Thursday, March 18, 2010

Photo Story Friday: Our Chicago Adventure

In case you don’t normally follow me (in which case you are missing out on oodles of fun), we went to Chicago this past weekend to visit the Museum of Science and Technology and see monster trucks.  Only, we neglected to consider one thing.  It was St. Patties Day weekend.  (Remember in The Fugitive?  …Parade…dye the river green…chaos in the streets?)

The hotel receptionist recommended we leave our car and take a train into the city. 

Hayseeds that we are, we reluctantly took a train schedule and herded our bouncing troops onto the waiting shuttle.

Waiting for the trainThis is not a pose.  Don’t they look so patient…waiting for their first train ride?

Bag pipe musicBag pipers played beautifully on the platform.  I could listen to them all day long. 

on the train 2When the train finally came, we found seats on the upper level and our oldest boy turned towards us and said, “This is like, like the trip of a lifetime.  It’s definitely something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.”

Union Central Station

Union Station was beyond huge.  We didn’t have time to figure out what bus would take us to the museum.  We had pre-purchased tickets for a tour at noon.  So, we decided to bite the bullet and just hail a cab. 

Which was an experience all on it’s own

While the cab lurched, swerved, screeched and honked, my wide-eyed little hayseeds soaked it all in. 

Well, some of them did. 

cab rideIn spite of the fascinating city around us, I couldn’t keep my little guy from jamming his finger through a hole in the back of the front seat. 

You’ll have this. 

foggy day

My oldest took pictures out every window he could reach. It wasn’t a very nice day.  Thankfully, we made it to the museum in one piece, with all of our belongings, and with 30 minutes to spare before our scheduled tour.

The German U-505 and several airplane exhibits were what attracted us to this museum.  But, since this post is already too long, I’ll save those pictures for a separate post.  They’re cool, though. 

Here are a few of the other areas we enjoyed.

House Of Mirrors

Who doesn’t love a house of mirrors?

Coolness 2Or walking through the strange wall of “blue”?

Coolness Is it just me, or do the words, “Beam me up, Scottie.” come to mind for anyone else?

Monster Truck Fun 2

Saturday night, we went to see Monster Trucks.  Friends told us to take ear plugs.  So I put five colorful pairs in a small baggy in my purse. 

“You can’t take this big bag of candy inside.” said the lady who searched my purse at the door. 

“They’re EARPLUGS, because we’re taking kids to see monster trucks.”  I’ll admit, I was pretty amused, but mostly annoyed.  She had to feel them to make sure, and still looked doubtful when she handed them back to me.

For the record, I wouldn’t dream of bringing in a baggie of candy when I can pay an arm and a leg for a cup of water in the stands. ;)   Monster truck fun

But look at this face. 

Every time Spark Plug the clown did something funny, or a truck did something exciting, this little face turned around to look at his brothers in an expression that said, “Isn’t this the coolest thing ever?”

So I guess it was a great finale to an exciting day. 

Mama and Papa Hayseed were just pretty dern happy to make it back to the hotel (with all accounted for) and fall into bed. 

PhotoStory Friday

13 comments:

Laura said...

Too bad you didn't have an extra set of plugs you could have offered to let her taste one.

What a fun time for your kiddos!

Mari said...

Great pictures! That last one of your son is the best!

Rachel said...

I LOOOOOOOVE Chicago -- so jealous!

And, what a cutie with his earplugs. :)

Honey Mommy said...

I bet my boys would have loved that!

I have been to Chicago once, and it was quite the experience!

Chris said...

What a great trip! I've only been to Chicago once -- your trip was much more exciting :)

Kim @ Homesteader's Heart said...

Oh what fun my friend. The Taxi ride would be a first for me. I don't know if I could handle it! I"m really weird about who I let drive me around. Ha! Ha!
My husband was a bit envious of the truck show. He has always wanted to go to one.
Glad you had fun!
Big Hugs
Kim

Cecily R said...

What a wonderful time for your family! It does indeed sound like the trip of a lifetime!

All of the pics are great, but I love love the non-posed first picture. It made me laugh. :)

Claremont First Ward said...

Sounds like such a fantastic adventure for you and your kids!

Carrie and Troy Keiser said...

My kids would be in heaven if they went to a monster truck event! Looks like the whole trip was a great adventure!

Ryanne said...

Train rides are a blast. It definitely gives us a different view of the areas we visit, and cabbies...oooh, fun!

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

Wow! What a great time..Green and all!

Anonymous said...

I too am jealous. I love Chicago and truly miss it.

And.. for the record, I also love The Fugitive. :) While living there, my dad saw them shooting the movie.

I digress... Wow! Fab trip. We use to have year round passes of the Science museums. I agree with your son.. it's something that you will never forget. :)

Unknown said...

We lovingly call Chicago the city of outrageous parking! It's so hard to find a spot to park and costs a ton when you do. Looks like you guys had fun!