Our family just got back from a vacation trip to Chicago, IL. Kathy had been there on a short school field trip, but it is the first time the rest of us had ever been there. What a great city to go visit! I have been to New York City and gained a great appreciation for visiting a big city. There are so many things to do and a chance to experience how people deal with the large crowds and traffic.
Some of the experiences we enjoyed were riding on the Metro around town. We also went to several of the outstanding museums (Museum of Science and Industry, Field Museum of Natural History, Adler Planetarium and Shedd Aquarium). We rode the elevator to the top of the Willis (Sears) Tower and had great views of the city. Some of our free experiences includedwalking at the parks alongLake Michigan and the Lincoln Park Zoo. We also got to shop at Navy Pier and along Michigan Avenue on the Magnificent Mile.
I also took advantage of an opportunity that passed us by when the Broadway musical “Hamilton” came to our hometown of Cincinnati. I was so mad when the scalper websites bought up all the tickets and jacked the prices. Needless to say, we did not go. But, we actually got to see it in Chicago for a third of the price it would have cost us here. What a great musical. I highly recommend it!
After visiting Chicago, we traveled further north to Wisconsin to visit with Kathy’s family members that we had not seen in 13 years since her father’s death. Kathy and I were actually concerned how the kids would respond to that part of the vacation, because we really did not have anything planned to do other than visiting with her brothers. Kathy became our “travel agent” at that point and contacted friends and family members that we went around to visit. One spontaneous call resulted in a visit to her childhood friend’s lake home and ride in her ski-boat around the lake. That was a big hit! The kids loved meeting the people they had heard about throughout their life and seeing where their mom grew up. They teased about how Mom was a better travel agent than Dad. Even after so many great sights and experiences in Chicago, I’m happy that our kids still put so much value on family and the people they met. We must have done something right.
