Our Day In Chicago

Had a great day out and about in Chicago today. We experimented with the local train from Roselle to downtown Chicago so we'd know the best ways to get down to the city when friends & family come to visit. The train to Chicago leaves the Roselle station every hour at 17 past the hour. It's about a 45 minute train ride downtown and the parking at the station is $1 on the weekend!

Took the bus from Union Station to Navy Pier and spent the day putting around there. Had lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant (saw Forest too...) then walked down to the end of the pier. There was an air show going on so we kept getting buzzed by fighter jets, pretty cool :)

We cooled off at Charlie's pub for a while and then went to see the Children's Museum (being children ourselves... right?) and it was pretty cool. Andrea left a message for the kids... and she means it! (see picture above). The museum was excellent. I loved it. They have this water room where all the kids put on rain coats and play in this giant river of water with boats and pumps and they can make dams and release the water and.... and... and it was super cool! Then there's this room where you make foam airplanes and crank them up about 35-50feet in the air and they they fly back down. Awesome.

Very cool day. Slept a little on the train home. But for $5 a person round-trip on the weekends (actually... $5 is a weekend pass I think... ride all you want for a weekend) and $1 parking - it's a great way to get downtown. Last train leaves Union Station around 12:40am bound for home so you can have a nice, long day out if you want.

Driving downtown's a hassle, parking is expensive, and traffic sucks. I doubt we'll ever drive again given the choice.