Hard to say; after all, he is just three-and-a-half. But, our first family vacation as a foursome was a lot of fun for me and Aimee and the boys. We drove to Chicago July 6 and came back to Ann Arbor July 10. In between, we saw fish and sharks and dinosaur bones and the White Sox and Navy Pier and the inside of more train cars than Aimee ever wants to see again.Monday, July 6
We left Ann Arbor about 10:30 a.m. and rolled into Chicago just after 3 p.m. We checked into the Hilton Suites/Magnificent Mile, ditched the car for the week, and had a little bit of downtime before heading out to dinner with Aunt Stacey and soon-to-be Uncle Marc. It was there on the 26th floor of the Hilton that Harmon saw it for the first time: yes, for 5 days, he was simply transfixed on the parking ramp attached to the adjacent John Hancock Center. Every morning, he had his breakfast near the window so he could watch the cars circle for hours. We packed the stroller and boys and headed out to Gino’s East for a dinner of, what else, Chicago-style pizza. We peeked a little at the stores on Michigan Avenue, and even went into the Disney Store to look for more cars from Harmon’s obsession: the movie, “Cars.” We took it easy for the rest of the night and, true to our intentions of being rested and ready to go when the boys beckoned, were in bed by 10:30 p.m. most nights.
Tuesday, July 7
On our first full day in Chicago, Harmon and I walked a few blocks to Water Tower Place to get a few breakfast items, including, as Harmon told a few people in the hotel elevator, “We need to get a poppy for Mommy.” This was our morning ritual during our time in Chicago and Harmon loved it because he got to ride the escalators up and down every morning. He also liked going up and down in the elevators and showed he is well on his way to being our little gentleman, as he always held the doors for people getting on and off.
Our first trip took us to the Shedd Aquarium. We took the redline from the Chicago/State Street station to the Roosevelt stop and walked a few blocks to the museum campus. Once we got to the entrance, we realized the best thing we ever did for the trip happened when Aimee purchased the City Pass, which allows you to enter several tourist points for one price. While we did have to stand in line for a half-hour or so, it was nothing compared to the snake of a line down the front steps and the adjoining sidewalk.
Once inside, we took in all of the galleries and then went below to see the penguins, beluga whales and sharks. Harmon paid a little attention; he might have liked it more if we had been able to see the water show that is put on several times a day, but it was full twice while we were there. We did purchase starfish stuffed animals for the boys. Harmon named his “Blueberry,” called it “his grandson,” and told us many times in the subsequent days that “Blueberry misses me so much; I am going to go home and give him a hug.” You can’t make this stuff up.
We headed back to the train so Harmon and Simon could rest for a few hours before we headed to U.S. Cellular Field to see the White Sox-Indians game. We hopped the redline back down to the Southside and purchased the cheapest tickets we could find ($23, but still better than going to the city’s other dump of a baseball stadium). After walking up seemingly 30 ramps (because we had Simon in the stroller), we reached the 500 level, which could affectionately be called the nosebleed pavilion. We knew we would not be able to see much of the game, but we sat for a few innings before the boys were ready to head back uptown. It is funny that we were 250 miles from home, but because Harmon was wearing his Michigan sweatshirt, he got politely “trash-talked” by an Indians fan. See, even during baseball season, Ohio fans/residents are obsessed with Michigan 24/7. It was all in good fun. Another train ride and short walk put us back in the hotel and in bed for the night.
Wednesday, July 8
The start of the day brought another train ride and trip back to the museum campus and the Field Museum. Not the greatest place for kids, but we did enjoy looking at “Sue,” the huge dinosaur skeleton on display in the main gallery. We walked around a few of the other galleries, including one we thought would be on the planets; instead it was plants. I guess it shows how tired we were that day. We thought about heading to the nearby Adler Planetarium, but it was raining and Harmon did not seem to be in the mood for more galleries. We headed back to the hotel for a little R&R before Aunt Stacey came to watch the boys while we did a little shopping.
