Day in Chicago
2011
Chicago is a gorgeous city – within minutes of walking around the streets we both noticed how clean the streets and sidewalks were.
We used the Metra to get into the city – we parked our car at the Park & Ride in Joliet for $1 for the entire day and then rode the Metra to the end of the line, which brought us into the heart of the city. Riding on a weekend costs $7 per adult and the ticket is valid for the entire weekend. Children are free.
In front of the Sears Tower {which is no longer officially called that…}
Arriving in Chicago we walked several city blocks following elusive directions.
It would have served us well to have done a little bit of research to figure out exactly which bus we needed {and saved us $10 over the course of the day had we purchased day passes for the bus} but we eventually figured out which bus we needed to take to get to the Lincoln Park Zoo.
{Everyone we asked for directions were so sincerely kind and eager to help, if not always accurate.}
Lincoln Zoo is beautiful – and free! We were there on a Saturday and the crowds weren’t bad at all – though I may have just not noticed the crowds as my online-bloggy friend of 4 years met us at the zoo and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting her and spending that time with her!
Thank you for taking the time to battle the insane traffic to meet us Jessica! {yes, we share a name… that’s probably part of what made us “stick” to each other way back when!}
The Navy Pier was two bus rides away from the zoo and there is plenty to do there without having to spend any money. We meant to ride the Ferris Wheel, but crowds and exhaustion made it easy for us to walk away.
There is a beautiful stained glass mirror exhibit inside that is free to walk through {two images in the first set of pictures} – so worth checking out!
The food is overpriced – even the McDonalds prices were ridiculously inflated – the family in front of me spent $92 for their family of six! Who spends $92 at McDonalds!?
It was nearing 10pm when we left the Navy Pier to head back to the Metra Station to take the train back to Joliet. The boys were fabulous companions – comfortable walking shoes, plenty of snacks and a couple little surprises helped keep them cheerful and good sports through the day.
Our day trip to Chicago was pretty simple. We spent very little money apart from transportation (about $30 total) and food and water.
We played up the excitement of riding a train and the buses and tried to make it part of the fun of Chicago, as opposed to just the means that got us around Chicago. I do believe it worked as one of the highlights of their entire vacation was riding the bus and train.
