The year 2009 when I first traveled to Chicago, Illinois. We could only take a 3-hour road trip to get there since the State of Wisconsin is just 3 hours away by land from the State of Illinois. We would normally stay there for one whole day and would come back home in the afternoon. One winter morning, we were in the bedroom watching TV when my husband approached me and told me to dress up because he would take me to Chicago. My face lit up the moment he told me that we're going to Illinois. That was on my bucket list and would be my first time to visit the city.
My husband is full of surprises, he never fails to surprise me with a lot of things, he knows exactly how to make me happy, he knows that traveling is like my therapy, it's also a good thing that we have the same interests in life. So, when he said that, he didn't have to say it twice, I fixed myself up quickly before he changes his mind, I was so ready for the new adventure. Another exciting day for me. Whenever I hear the word travel, It suddenly delivers a palpable excitement within me.
That morning, my husband drove all the way to Chicago. The closer we got to the city, the more excited I became. Along the way I was thinking about one of the most famous landmarks in Chicago, which is located at the Millennium Park, an impressive artwork that looks like a giant mercury, the sculptor named this huge sculpture Cloud Gate, but everyone knows it as The Bean because of its shape. This is indeed an amazing place for people to see! The Cloud Gate is one of Chicago's most popular attractions.
Every time I looked at this artwork, somehow, would remind me of my childhood memories. When I was little I used to play with our old thermometer as if I was a doctor, but unfortunately, I accidentally dropped it on the floor and broke it into pieces. And to my surprise as an innocent child, when I saw these multiple pieces of soft silver liquid metal that scattered into the floor, I got intrigued and curious about it, they looked so cool! I even tried to pick them up, but I couldn't hold them for they were so soft. The more I got amazed when I was able to put them together and the tiny pieces had suddenly merged by themselves. Then I found out from my parents that those pieces are the mercury, the chemical element that is extremely harmful to your health.
Trivia: Cloud Gate, designed by Anish Kapoor, is one of the world’s largest outdoor installations. It is made of highly polished stainless steel that reflects the activity and lights of the park and surrounding city Skyline. Kapoor was inspired by liquid mercury and the sculpture was given a formal name once fully assembled. It was created by using computer technology to cut into precise shapes 168 giant stainless steel plates, which were pieced together like a puzzle and welded shut.
Because Chicago is not too far away from our place in Madison, that's the reason why we would visit this city very often. Whenever boredom struck and didn't have enough budget for a long vacation, we would just take a short trip to the city of Chicago and would spend our day strolling around the city, visiting the shopping area, having lunch in some local restaurant or food park and of course my day would not be complete without taking lots of photos.
Chicago is such a beautiful city, that's why it gets a lot of tourists and visitors every day. Just keep in mind that this city is always crowded, hence, you might have a hard time finding a parking space for your vehicle. It could be frustrating sometimes, that was our number one problem about the city every time we went there for a visit, we would spend like 20-30 minutes by just looking for a place to park the car. So, if you are planning to visit the place just be there as early as you can, or if you booked a hotel in Chicago, it won't be a problem.
As far as I remember, the first time I went to Chicago was in the middle of a winter season. It was freezing cold, the river was frozen, I couldn't control my body from shivering and I couldn't even talk because my jaw got stuck.
That was a period of time when the weather is extremely cold, cold enough to form frost. Therefore, I couldn't manage to stay outside any longer. It was just so difficult for me to walk around the area. It wasn't snowing, but the wind was so cold.
And because of that, we decided to just visit the Museum and the Aquarium instead, in order for us to avoid the very cold weather outside. Thus, my husband brought me to an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, the John Shedd Aquarium. Shedd Aquarium was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection. Located on Lake Michigan.
After exploring the Shedd Aquarium we transferred to the Field Museum of Natural History, also known as The Field Museum, it is a natural history museum in the city of Chicago and is one of the largest such museums in the world.
Sue the Tyrannosaurus rex
On May 17, 2000, the Field Museum unveiled Sue, the most complete and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex fossil yet discovered. Sue is 40 feet long, stands 12 feet high at the hips and is 67 million years old.
We came back to Chicago in the month of August, the weather was no longer cold because it was summer time. While walking around Michigan Avenue, we passed by the river and from a distance, we saw a boat dock and the sign on the wall says "Wendella Boat Tours".
The Wendella Sightseeing Boat is Chicago's Original Architecture Tour, offering a variety of distinctive narrated tours, all focusing on Chicago's rich architectural heritage and history. Whether you're looking for an in-depth tour or a brief overview of Chicago, Wendella has many tour options to choose from.
We were thrilled to try it, therefore, we stepped down the bridge heading towards the boat dock, and there was a queue but there wasn't a huge crowd. We chose the combo Architecture tour and Lake Michigan tour to get the breathtaking view of the Chicago skyline from the lake. The boat was very clean and the tour was informative and very enjoyable. The views and information were excellent! We're glad we did! This is the reason why impromptu travel is the best!
After all these boat tour adventures and window shopping, we stopped by at the nearest restaurant and had a big meal, as we were both starving from our fun adventure that day. Then we went back to the Millennium Park to sit down and relax and watched the kids playing by the Crown Fountain.
There is a huge monitor that they called Crown Fountain in Millennium Park, it is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture, which is located in the Loop community area. The Crown Fountain is a major addition to the city's world-renowned public art collection. For 13 years, the twin, glass-block towers of Crown Fountain have been a public face of Chicago in its most popular park, the fountain's colorful full-mug videos spitting water onto delighted waders below. It is really amusing!
My Last Trip to Chicago
As far as I can recall, on our last trip to Chicago, we decided to stay overnight. We booked a room at the W Hotel for one night. Luckily, on our 1st day, while strolling around the place, we noticed a commotion, and many random people were all heading in one direction. My husband asked someone about it and said there would be a Chicago Air and Water Show by the lakefront.
Thus, we rushed to the location and it was about to start when we arrived. That would be interesting to watch, considering that, it would be my first time to see a live air show.
Chicago Air and Water Show is the largest FREE show of its kind in the United States. The show can be viewed along the lakefront from Fullerton to Oak Street, with North Avenue Beach as the focal point.
That was a nerve-racking show! Whenever I saw this kind of show on TV it seemed terrifying, because the pilots could lose their lives by just one mistake. The more it got too scary when you see it in person. However, when the show ended, the people would scream and gave the pilots a round of applause for what they courageously accomplished. That was an amazing show!
Brookfield Zoo
On our 2nd day in Chicago, we went to the Brookfield Zoo, also known as the Chicago Zoological Park. This is a zoo located in the Chicago suburb of Brookfield, Illinois. It houses around 450 species of animals in an area of 216 acres. It opened on July 1, 1934, and quickly gained international recognition for using moats and ditches instead of cages to separate animals from visitors and from other animals.
This Brookfield Zoo is huge! I got so tired of walking and our feet were already hurting, but we did not see a lot of animals inside, therefore, we decided to leave the place and moved to the next destination.
Museum of Science and Industry
Our last destination that day was at the Museum of Science and Industry. It is located in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood between Lake Michigan and The University of Chicago. This museum is a great place with lots of attractions not only for adults but also for youngsters. They have planes on the ceiling and lots of interactive exhibits for the kids.
You will surely enjoy the Tesla Anti-gravity Coil technologies, also known as "Nikola Tesla". If you do not see the captured German U boat, then you are really missing out. The kids will definitely have a blast there if you have kids you can bring them to this museum and they will certainly enjoy it!
This is the museum where I enjoyed the most, as it was very educational and entertaining! Considering that I love science, my favorite subject in school! Another great experience!