We hopped back on the train to Lincoln Park so Aimee could shop at the Patagonia store. We had just made it back into the city when Stacey called to say that it seemed like Harmon was allergic to his dinner. We had bought him a cashew butter and jelly sandwich to take the place of his favorite meal (PB&J), and the interaction was not a good one. We ran back to the hotel and found our firstborn looking like a blowfish with puffy eyes and hives. We gave him some Benadryl and he calmed down pretty quickly, but there were some anxious moments. We felt so bad for Stacey; obviously it was not her fault, but it had to be scary to see her nephew have an allergic reaction. We had missed dinner, so we ordered takeout from the nearby Cheesecake Factory. All in all, a good way to end a crazy day.
Thursday, July 9
Our last full day in Chicago was the mostly leisurely, but also involved the most walking. We stopped at a few stores, including Niketown. The merchandise was awesome, as always, but it was also depressing. Right as you walk in the door, you are hit with Terrelle Pryor and Juice Williams jerseys. It is then that you are reminded that Michigan dumped Nike for Adidas and their riches, so there was not a single piece of maize and blue clothing to be found. Ugh! After that uplifting experience, we then had the worst meal of our lives at ESPNZone. We then walked about a half-mile to Navy Pier, where we had to get after some Garrett Popcorn and walked to the end of the pier. Harmon was a little fussy, so I faked that I had thrown his “Sally” car from the movie into the drink. He bought it, no pun intended, hook-line-and-sinker, and it wasn’t until the next day that we had him convinced that Sally swam all the way back to our hotel to find him again. He still believes it.
After Navy Pier, we wanted to see one last attraction: Millennium Park. It has the coolest fountain that features the faces of Chicago residents spitting water on the shallow pond below. Aimee and Harmon took a cab to the park, while Simon and I hoofed it to the park, as Harmon was getting tired after our long walks. Harmon really dug it there, even when I dragged him under the spout and he got soaked. We jumped the train back north (our final train ride, during which we realized that Harmon was now naming the next stops), and after Aimee and boys were safely just a few blocks from the hotel, I headed back out to P.F. Chang’s for takeout. Great call by Aimee, especially since I owed her one after our lunch tasted like ass. After a brief stop in the hotel pool, which included Simon's first swim, the boys took it easy, Harmon assumed his perch in front of the window to the study the parking ramp next door, and we began to pack for home.
Friday, July 10
We were all packed and ready to leave, and thought about going to the top of the John Hancock Center, but the weather was cloudy and the visibility would have been poor. So, we decided to check out, fetch the car and begin our trek back to Ann Arbor. We did drive north and by Wrigley Field. The Cubs were playing the Cardinals in about two hours, and there were a ton of Redbird fans there. It was entertaining to see all the lowly Cub fans who have successfully embarked on their second century chasing that elusive next World Series. Harmon summed the trip up perfectly as we urged him to take a look at the stadium as we drove by: “I am not concerned with that; I am concerned with the train station.” We thought about going to see Northwestern University, but it started to rain and so we decided to just head back. After some fun on the I-90-94 parking lot, we were in Indiana and headed east.
Overall, it was a great trip and the boys, while worn out, seemed to enjoy what we had planned. The good: Food, “Blueberry” and Millennium Fountain. The bad: Cashew allergies, Cub fans and Simon’s newfound pterodactyl scream (loud and piercing!). The ugly: The end of our first family vacation; ESPNZone lunch, and my still-throbbing deep bone bruise from trying to jump one of the subway turnstiles.
Thanks to Aimee for planning such a great trip. She is always so thoughtful in trying to plan fun things for the boys!
P.S. – Our vacation coincided with the week that Simon went to three meals a day. Let’s just say that No. 2 is an absolute eating machine, and if you are late getting his “ba-ba” or vegetables or fruit into his grill, he will let you know about it. Overall, he was very well-behaved on the trip, and it had to be hard for him to be sitting in the stroller all the time.
