#staycation2018

Who needs beaches or mountains for spring break when you live in one of the best cities in the country? Mark and I took Thursday and Friday off work to do some home-turf exploring with the kids. Starting with the Adler Planetarium...

Welcome to the universe...

I had high hopes for the Adler, but I think it's better suited for older kids. It was a little too educational for our kiddos. You really do have to read the stuff on the wall to get the most out of the exhibits versus the Field or MSI where everything is just cool to look at or touch. There is a fun play area for younger kids, and Nick had a blast there, but you could get almost the same experience at one of the Children's Museum or playroom venue for a lot less dough. We didn't even get to take advantage of the Adler's gorgeous location along the lake, because it was super cold and windy. Womp, womp!

After the Adler we drove over to the West Loop to score free street parking and get a little pick-me-up treat at Do-Rite Donuts. As you can see from the picture, Nick really needed the pick-me-up. Luckily, the he got enough donut in him to spark a classic Nick sugar high to fuel the rest of the afternoon. 

Lainey asked if she could take his donut. We didn't let her. 

After donuts and coffee, we caught a cab over to the Courtyard to check-in for the night. We figured the kids would get a kick out of staying at a hotel and the Courtyard has a pool and some good rates. It also gave us a place to chill out in between adventures. And we got upgraded to a suite, so Mark and I were able to hang out after the kids went to sleep. Bonus!

After some hotel time, we jumped on the Red Line (a first for the kiddos) and headed to the Loop to grab dinner at Revival Food Hall (so much good food...so little stomach room) before heading over to the Art Institute. Thursday evenings are free for Chicago residents, so we had nothing to lose here. The kids did not naturally take to gazing at oil paintings, but the contemporary art perked them up (which was pretty much what we expected). The installation piece, "My Room is Another Fish Bowl" by Philippe Parreno, was a huge hit. The room is filled with mylar fish balloons with various levels of helium so they float a different heights. People are free to grab the balloons and toss them back in the air. Lots of kids having fun in there! 

After we dragged them away from the fish, Mark took Nick to check out the armor collection and I took Lainey to see the miniatures. I don't think I had ever looked at every single room in the miniature collection. I have now. And it was hot in that gallery. But, she was so adorable giving her commentary on each room that I didn't mind. 

After getting our culture on, we needed another treat before heading back to the hotel and the pool. Shake Shack to the rescue! Although we should have loaded up on hot chocolate instead of ice cream, because the pool was cold--not that the kids minded. We toughed it out...ah, a parent's love.

We thought the kids would sleep in on Friday, given our busy day (and the hotel blackout shades), but no dice. Both were up a little before 7am. But, the early birds get the breakfast seats at Wildberry. I was expecting the place to be all tourist hype with only so-so food, but it was pretty delicious. And it is right by Maggie Daley Park, the next stop on our Take Chicago Tour. We've been there several times before, but it is just such a cool place that gets better as the kids get older. And since we were there on the early side, it wasn't too crowded, so they had full access to all those amazing slides.

We wrapped up our fun at the park and went back to grab our bags and check-out of the hotel. A quick cab ride later, we were back at our car and zooming off to Brookfield Zoo. You can't go wrong with the zoo! Always a good time!

We topped off the fun with an early dinner at Piece. Man, oh man, I miss that pizza. Don't get me wrong, Pequod's is awesome, but Piece has my heart (and stomach)! Nom, nom, nom!

Perfect end to a busy few days!

And that's a wrap on our 2018 Spring Break Staycation! Maybe next year we'll venture out, but I'm pretty happy with how things landed this year! We 💓 Chicago!