Skyline cruise

After Wrigley Field, we went on a cruise down the river and into the lake. The Skyline cruise was lots of fun!

Photo-op!

The new Trump building that's going up now. It seems very economical. I think they said the penthouse has already been bought for something like $27 million.

Mom got tired waiting for the cruise...so she found a couch. She seems to think that she's royalty, perched on her golden couch!

Apparently Oprah lived in the building at one time...it has an awesome view of the lake.

It was a little overcast on Tuesday, but I still thought the skyline was awesome!

The tour guide had really corny jokes about Chuck Norris all of the time, but it was still fun.

The lighthouse was really cool, but this was as close as we got.

Awesome sailboat tour taking place...I think theirs was more expensive than ours.

This building has connections to Al Capone. Apparently, the top of the building was a speak-easy. The elevator is big enough for a car. So, Al would pay the elevator operator to leave his car in the elevator on the 54th floor with them. That way if the police were coming after him, the elevator was up and they had to walk up 54 flights of stairs....giving him plenty of time to ride down and escape. That's some smart thinking!

Wrigley Field

Daddy has been a Cubs fan for, well, since before I came along. So on Tuesday, we got up and hopped on a bus to surprise Daddy. Here's the shot of his face as he realized we were across the street from Wrigley Field! Talk about priceless!

It wasn't a game day, which was nice - no crowd to deal with!

Daddy was so happy, it was cute!

More cheesy tourist shots! "Take me out to the ballgame..."

Arlington House Youth Hostel

Since this was a "backpacking" trip, we stayed in a youth hostel. Plus, it was a lot cheaper. It was an experience for Mom & Dad. We got a private room with a private bath, so they didn't get the full experience, but it was still an adventure.

Since this was a "spend as little as possible" trip, we stopped at the grocery store on the way back from Chinatown and had sandwiches & such in our room. You'll also notice the map on the desk...I was plotting out Tuesday's events.

My bed was broken...like the springs were literally coming out of the mattress, so I put extra blankets and sheet on the floor. Roughing it!

Here's our air conditioner...along with an open window! Once the sun went down, it wasn't really too bad. Actually, we could hear a bunch of students out playing/writing music down the street, so it was a pretty interesting night.

Chinatown!!

We didn't make it to Chinatown until after 6 PM....so most stores were closing and it was beginning to get dark. But we got a shot of the mural..

These people acted like they didn't want their picture taken...but I know they were ecstatic that I snapped their picture!

The gate...
Mom does not like to try new foods because she is so picky. This proved to be something she didn't like! haha

Daddy, however, enjoyed his very much!

You can see a guy walking toward us in the picture I took of Mom. He wouldn't quit talking to us and he was talking about "super-rats" that were biting people's necks and were bigger than raccoons. Anyway, he was a little strange and we couldn't shake him, however, he was hungry and we gave him a dollar. Since we gave him money, he showed us the escalator so Mom & Daddy didn't have to walk up the steps to the El train. He said he wanted to earn his money. See? When you're going about God's business, He provides protection!

Navy Pier

We found out about the free trolley ride that you can take to Navy Pier, so of course we hit that up since it was free!

The famous Navy Pier....

The Ferris wheel...actually we found out interesting information about this during our cruise. Apparently the Ferris wheel was built for the World's Fair when it came to Chicago. Well, it's a long story, but an interesting one...look it up sometime!

Mom & Daddy...yeah, look close, they're in the green and blue shirts under the sign!

Chicago Cultural Center

OK...so we did go to the Center, but yet we didn't really. lol We needed a city map and to buy a visitor transit pass. So we went to the tourist info at the Cultural Center. This is definitely a place of interest on the next trip we take there!

I can't remember the story...but I know there's some significance to this bull.

The tiled ceiling in the entrance.

The beautiful Tiffany stained-glass dome...another thing that I've found makes me dizzy to look straight up.

Millennium Park

First stop of the trip was Millennium Park. There was a concert going on...it was a pretty good local group.

Then, we saw the Bean. It was actually kinda cool. Although, I found that I couldn't stand directly beneath the center and look up without getting dizzy!

Cheesy tourist shot!

Then we saw the awesome fountains...they're huge water fountains with Chicago citizens' faces on them that switch every so often. The kids line up every so many minutes for water to spray out of the person's mouth. Some of these little guys playing in the water were just so precious I had to take pictures!

Sheila, Dad's cousin, decided she should join in on the fun with the kids!!

Amtrak in Effingham

The first part of this exciting trip was the train ride. Mom's never ridden a train before, and I'd never ridden one in the States. Everything was an adventure from beginning to end!

The train was running about 20 minutes late...so I kept walking out to look down the tracks!

We're finally on the road...er, tracks!

Chicago trip accomplished!

We made it to Chicago...and back! Dad's cousin & her husband (Sheila & Doug) picked us up at Union Station and whisked us off to Millenium Park. Then they took us to Navy Pier, after seeing the Tiffany stained-glass dome in the Cultural Center.

They dropped us off at our Youth Hostel, which was a few blocks away from DePaul University...very nice in Lincoln Park area. After we got settled in, we headed to the bus stop, then hopped on the El train and went to Chinatown!

On Tuesday morning, we got up really early, jumped a bus north and surprised Dad with a trip to Wrigley Field! We then found a bus that took us down by the river where we took a 90-minute cruise down the river and into the lake. It was great to see the skyline! To top it off, with the purchase of the cruise tickets, we got passes to Hancock Observatory. So we got on the bus, went 94 stories up and looked out over Chicago. Then we headed back to Union Station to catch the train back to Effingham! It was a fun 2-day trip, we managed to squeeze in everything we had planned for this trip...and Mom's already talking about going back next month. She's into this big city stuff -- well, she says as long as she has me to find the buses and navigate the El train!

Since we've got quite a few pictures, I'll probably put each leg of the trip in different posts. Stay tuned!!!

August is upon us...

Summer is quickly coming to an end. As I look at the calendar, I realize that school starts back up in just a matter of weeks! How scary is that?! To end summer with a bang, we're taking a family trip to Chicago. Sadly enough, my mother & father have lived in Illinois their entire lives, and I have most of mine, and we've never actually been to Chicago. And Mom's never been on a train. So, woo-hoo, Amtrak here we come!!

We're still open for sites (free or cheap) that we should see. So if you have any suggestions...let me know!