Our Birthday/Spring Break Chicago Trip About This Page:

[taymaesmom]

Our Birthday/Spring Break Chicago Trip:

Who:

Me: Tawnya (turned 33 on Easter Sunday)
DD#1: Taylor (13)
DD#2: Maegan (turned 9 the Sunday after Easter)

When: March 25-27th

Where: Destination Chicago. We are staying with my DSIL Sarah, her dh Steven and their dd Zoe. My inlaws Steve and Virginia are also staying with them too.

Well I am going to use this trip report as practice for our May Disney World trip report.

The whole trip can fruition just after Christmas when I received the soundtrack to Wicked, which I had seen previously with my dh. Since then both my dd’s have fallen in love with the music and have begged to go see it. Had I known they would have wanted to see Wicked so badly I could have taken them to see it in St Louis which is less than 2 hours from our house but I didn’t know so we missed it. So when I realized that our spring break would fall during the week between our birthdays I promised a trip to see it. Both girls were super excited! A quick call to my DSIL and she agreed that there would be no problem with us coming to stay with her. Dh unfortunately could not take the time off that week, so it was just going to be us girls!

Several weeks later I was discussing birthday plans with my DMIL and she decided that since we were coming to the city anyway that she and my DFIL would meet us and treat everyone to Medieval Times for dinner since she has always wanted to go and since we would be arriving on her birthday it would be perfect timing.

In preparation to go I checked and rechecked Chicago’s weather and everytime I came up with the same answer: COLD, with snow on the ground. So I packed us all heavy clothing and winter coats, which also meant no cute dresses for the girls during the trip. I always find it so funny that even though we are in the same state the weather can be so drastically different.

[taymaesmom]

March 25th:

We left our house in Marion at 8:45 am and headed north up 57 to Chicago. Typically this drive takes me 5 hours almost exactly. We had originally planned to leave at 10 am and arrive at 3 pm since this is when DSIL would be getting off work. We left early because we were ready to go and too antsy to sit still any longer. I still haven’t decided if leaving early was a good idea or not. Since we were leaving early I had planned to take a short side trip to Oak Park to look around, even though we have been there many a time, this will be the first time taking the Metra train for us and I am a bit nervous so my thoughts were to go and check everything out. Well right off the bat we got caught in traffic for 30 mins. just south of Mt Vernon, which is only 30 mins. north of our house, so we were not off to a great start. After that it was clear sailing for quite a while. The first 4 hours of the drive is nothing exciting, we look for a few landmarks on the way up like the big cross in Effingham. Well about lunch time we stopped in Gilman for lunch and gas and came across the scariest thing I have ever experienced traveling. We pulled into the gas station that I always stop at there and noticed that every gas pump was out of order, and finally noticed a sign saying NO GAS in the front window. What!?! was my first thought. I didn’t know what to think about that, well I couldn’t make a left out of the gas station parking lot so decided to go next door to McDonald’s for lunch before going to the next station since both girls were just starving. I have to admit I was really nervous during lunch, why would a gas station have no gas? It really bothered me so I rushed the girls through lunch. We hopped back in the car and head to the next station down the road, well I could tell before fully pulling in that they too were out of gas, all of the pumps were covered up and signs on all the pumps read NO GAS. What is going on here, so I looked of the the gas station across the street and could see the same yellow covers on their pumps too. So I am now really nervous, why would this town have no gas? I couldn’t decide if I should drive around the town more or get back on the interstate and try down the road a bit. I checked my gas gauge and I still had just under ¼ tank of gas and I decided to head on up the interstate thinking I would stop at all the exits until I found gas. The next exit was only a few miles and had only 1 gas station and it had gas so I stopped and filled up and went on my way, but I was still shook up by the whole thing. I still don’t know why they didn’t have gas.

The rest of the trip up was fine except for some construction traffic on 294 but we made it to my DSIL’s by 2:45, only 6 hours after I left and only 15 mins early so I didn’t go over to Oak Park to check things out. I wish I had.

When we arrived my DSIL wasn’t there and neither were my DIL’s so I called them to tell them we were there and they were just a few mins away so I went on in the house, DBIL was asleep upstairs (he works midnights) and had left the door unlocked. My DIL’s arrived just mins. later followed by my DSIL and DN. DSIL informed us that they weren’t going to join us at Medieval Times that night, they thought it would be too late of a night for Zoe who is just 1. So that was a bit disappointing.

