TRIP TO CHICAGO!!!!!

Tim, Zachary, Elyse and I drove to the Vernon Hills Metra Train Station to ride the train to Chicago. We found out that the train stops at O'Hare (wouldn't that have been smarter when I headed to Florida for Bristol's birth). I would have gotten to O'Hare in one hour instead of three. Learn something new every day.

Outside the VH train station:

Inside the train - we sat on the second floor - the kids thought that was cool.

Kids making goofy faces instead of smiling for the camera.

Proof that we had tickets for the train ride. Elyse was free, and Zachary was half price.

Our first stop would be Navy Pier. Google maps said it was 0.8 miles. They LIED! It was at least two miles. We were pretty tired when we got there. We walked from one end of the pier to the other (at least it was inside - most of it anyway).

Just outside of Navy Pier, we saw the biggest piece of macaroni and cheese - we were hungry, so it looked really good.

Dad included in this one.

Elyse being the clown that she is - trying to play with the children.

Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus were there for picture taking. The funny man on the left of the picture, sitting on the steps, was supposed to be an elf. He was about 6'5" - funny size for an elf. He was also so funny - maybe he missed his calling of being a clown.

The decorations were really neat.

"Crystal Garden" was pretty cool. Behind the kids was a fountain. It squirted water every few seconds. The first time it did that, we all jumped.

Here the water went from one display to the next, right over our heads.

"Winter Wonderland" was going on. How would you like to get on this HUGE ferris wheel in 34 degree weather. Not me! Not any of us!

Dad & I under the fountains.

Zachary & Elyse hiding in the trees. It was a pretty cool display. Nice to see something green in the winter.

George, Titus, Rogue and Zelda - this one is for you!

All you Michiganders - Illinois is rooting for you, lol.

Tim and the kids ventured outside to see a HUGE sailboat. I stayed inside - sissy.

The clown in action again.

When we got to the end of the pier, there was a sign that said free trolley ride. I wanted a ride even if it went in circles. Come to find out, it took us most of the way to our next stop.

Three of us under the Macy's clock (remember this from a few years ago, girls?).

Macy's had their windows decorated with the theme about Virginia - Is there really a Santa Claus? Each window had part of the story painted on the glass. Inside the display was part of the story made completely out of paper. I always liked this part of winter in Chicago.

Elyse and I are very studios as we read the writing on the glass.

One of the windows...

Boy, I wish you could read part of the story, maybe if you click on it, you can read it better. I don't know.

A few blocks away was Christkindlemarket on Daley Plaza. It is pretty, but truly a tourist trap. I wanted to get a loaf of German bread, so I asked Tim if we could. He came over, looked at the price, and said, "No." I didn't realize that a loaf cost $22.00 - I hadn't read the sign, just wanted the bread.

When Hyo-Sun was living with us, she went to Christkindlemarket. That is where she bought us the little decorations for the tree that said, "Mom, Dad." The nativity scene was huge. At least they are allowed to put something of Christ in His birthday celebration.

We found a Corner Bakery (Chicago's remake of Panera Bread). We ate a late lunch there. It was quite crowded, but we did finally get a seat. I still wanted to go to Argo Tea, so we only ordered water to go with our meal.

Just for Betsey and myself, we walked to Argo Tea. The kids got hot chocolate and I got their Winter Spice special. I didn't think to put sugar in my drink, it would have been much better tasting.

We realized that the next train left in 40 minutes. We were extremely tired, but we tried to make that train. We walked pretty fast and made it with two minutes to spare. We ate a little snack on the train and made it back to VH around 4:00. It was a fun, cold day.

That's is a long post, hope you made it to the end. We are very tired, but a good tired. We enjoyed our day very much.