Our bags were packed and it was time to take a nap before we started the beginning of our journey. I hopped in bed ready to sleep, but my kids? Not so much. Do you remember that 1980's ad on Disney movies where the kids can't sleep the night before they leave for Disneyland? Yea. . . that was my kids, all of them. I didn't get to sleep at all. Every 2-3 minutes one of them would knock on my door asking if it was time to leave yet! Silly me, thinking I would get some rest!
Anyways, we headed out, got to the airport, and waited . . . and waited . . . and waited. We boarded the plane about an hour late. Finally, we were able to start the first leg of our journey, our flight to Chicago. I was anticipating sleeping on the plane to have some sort of energy once we landed. you know that Spirit Airlines seats do not recline? Talk about uncomfortable on a red eye flight when you just want to pass out. The kids and I slept a little bit on and off before we landed, not nearly enough for what we needed.
As soon as we had our car and were off, we made our first stop at Nut-Phree Bakery. WOW! What an amazing experience. A bakery where Riley could eat everything he saw in front of him. Cupcakes, cookies, brownies, candies. I actually teared up watching him act like a normal kid in a candy store, not able to make his mind up to what he wanted to get. I let him stock up on goodies for our trip, and he left a happy camper!
From Nut-Phree bakery we started our exploration of Chicago with Lake Shore Drive. The kids couldn't believe that Lake Michigan wasn't the ocean! We tried to make our first stop at Lincoln Park to see the statue of President Grant (and wanted to see the statue of President Lincoln in Grant Park). We drove around the park for 10 minutes to find a parking spot on the street, but none could be found. All we could find was parking down by the Lincoln Park Zoo. So park there we did, and instead of finding the statue, we explored the zoo instead. I was super excited to find a molding machine there! As a girl, my Grammie would take me to the LA Zoo and buy me an animal mold with each visit. I haven't seen a molding machine since then! I was giddy like a little girl as I put the money in the machine to have my little piggy made! As soon as it came out I inhaled the delicious smell of my childhood. My kids smelled the wax mold and thought I was completely crazy for loving the smell. We continued walking around the zoo and found this amazing photographic spot with the city behind us.
We continued our drive, but because we spent so much time at the Zoo we had to give up a stop we wanted, going to the beach. We finished driving Lake Shore Drive at the Navy Pier and intended to park our car and go on the Ferris Wheel. We were left in complete sticker shock with a price tag of $28 to park our car. I apologized to the kids and kept driving to our next stop - Millennium Park. Again we were left in shock with a $28 parking fee. I choked down the pain of the paying the fee and forked out the money because we could hit 2 sights with parking here. We were able to see the Cloud Sculpture and walk about 10 minutes to see the beginning of Route 66 sign. We picnicked by the Cloud Sculpture and then had fun exploring all around the sculpture. Kids had fun seeing what they could do with the reflections.
From there we walked to the Route 66 sign. The kids were enamored with the bands playing on the street corners. I'm glad we walked there instead of trying to capture it while driving by because, holy cow, Chicago drivers are absolutely insane.
By the time we finished our walk and made it back to the car, we were all exhausted. I tried to be animated to keep them awake but within minutes it was all for a loss. My girls fell asleep first and stayed that way for most of the rest of our trip that day. I tried to wake them up multiple times, but it all for non.
On our way out of Chicago we got stuck in a torrential downpour and could barely see the road in front of us. Because of the rain we missed seeing the Castle Car Wash. I was disappointed but I know we won't be able to see everything we want to see. We continued our trip to Romeoville. On the way there, I lost my navigator. He joined his sisters in sleep for the rest of the trip for the day. I stopped at the White Fence Farm and a picture with the Rooster.
We continued onto Joliet. I found Sheriff from the movie Cars, the awesome Blues Brothers dancing on the top of an ice cream shop, and then drove to the highlight of my day - The Old Joliet Prison. On the way I found this awesome mural! Riley woke up right when we got there, saw the prison, said "Oh, Cool!", then closed his eyes and continued to sleep. While the kids slept, I walked around the prison and took photos for about half an hour. I love the history of the place, the eery-ness, the broken windows, the vines slowly taking over, and the sunset light hitting the tower. It was an amazing sight.
Our next stop was Wilmington. The kids were still passed out. I stopped to photograph the Gemini Giant at the now shut down Launching Pad Drive-In.
Our last stop was in Braidwood. We enjoyed dinner at the classic Polka Dot Drive-In and slept for the night.
The first tip of what we learned on day 1? SLEEP IN CHICAGO!! I overextended our day by traveling outside of Chicago on Day 1 and the kids missed a bunch of good sights. OMG. Chicago has so much to do and see! Also, you really need a hotel in Chicago to leave your car at to utilize public transportation to see the sights so you can avoid the parking fees. Day 1 is a wrap! So excited to see what Day 2 holds!
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