We then decided to exchange some birthday gifts. My MIL had sent mine to my house earlier (towels that I had asked for) and was treating me to Medieval Times for my birthday too. MIL got Maegan a karaoke machine and 2 karaoke cds (High School Musicial and Hannah Montana) so Maegan was in heavan. We got my DMIL the dvd of Across the Universe, which is the one thing she wanted the most. She loved the movie of course.

After much discussion we decided to leave early for Medieval Times since it started at 7:00 and it was about an hour from DSIL’s we decided to leave at 5:30 in case we got caught in traffic, which we did, and arrived at 6:30 which is exactly when we wanted to arrive. None of us had ever been before and had no idea what to really expect. Maegan who is very timid and gets really nervous about new situations was starting to meltdown, after a long drive and being faced with the unknown was starting to have a stomachache. Maegan is famous for her stomach aches, has them all the time for all kinds of reasons, mostly nerves, sometimes when her feelings get hurt, sometimes when she is overtired, and sometimes due to stomach allergies (caffeine and guar gum to be exact). So she started to really feel unwell, I kept promising her she was going to have a great time but she wasn’t so sure. She did perk up when she saw the castle but once we entered she got puny again. Check in went smooth, we had even came across some coupons that got the girls in for free so that was nice. We were given blue crowns and had our picture taken with a princess. We then headed in to the main hall area, and boy was that a mad house!!

Wall to wall people everywhere, even I hated it and I don’t mind all the crowds. I think the thing that bothered me most was all the alcohol being served. It always disturbs me to see so much alcohol being served around so many little kids, but to each there own I guess. We quickly made a bee line for the bathroom where I instructed both girls to SCRUB there hands since we would be eating with our fingers.

We went back out into the main hall and listened to the narrator guy to greet everyone and give instructions. He then called everyone in by the color of your crown, which is also the color of your knight that you cheer on. We were in the next to last group to be called in. We were seated in the 4th row in the blue section, the arena is a typical oval shape and we were on one end which faced where the knights entered/exited the arena. Pretty good seats. My DMIL and I were actually worried about how the seating would be, we had heard that it was bench seats with no backs but we were pleased to see theatre style seats with a long thin table in front. The servers come and serve everything from in front of you. Our wench (whose name I never quite caught) came by and said she was bringing Pepsi out for everyone, to which I practically had to jump over the table to stop her and ask for a non-caffinated drink for Maegan, thankfully they had Sierra Mist. My DMIL sweet talked her into ice-tea and DFIL had a beer.








After drinks were served the show started and our knights were introduced, Maegan perked up and really got into the show, Taylor commented on which knight was cuter than which. Our wench brought our first course of vegetable soup out and ladled it into our bowls. Taylor and I found it ok, too much tomato. But Maegan loved it and finished both hers and mine. Next they had the knight do some stuff, but I have to be honest and say I really didn’t care for the show part too much so I spent the time watching my girls who were very enamoured with the whole thing. I did like the falconer and his falcon and I really liked the dancing horse and rider too. Our wench then started serving our dinner, where we got half a chicken, which was very good, lots of seasoning on it. We got one rib and half a seasoned potatoe plus a piece of garlic toast (which is exactly the frozen kind I buy at the store and both my girls noticed it right away). It really was a kick eating everything with our fingers. I mean honestly I can’t remember ever eating a whole meal (excluding pizza) with my fingers before. I think everyone got some enjoyment out of it. After dinner we got a hot moist towel to clean up with, and it was well needed. For dessert we got an apple pastry that was really good. They then brought around the photos they had taken from earlier with the princess. They were actually quite terrible, none of us looked good but for kicks I bought them anyway. There were 2 5x7’s in a nice binder thing and they were dated and all and it was only $20 for the whole thing. Plus I wanted to show them to dh since he couldn’t be there.











