Saturday, June 8
Our morning started with a trip to nearby Meijer and IKEA, two of my favorite stores to visit. After swinging by the hotel to pickup Grandpa and Kevin, the van was filled to capacity for the trip to our lunch spot, the Superdawg Drive-in, a short 4-mile jaunt from the hotel. We ended up splitting up for the meal, with Grandpa, Kevin, and Noah eating inside while Grandma, Amanda, Emmie, and me ate our meals from the car.
Before too long, we were back to the hotel and then back on the train riding the Blue line downtown in attempt to visit Shedd Aquarium, which had unfortunately closed early for a private event. We took the scenic and efficient water taxi ride north to Navy Pier, where Emmie enjoyed her first meal on a boat. We perused the pier for a few minutes before walking several blocks to our second burger destination of the trip, Epic Burger.
No aquarium, but we snapped a nice Chicago skyline photo before the water taxi.
After dinner, we walked a few more blocks to Water Tower Place, where Noah picked out small LEGO sets for both him and Emmie. At this point, Emmie was fairly tired and crabby, so she went with Grandpa and Grandma back to the hotel, while Kevin, Amanda, and Noah joined me for our planned trip to the Willis Tower.
In front of the Chicago skyline LEGO display.
We made it through the line and up the elevator to the Skydeck quickly and enjoyed our time at the top, seeing the views and taking photos on the ledge overlooking the city. Noah loved pointing out the many “baby cars” on the roadways and didn’t want to give up our turn on the ledge for the next batch of people. We were funneled through the gift shop before leaving the tower, resulting in the purchase of a cheaply-made souvenir Chicago toy semi for Noah.
Sunday, June 9
We once again piled in the van to have brunch at a restaurant I had discovered in a previous work visit to Chicago, Bread and Wine. Our excellent meal started with plates of cheese and charcuterie and concluded with fine breakfast entrees.
After lunch, we checked out the neighborhood farmer’s market, where Amanda and Emmie enjoyed some medieval theatre and we purchased a jar of berry jam and a special kit for kids to make chocolate chip cookies. The ride home was long, but the kids slept for stretches and we made it back to Ankeny safe and sound.