As noted, we spent the weekend in Chicago. Jack, Corwin’s friend, came along for the trip. I think that was a net win, as it seemed to keep Corwin from being as bored as he normally is by quotidian reality.
We left the house at 5:15 AM to pick up Jack and make the train, scheduled for a 6:05 AM departure. The train was only an hour late, so that wasn’t as bad as last time. Charles, as expected, was frequently on the verge of hysterical panic at the thought that something had gone wrong and we wouldn’t get on the train, but once seated he was in a better mood, although he made it clear to Mom that Charles would be sitting in the window seat.
Once at the hotel, Alice took less than a minute (literally) to find pen and paper and start doodling. She then handed this off to Dad and headed for the bed, so she could snuggle down under the covers. This is not because she was tired, but just because she likes to do that. The knowledge that we’d be sleeping on the sheets that cleaned the bottoms of Alice’s shoes added that special family touch to her gesture.
After the bed, Alice started work on the various electronic devices near by. She particularly liked the phone, frequently picking it up and saying “hello!” in to it, followed by a babble of conversation.
The boys, meanwhile, had decided that their preferred activity for the weekend was watching TV in the hotel room. Instead, the boys were forced off to salt mines of educational activity.
We went to the Shedd Aquarium first. The boys seemed to enjoy it. We took in a dolphin show, although Alice broke down in tears when I refused to let her jump in the pool with the dolphins. Charles got to see crabs as big as Alice, although he wouldn’t get close enough to them (even behind glass) for me to get a picture that shows the proper scale. Corwin and Jack mainly wanted to see the sharks, although they did sit through the dolphin show.
After Shedd, it was off to Adler Planetarium. I think this was a bit more fun for the boys. They particularly liked the Mars Rover simulator and the meteor impact simulator (which fired pellets of ice at a floor of dust). The Liberty 7 display was a hit as well. Over to the left you can see the two astro-boys trying out a 1:1 model of the capsule. You might also notice how popular red shirts were, with only Charles and I holding out for a non-expendable color.
After all of that, we had supper. I managed to lose my gloves bewteen the time we arrived at the restaurant and the time we were seated. . While we were waiting, Alice got antsy so I took her outside. I figure a good blast of the icy wind and snow would convince her that she wanted to be inside, but she is made of sterner stuff. She quite liked the weather, at least for 5-10 minutes. When we got back to the hotel, Mom forced Corwin to go swimming, which he and Jack spent about an hour doing. After that, Mom and I were so tired we let the boys watch the TV they had been longing for all day.
The next morning we got up slowly, but we eventually made it out. Jack was a big help in trying to get Corwin moving. Alice tried to help by stomping on Corwin’s hand as he lay prostrate from the overwhelming weight of his backpack. Corwin himself wasn’t much help, although at one point he headed out the door, saying it was time to go without having managed to get his own shoes on.
The program for the morning was a transportation adventure for Charles. We took the subway up a few stops, then rode the Elevated Train around the Loop. At one point there was an area cleared out in front of a building with warning signs about falling ice. Charles like the signs, while the older boys liked the concept of ice falling out of the sky and wandered about in the clear area, actively tempting fate. We saw a big chunk of snow come off, but no life or limb threatening chunks of ice. This was a bit of a bummer for them.
We went to Marshall Field’s for a last look at the Christmas window displays (as it won’t be Marshall Field’s next Christmas). We popped in to get warm and look at the toys, although the selection wasn’t great. Alice, however, fell in love with a little pedal powered sports car and had to be dragged screaming away from it. We popped down to the basement for snacks (the boys were always looking for snacks). We then took the subway from the basement back to the hotel. Next we caught a trolley for Navy Pier to check out the Children’s Museum. Corwin and Jack found it OK, but Charles and Alice could have spent all day there. All of the kids liked the Water Works, even Corwin and Jack.
It was a good day for Charles, who rode in a (1) taxi (2) trolly (3) elevated train (4) subway (5) passenger train. It wasn’t perfect, however, as Charles asked about whether we could also try riding on a boat.
Charles: Can we go on a boat?
Mom: No.
Charles: Can we go on a big boat?
Mom: No.
Charles: What about a medium boat?
Mom: No.
Charles: Can we go on a small boat?
Mom: No.
Charles: How about a very small boat?
Mom: No.
Charles: I want to go on a boat.
Finally, it was time to go. We had a late lunch and headed out for the train station. As soon as the train was moving, Jack wanted snack. Once he brought up the subject, Corwin and Charles demanded snacks as well. I put them off for a while, since we had lunch less than 2 hours previously, but eventually I gave in and got some food for them. Alice slept almost all the way home so she could keep a parent up very late after a very tiring day. She’s considerate that way.
Chilling at the coffee shop