After dessert, the knight really got into challenging each other, etc. I personally thought the show dragged on a bit here, Maegan started getting another stomachache (tired). So I was grateful when it was finally over. All in all it was good but I don’t think we will go back to see it again anytime soon. We then headed back to my DSIL’s house and it was after 10 pm we we got there. My girls and I headed straight off to bed for we had a long day ahead of us the next day too.





Edited to add: I have no idea why my pictures are so large, they should all be the same size as my signature pic. I will look into this in the morning.

[chezp]

Great start. Medieval Times looks like a lot of fun. Thank goodness you were able to find some gas on the drive to Chicago - that would've freaked me out as well.

[Colexis Mom]

Great start to your trip! Glad you got to see Medieval Times! Looks like fun!! More please

[RobDVC]

Sounds like a fun time! My guys would love to eat their meal with their fingers.

[Lemap760]

Great start to your trip. I've gone to Medieval Times in NJ and don't really care for it. It was good for a one time experience.

[taymaesmom]

March 26th-

After a horrible nights sleep (very hot and Taylor talked in her sleep all night) we got up at 6:30. DSIL had to go to work at 7am so she was out the door quickly. We dressed and sat around chatting for awhile. DMIL decided to take a few photos of all her granddaughters together so we went outside and found the temperature to be very nice, which had me worried because we had dressed for a very chilly Chicago day and it wasn’t going to be chilly at all.

After saying good bye to my niece and DBIL, my girls and I headed out. We followed my inlaws into Oak Park to have breakfast and this cute little diner, Cozy Corner, that we always eat at with my inlaws. The food is typical diner fare but very good. Both girls always get the Mickey Mouse pancakes complete with chocolate chip eyes and a cherry nose. After breakfast we went in search of a parking garage for my car. Our plan for the day was to leave my car in Oak Park and have my inlaws drop the girls and I off downtown and then after Wicked we would take the Metra back to Oak Park and then drive to my DSIL’s house. Well in theory that was a great idea, in reality a bit strained. It honestly took us 20 mins to find someplace to park, everything was metered with a 2 hour limit and being somewhat familiar with the area we knew that they would tow if we exceeded the time limit for too long. Finally we found a parking garage and we headed to the city. I love driving through the city areas, here the tallest building is around 5 stories so seeing the skyscrapers always fascinates me. Plus there is such phenomenal architecture too. My DMIL had just got a new car with a sunroof so the view was even better.

I ended up having us dropped off across from the American Girl Place since that was our first stop. This was our third visit to the store and I had promised both girls that they could pick out something small. Small being the operative word since it had to fit under our seats at Wicked. Both girls love American Girl Dolls, Taylor though is starting to out grow them at 13. Maegan however loves them and can’t understand why she only has 3 of them when they make soooooo many more. Both girls were allowed to bring one doll with us, Maegan brought Julie and Taylor brought Kit.

Our first stop was to take pictures and admire the outside window decorations. They really are quite amazing. Then we headed in. The main floor is small and is mostly a bookstore, we browsed here a bit and then peeked into the photo studio. Neither were very interested in waiting in line to have their pictures made with their dolls and we had done that before so we headed up the escalators to the top floor. We started off in the dress like your doll section oohhing and aahhing over everything. We then headed into a room showing all the girls of today and their clothing. We again peeked into the hair salon but decided against that line too. It was very busy but not as busy as the day after Christmas was last year. After browsing for quite awhile we decided to head to the bottom floor so down two escalators we went. The bottom floor is my favorite, it houses all the historical dolls and their accessories. Plus has a small room set up to look like what the dolls rooms would have looked like during their time. We first had to check out Julies room which was neat with its shag carpet and pink bean bag chair. Here Maegan decided what she wanted to get, a Pizza Party Fun set, with a pizza, lemonade and a game for the dolls ($24). Maegan is much more into the accessories than the clothing. After awhile Taylor decided on a little green dress for Kit but when we went to check out we found out they didn’t have any at all so back up to the top floor we headed. While on the escalator I saw and pointed out a lady and little girl that I knew from back home. They were too far away to get their attention, but we got the biggest kick out of it. Here we are 6 hours from home and see a familiar face.




Once on the top floor Taylor found another outfit, Licorie’s Play Outfit (I think) and we headed to check out. There Maegan found a Chicago exclusive outfit she liked so I let her get it as a birthday present, and I also picked out a Chicago exclusive string backpack for her too. Taylor wasn’t interested in anything else so that was it. Luckily everything fit neatly into one small bag. We decided it was crowded so we headed out of the store.

