Beavers 95th | Chicago - Part 1

Following a quick flight from New York, we arrived at Chicago airport and enjoyed a quiet uber ride into town.  The girls had both commented how much they enjoyed the rolling commentary in the uber rides in Houston, Washington and New York, so they were a little disappointed here in Chicago.  But the disappointment was quickly washed away once we entered the downtown area and the awe at the buildings kicked in.

The kids were happy to take a stroll around and enjoy the scenery as well as the notably cooler weather!  Upon walking out of the hotel, we noticed something strange almost immediately... a Cow-lady-beetle on a building!

We then strolled around downtown on our way to lunch...taking in some of the public art and sculptures, as well as some of the amazing buildings around the rive.

There was a series of these statues all around town, celebrating the work which the K-9 division of the Chicago PD does.

 We found a candy store named in Dylan's honour...so we had to go in and see what it was like...

Nothing short of wow...

It was then time to eat... and no, not at the Purple Pig, but at Giordano's, an opportunity to sample the famous Chicago Deep-Dish pizza pie...

 Keira's face seems to be in constant surprise at pizza her in the US.

After stuffing ourselves with pizza, on the walk home we found a nice little icecream store and so we shared a kid-cone to try it out.

On our first full day in Chicago, we had amazing weather, not too hot, not a cloud in the sky and nothing but brilliant blue for as far as you can so... So it was a great day to head out and explore the coast and parks.  But first a nice health breakfast of pancakes, bacon and sweet whipped cream!

The new Chicago Bull.

We weren't expecting to be taking any photos on the beach...but here you go... we used the time here by the lake to appreciate the size of the lake (which would be easily confused with a sea... massive!

Our next stop was Navy Pier, home to a ferris wheel, a couple of rides, and food...

The view from the top was definitely worth the ride.

Claire and Dad had a go on the spinner...and since we were the only ones on it, they kept us on for twice as long... A little dizzy after that experience.

We then tried the maze...which was surprisingly tough... a mirror and laser maze which seemed endless... until we realised that the exit was hidden behind one of the mirrors!

 Then onto the parks... enjoying some of the foam which was being sprayed across the area for the kids to play with.

The view from Millenium Park is truely amazing...

We played around at the Cloud Gate for a while... an awesome structure which has to be seen to be appreciated.

We are in there somewhere.

And shared a beer-can chicken for lunch.

The kids played in the Crown Fountain...

And then soaked our feet in the reflection ponds at The Lurie Garden.

Heading back, we stopped in Macy's for a quick shopping fix, and then onto Glazed & Confused to ensure we cover-off Keira's doughtnut requirement for each place!

For dinner we started with frozen yoghurt and pearl milk tea...

Followed by a sampling from Chick-Fil-A... where we were advised about the important food groups.

Then it was finally time to get back to the hotel and rest...we covered around 12kms today without complaint from the girls... I think they are getting used to the idea of walking big distances daily now!