Chicago, Day 2: Monday, July 11

We got up early Monday morning so we could get to Shedd's Aquarium as close to 8:30 as possible. While we were in Chicago, we used public transportation or walked 100% of the time, so we took the bus to the aquarium because it was the easiest and straightest shot to it. Of course, while we were on the bus, Chicago was hit by a really nasty storm. When the bus arrived, we ran to the covering by the bus stop to regroup and then ran in the rain to the entrance. We had a great time at Shedd's and I think Anya enjoyed it, too. We went to a dolphin show and there was a special Jellies exhibition that was really interesting. I've never seen that many kinds of jellyfish all in one place. I didn't even know there were that many kinds, either. We brought our own lunch and ate near the dolphin pool. There was a ledge that Anya could stand up on and stand right at the glass. She loved the dolphins and kept pointing at them when they swam past her. She also liked the beluga whales. After lunch, we took Anya to the play area where she put on a penguin suit, went down the slide, and crawled through tunnels. We didn't stay long because a lot of bigger kids eventually showed up and we didn't want her to get trampled.

After Shedd's Aquarium, we headed toward The Field Museum. While this was a good museum, it just wasn't as interesting as Shedd's. I don't know if it was because we were tired and Anya was a little fussy or if it just really wasn't as good. We went through several exhibits, including the Eqyptian tomb, the African animals (to see the Lions of Tsavo), and Sue (the T-Rex). What's kind of interesting is that Eric and I were both on family vacations in the western part of the US when Sue was being discovered and they were trying to figure out where she was going to go.

After going back to the hotel, we opted to go down to Navy Pier for dinner. We ended up eating at Bubba Gump's, which was a little expensive, but good. Then, we rode the bus back to the Mag Mile and walked to the Ghirardelli store for an ice cream brownie sundae. It was amazing!

Back at the hotel, Anya didn't take quite as long to get to sleep but she was definitely fighting it. It was like she knew we were on vacation and she was too excited to sleep. After she finally went to bed, Eric and stayed up a little later and had a glass of wine before bed.