[chezp]

Great update. Looking forward to more.

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you had a great time at the American Girl Store More please

[taymaesmom]

Day 2 Part 2

Once out of the American Girl Place we decided to head down to the Disney Store since it was just around the corner. I like this Disney Store a lot, it is still in the older style with the character statues around the ceiling and the big displays of stuffed animals. We browsed here for quite awhile but ended up not getting anything, thinking we will just save our money for our May Disney World trip. Out on the side walk again we began a leisurely stroll down Michigan Ave. I told both girls that we would stop where ever they wanted but neither were in the mood to shop so the only other store we went in was Niketown for a quick peek. We had been dropped off about 10:30 that morning and Wicked wasn’t until 2pm so we had plenty of time but I wasn’t quite sure how long it would take us to walk the 15 or so blocks so I kept a close eye on the time. After wandering a while we decided to sit and people watch for a bit and decide what we wanted to do. Taylor was starting to get hungry but I was trying to hold lunch off for awhile. Maegan decided she wanted to see the Bean. My DFIL had described the bean to them on our way downtown so after a quick check of the map we all agreed to check out the bean. First off I have no idea if the bean has a different name or not but it is a very large bean shaped structure in Millenium Park that is a giant mirror. So with a destination decided we quickened our pace and came to the bridge over the Chicago River. Now not being a good mom I have passed both my fear of heights and bridges on to my kids, so after a peek over the side we started across. The bridge is metal and noisy to walk on and every so often is a crack where you can see down to the water, Maegan took a tight hold on my hand and we made it across quickly. Next we came to the Tribune building which I find neat because set into the façade is stones from other buildings around the world and they are labeled so you know what and where it came from. So neat ones are from a castle in Edinburgh Scotland and the collseum in Rome. Surprisingly both girls were very interested so we looked at most of them. We then had fun taking pictures with several little statues in the are and in front of the NBC building.




Finally we made it to Millenium Park where first we checked out the outdoor ice rink which was starting to melt in the warm weather. We then headed up the stairs to the bean. Its actually a very neat structure, it reflects the city skyline and of course has a different view from different angles. We wandered around and under and I took a few neat pictures of the girls and their reflections. I was told once that if you lay down under the bean you can see the whole city skyline at once but I wasn’t about to lay down in front of all those strangers. After a bit we just sat back on a bench and relaxed in the warm weather and people watched. Taylor is a lot like me and truly enjoys people watching, I think its because we are the two nosiest people you will ever meet.











Finally I decided that we needed lunch since it was right about noon so we walked about 4-5 blocks to the theatre district McDonalds. Not my first choice by far but at least I knew they would both eat well. We ordered and then took our food to the 2nd floor dining room which was covered in many old theatre posters. We easily found a booth even though it was very busy and sat back to eat and rest. After awhile it really got busy and since we were finished we gave up our table to a very grateful Girl Scout leader with a big troop. A quick bathroom break and we were back out on the busy street.

Next would be Wicked but we still had an hour before the show and I decided to go check out the EL station. I originally had decided that after the show we would walk about 8 blocks to the Metra train station and take it back to our car but DBIL said that taking the EL would be much easier and it was closer to the theatre. He was right about closer its only a block away, so we walked over to try and figure out which one we needed and I found it easily enough. So I decided to seriously consider taking it back later. There really wasn’t much to see in the area so we just walked around the block and finished our drinks. I did take a picture of the Chicago theatre marquee I always mean to but never have.



Next up Wicked!

[chezp]

Great update - where exactly is the Disney Store? I think we might just have to pop in there during our visit in October! I can't wait to see the Tribune Tower - I think what they've done there with the stones from other buildings is fascinating.

[taymaesmom]

The Disney Store is located at 717 N Michigan between Huron and Superior, about 2 blocks south of Water Tower Place.

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update!!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by taymaesmom

The Disney Store is located at 717 N Michigan between Huron and Superior, about 2 blocks south of Water Tower Place.

Cool - that sounds like it will be on our travels.

[bsblady01]

more please