Vacation (Chicago) Day 5

Tuesday we got up a little earlier and found a McDonalds for breakfast. CR wanted to go to the Lego Discovery Center and the Girls wanted to go to the mall. They were close together so we split up. G went with KC and CR.
We went to the Woodfield Mall. It was huge. We only had a couple of hours so we really had to hurry and look around. One fun store that we went into was Sophora (sp). We tried on some makeup and we had a fun girl time. We got a few things and then it was time to go meet the boys and G.

We stopped at Burger King and got something to go for lunch and then headed back to downtown Chicago on the CTA.

We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was nice and it was free. The kids were very excited to go to the zoo cause they said that it has been a long time since we last went.

On a side note… before we left I assigned the kids areas to research so that we could figure out what we wanted to do while we were on vacation. The zoo was one of those places that they chose. We made a long list and then picked and choose from that. This allowed the kids to be happy with places we went to since they picked them themselves. It took some pressure off of me also since I didn’t have to research and choose.

After the zoo, we walked the Magnificent Mile. A Mile full of fancy shops, we didn’t really buy anything but it’s one of those things that you have to do while in Chicago. We did see American Girl Place, which the girls were dying to see.
We then got on the subway on our way to Chinatown. It was about 5:30 and rush hour time. This was a good experience cause the subway was really crowded and we had to stand like sardines.

In Chinatown we walked down the main street and found a Chinese Restaurant to eat dinner. It was very authentic and yummy. Afterwards, we walked the street and window-shopped. K got a good deal on a purse. C bought some relaxation balls. S bought a Chinese umbrella. CR bought some Chinease coins.

After that we went to Millennium Park to see Buckingham Fountain. It’s this huge fountain and at night they do a show with music and lights. It was a relaxing time. The last thing that I wanted to do was get on the “L”. This is the train that goes around downtown Chicago above ground. It was no big deal. But I just wanted to experience it. This took us on our way back to the subway and our car.