35 minutes. We placed an order and all loaded back into the van. We found a nearby park, and I dropped the family off, then I went back and picked up the pizza. We ate the very mediocre pizza at the park and then finally headed to our cabin. It was one of the most bizarre things I've ever experienced. Clearly some of these restaurants are kept afloat solely because of the slot machines.

Day 6 was our most organized and efficient day in Chicago! Eric was still feeling miserable, but we kept him sufficiently dosed on medicine to keep his fever and aches at bay. We first went to the Field Museum. We only took a couple of pictures, but we had a lot of fun! It was a really cool museum. Plus, we got in for free because of the ASTC program.

I really loved carrying Felicia around on my back, except for the hair-pulling. I could have done without that.

After the field museum we walked to a nearby (FREE!) beach. We got some food (hot dogs and tacos) from the only restaurant on the beach, and it was great food.

Then we went swimming. Everyone loved the water, especially Felicia.

The kids and Eric played in the sand while I kept Felicia happy in the water. Both Ike and Felix got buried in the sand, and Trixie took the opportunity to torture each of them.

In addition to swimming, Felicia was crazy about the beach. She couldn't shove fistfuls of rocks and sand into her mouth fast enough. As soon as we'd get one hand under control, she'd use her other hand to grab another fistful and cram it in her mouth. I eventually got fed up with this behavior and took her with me to get the van and pick up her siblings.

Our next stop was the free zoo. It was a great little zoo, especially considering the price. Trixie loved petting the goats.

Right outside the zoo, we got this great picture of our family and the Chicago skyline.

The kids saw the carousel before we had a chance to divert their attention, and we paid the big bucks ($3 each) to let them ride it.

Trixie loves giraffes, so she was extremely happy when we finally found one.

After the zoo we went to the Hancock building (formerly Sears Tower) to see some views of the Chicago skyline. I could have spent several hours there, but my kids were done after about 20 minutes. I made them stick around a while longer, though.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what the city was like when my ancestors got there. (Fact, it wasn't actually a city, just a town).

After that we grabbed some dinner at the mall food court and then headed back to our cabin.