What a goober:
We got off to a slow start, especially when we missed our exit for the Soldier Field parking lot and got lost trying to get back to it. Eventually we found our way. It was perfect because we parked in the East lot, which was really close to the museum and aquarium. It was a gloomy, cold day, but fortunately there weren't very many people there. We were able to get free basic admission to the Field Museum using our local science center pass!! Sweet!
At first we thought this was one of the man-eating lions that the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" is based on. It turns out it is some other man-eating lion. Yikes.
The mummies/Egypt area was interesting, but also creepy to me.
Sue! The largest, most complete, best preserved T. Rex in the world.
Abe didn't want to be in any photos at first.
There were so many cool taxidermied animals that we saw.
This was a cute tiny deer thing from Asia:
We found the Ghost and the Darkness!
Abe still didn't want to be in any pictures.
Then he warmed up.
Toucans! Abe's favorite!
Happy Simon!
I like how Abe photo bombed this one!
Penguins!!
Abe called this the Darth Maul turtle because it has a red and black face. Very insightful.
We checked out the Ancient America exhibit. A lot of it was lame, but we found some cool things in there.
The boys loved the dinosaur bones. No surprise there!
We also checked out the hall of gems and hall of jades. There are some pretty fancy things in there, but the boys didn't really care. The Field Museum was a lot of fun. It was nice how family friendly it is. There is a nice restroom that has some toddler sized toilets and a nursing area (stall). They have a picnic area, so we could bring our lunch and eat it there. It was a nice museum, we loved it!
Then we walked over to the aquarium. The boys love the aquarium at our zoo, but it's closed for much needed renovations right now. I think they were really looking forward to seeing some fish again.
The aquarium had a cool layout. The main level has a tank full of Caribbean fish and a huge sea turtle in the middle and branching off from that area there are tanks with fish from the Amazon, Rivers, Islands and Lakes, Local Waters and Oceans. A wide variety of creatures to check out.
This was a gnarly looking snapping turtle.
Caribbean tank:
Simon's new trick with his pacie.
Jellies.
The Amazon tanks were fun to check out, but it was muggy and hot there.
I don't think you can tell, but we are by the sea horses.
Eli found Nemo!
Otters.
One area had some camping equipment toys out for kids to play with. Abe and Eli loved it! (There was also a little tent and camp stove that they liked.)
I don't remember why Eli is upset in this picture, but he didn't get his way and was mad at me.
Andy told Eli the fish was trying to kiss him.
Abe and Eli took a lot of pictures with my camera in the aquarium. This is my favorite:
We got the basic pass to the aquarium, so we thought we had done everything we could at this point and we were getting ready to leave. While I took Simon to feed him, Andy and the boys found a lower level with Beluga whales, dolphins, otters, penguins, a play zone and an area where you could feel star fish. I'm so glad we didn't leave! It was the best part of the aquarium.
We had a blast at the aquarium! I'm so glad we went! If we come back I'd probably pay the extra to see the aquatic show, Wild Reef tank (that's where the sharks are), and Jelly Fish.
We left around 4 to try to avoid the crazy Chicago traffic. It was still very congested. Plus it was raining. We stopped for dinner at an Abuelos in Indiana since I had purchased gift cards and the one in town closed. We only had to stop once to feed Simon and we were home by 11:30 that night. I'm so grateful we made it home safely. It was a terrible storm that we drove through. I don't know how Andy was able to keep so calm through it; he was a great chauffeur! The rain finally stopped the last 20 minutes or so of the drive.
This was a wonderful trip. It was great to have some family time together.
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