Chicago - adventures in an aquarium

After arriving in the Milwaukee area Thursday afternoon, we enjoyed some playtime with my parents, a swim in Cindy & Caitlin's hotel pool, and some pizza.  Then Cindy, Caitlin, Zach and I took the train south from Milwaukee bright and early Friday morning.  We thought the kids would be entertained by the train ride itself... wrong.  Apparently when you are 5 and 7 riding the rails isn't so different than riding in a car.  Between some old-school classics like Mad Libs and new video gaming systems, the train ride passed relatively uneventfully.


Our first planned stop was the Willis Tower (FKA the Sears Tower).  Until we walked out of the train station and discovered we couldn't see the top third of the tall building - there wasn't going to be much of a view!  So instead we jumped into a (stinky) cab and headed to the Shedd Aquarium.

Apparently we arrived at the wrong time on the wrong day, because we were greeted with a very long line.  We passed the hour relatively well by leaving Cindy standing in line while I took the kids around to take pictures of the amazing sights (which for the kids and their cameras included a squirrel, some geese, and possibly even goose poop).

Once we were in, we checked out a 4D movie experience.  The 4th dimension turned out to involve disturbing odors floating through the air, getting poked in the shoulders from the backs of our seats, having water misted/sprayed on us (when a cartoon character sneezed - yuck), and a little tube whacking us in the legs.  The kids were delighted.  Did I mention it was an Ice Age movie?


Then we set about exploring the habitats of the penguins, beluga whales, sea otters, and jellyfish.  After lunch (somehow the kids were hungry despite about 17 snacks thus far) we were off to the aquatics show - the demonstration of how the dolphins, beluga whales, and some hawks were trained.  Our adventures included a yellow submarine, touching sea urchins and starfish, and playing in a canoe and tent (camping at an aquarium...?).

Whew.  Time to head on to our next destination!