Chicagoing

While Emily was here we decided to spend a day in Chicago.

We had so much fun!

We took the train into the city and then rode the FREE TROLLEY to Navy Pier. We were hungry by then so we ate a yummy lunch at Bubba Gumps.

Mmmmm, I do love my seafood.

Alaina had Crab Stuffed Shrimp, Emily had Coconut Shrimp and I had a Bucket o' Boat Trash (deep fried shrimp, lobster tail & deep-fried mahi mahi).

Not healthy, but Oh. So. Tasty.

After lunch we walked around Navy Pier for a bit and then walked through a cute little park down to Michigan Avenue for some awesome window shopping. Of course while we were there we had to stop in and wander through CRATE & BARREL. It's nice that my girls now enjoy walking through that store with me ; once upon a time the kids would stand at the door whining that I was taking too long.

Once we hit Water Tower Place we decided to carry on our theme of playing tourists and splurged by having dessert at The Cheesecake Factory. After we had completely indulged we decided to finish out our day by taking a city tour on a DOUBLE DECKER BUS. We've never done that before and had so much fun seeing the city from a new perspective.

We went down a street with shops that we will never enter, and didn't even know were in our Windy City. If you ever come to visit and need a Vera Wang wedding dress, Jimmy Choo Shoes or a Prada bag we know just the street to send you to.

I stole Emily's camera and had a blast taking shots of the city from our upper level seats. It was so much fun to enjoy the city this way. If I'm driving, I'm too intent on traffic. If Rob is driving I'm too intent on making sure we don't get lost or that he doesn't break the traffic laws. If we are walking it's usually quickly because we have somewhere to be and we don't have time to stop and look up.

I have loved Chicago since we very first visited back in the spring of 1987.

I love the juxtaposition of old and new. I love the greenery and flowers amidst the concrete and steel and asphalt and the whimsical art that adds such a fun touch to the summer sidewalks. I love when form and function combine to create beautiful architecture. I love the hustle and bustle of mid-day and how the streets quiet down just a bit towards evening.

As the bus tour was completing it's circle we jumped off two stops early and realized we were close to the WATER TAXI stop. We jumped on the first boat, only to realize that we were heading right back to Navy Pier. OOPS! Well, it was perfect weather and taking the long way back to Union Station seemed like an excellent way to end our day. We made it to Union Station with just minutes to spare before our train left, but we were on it and found three seats together so all was well.