Days 3 and 4: The Rest

Our last full day in Chicago was a beautiful, sunny day. Which was nice ... because I had taken a lot of grief for bringing us to 38 degree Chi-town for "spring" break. In my defense, it snowed in Minnesota while we were gone.

We saved Millennium Park for Tuesday in hopes of good outside weather. It was the right choice and it was so nice to have a day outside in the fresh air. We grabbed the bus downtown and had our first real experience with "rush-hour" bus traffic. That bus was full! But we managed it - and didn't even get the backpack stuck. The bus dropped us off right by Crown Fountains, so the kids got to see the faces on them. Unfortunately the fountains weren't on yet for the season, which meant the kids were a bit underwhelmed.

We headed for the Bean and the kids did their own impression of park statues along the way. On the walk to the Bean, Auntie called and said she and Parker would meet us down there. The kids were quite intrigued with the reflective surface and were more excited about seeing Auntie. We did a final hug with Parker before he headed off to work and then the rest of us wandered over to Maggie Daley park. It's a gigantic playground within Millennium Park. The kids were in heaven!

The kids (and Mike) checked out all the slides, we explored the "enchanted forest," they climbed and climbed to their hearts' content, and the tall kids sat on the sidelines soaking in the sunshine. It was lovely! I had brought plenty of snacks, so we took a break in the enchanted forest to fuel up. Then Auntie had to leave for the airport while we stayed a bit longer.

It was so late by the time we left the park that we decided to skip lunch and go to Dylan's Candy Bar instead. Instead of getting off at our normal bus stop, we went one more to find ourselves in a rainbow land of sugar-overload. We got a couple pieces of specialty fudge to share and the kids spent their dollars from Gpa J on suckers.

We took our treats and walked back to the hotel. Then had a hearty snack (some hummus and crackers and bananas and fudge ... vacation mom is crazy) and decided to head to the pool early for the day. We swam for about an hour and were the beneficiaries of a few squirt guns from other pool inhabitants. Dec is wicked with the squirt gun, so I also constantly had one for self-defense purposes.

After the pool, everyone showered quickly and we met a colleague of mine from work (he's the publisher for one of the industry journals I work with) at the original Pizzeria Uno. The kids enjoyed mozza sticks and mac and cheese, while Mike, Phil, and I indulged in Chicago deep dish. It was so good - and I was so full! We got back, started packing our gear, and headed to bed. Dec had a rough time sleeping (he had a bad cough), so neither he nor I got much sleep.

Wednesday morning, we hurried down for one last breakfast, finished packing, and hopped on the train (and then the other train) to the airport. It felt easier on the way back. Maybe just because we were nearing pro status on public transit! Airport security was relatively easy again. This time we got stopped for F's meds and the box of spaghetti that I had brought home (because I didn't want to waste it). Apparently not a lot of people bring 16 oz of uncooked angel hair through in their carry-ons. Weird! The security crew and I had a good giggle about that.

Our seats were less "together" than the first flight, but we were still near each other. Dec and I had two seats next to each other and everyone else had an aisle seat in the cluster. It worked. And as expected, both Q and D decided that they needed to try out the airplane bathroom. We were happy to land, take the tram and the train, and make our way back to our car. We snagged our Yogi on the way home and got back in time for the three to trick Mike into putting the trampoline up for the season [but not really. The predicted April snowstorm happened].

Final vacation math ... Planes: 2. Trains: 8. Buses: 9. Automobiles; 2. Bags stuck on bus: 1. Full-on public meltdowns: 0. In private meltdowns: no comment. Trips to the pool: 4. Backpacks: 5. Suitcases: 2. Number of Vs who thought the trip was great fun: 5 (6 if you count Yogs and his awesome vacation at the Ps).