Places to Go (Vacation) - On the Road Again - Spring Break in Chicago, Part II (downtown Chicago)

After road tripping to the Chicago suburbs, we spent one night at my mom's house and then drove downtown to the Embassy Suites for a mini-vacation in the big city. Because tall buildings are fun ("mom, this is like New York, well sort of").

First stop - The Art Institute, rated the #1 museum in the world according to Trip Advisor (yay for Chicago!!). The Chagall stained glass wall and the miniature rooms fascinated the kids, just like they used to fascinate me when I was their age (nothing like a trip down memory lane).







Lunch at the museum's restaurant. So. Much. Light. I could have stayed forever.







We walked the bridgeway into Millennium Park. Actually, "ran" may be a more appropriate verb.













I have no idea why the giant bean is so fascinating. But it really is so fascinating.





For spring break, P REALLY wanted to shop at Claire's and see Cinderella. We spotted the Claire's on the cab ride back to the hotel and immediately jumped out because best friend necklaces and feather earrings are a necessity (or so I've been told).











Just some shots of hotel room life. The crazy crowded and unnaturally blue pool was too insane to photograph (so. many. children), but the fantastic breakfast buffet coupled with the nightly happy hour made up for everything.









Walk to the Italian Village for dinner. Loved watching T point out everything of interest (basically everything he saw).







Crazy good meal at the Italian Village (who doesn't love a whole restaurant decorated like a foreign town?} Apparently my mom used to have date nights here with my dad, years ago. But this was my first meal at the Village.



Night at the Chagall wall. Chicago is so cool.





Loving these views.











Another day, another museum. I practically lived at the Museum of Science and Industry as a kid. Almost nothing is the same now, but still fun to take the kids to one of my favorite places ever.





The museum had a new exhibit called "the Maze", where you walk through this crazy mirrored world. It's really cool and if it weren't for the crowds, it could almost be scary. Finding your way in a mirrored in world proved much more difficult than expected. We spent a lot of time bumping into ourselves.



P's second wish came true - Cinderella in the theaters (so. much. cheese.). I spent the rest of the trip telling everyone "have courage and be kind", but nobody ever listens to me. On the upside, the theater had a bar, as all theaters should.







And, finally, on our last night, dinner with my aunt, uncle and cousin at Pepe's (home of the stuffed nacho). I let the kids loose with my camera, not many shots came out, but they were really fun to sort through.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY EVERYONE!! I'll post the final set of photos on Friday and then we'll return to ordinary life (and the beginning of soccer season).

Places to Go (Vacation) - On the Road Again - Spring Break in Chicago, Part I (the LONG drive there)

We have not visited my mom in the Chicago suburbs in a few years, so we decided to spend spring break road tripping 704 miles to see grandma. Dan had to work, leaving the kids and me to face 1-80 W on our own.

In order to prepare for 12 hours in the minivan, we loaded new movies onto the ipad and kindle fires and I checked out a large selection of books on tape from the library (has anyone read The Circle? I'm having mixed feelings about it).

And I must say now that the kids are older, long drives are SO MUCH EASIER than in previous years. Easy almost, with an emphasis on "almost".

We spent our first night at a Homewood Suites outside of Cleveland, where the kids alternated between running around like crazy (so. much. energy.) and Disney Channel enchantment.



Driving Day 2. Everyone has their own little entertainment "zone".





























And finally, we made arrived at Grandma's house, where T was greeted with an awesome alligator hat (some things MUST be worn immediately).

T had a blast going through all of grandma's junk/treasures/stuff and, as always, all three kids were thrilled to see Murphy the dog. Even though I managed to take several photos of Grandma's house, Grandma didn't make it into any pictures (probably because she was so busy following T around and making sure he put everything back in the proper place). Luckily, there will plenty photos of Grandma in Wednesday's post (i.e. Spring Break, Part II (downtown Chicago)).

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!!!

Places to Go - Spring Family Hikes at Potmac Overlook Park (Arlington, VA) & Riverbend Park (Great Falls, VA)

Can we all admit that it was a LONG, COLD winter? Usually in VA we'll have a few days of freezing cold, followed by a 60 or 70 degree "break" period. But not this year. This year the cold came and stayed, reminding me of Michigan winters. Luckily spring has arrived, so we've spent the past two weekends hiking as a family. Turns out my children NEEDED to run.















1. Hike Number One - Donaldson Run Potomac Overlook Park - My kids love this hike because it involves multiple stream crossing (hence, multiple opportunities to become wet and dirty). Last week's hike was a little trickier than usual because T slid and FULLY IMMERSED himself in the stream, so we had to cobble together various scarfs and sweatshirts to keep him warm. Still, this is a favorite hike, especially in spring, where an overlook gives you full views of the Potomac (you can actually hike to the Potomac as the path merges with the Potomac Heritage Trail, but with a soaking wet child, we decided to turn around). I have no idea what the total mileage is. And this IS NOT stroller friendly.

Directions - I found this map online. We take the Brown Creeper Connector Trail down to the stream. At the bottom of the hill, the Brown Creeper connects with the Donaldson Run Trail - if you follow the trail to the right, you'll eventually hook up with the Potomac River. If you opt for the trail on your left, you'll loop back to the parking lot. We usually hike to the Potomac then turn around and follow the Donaldson Run trail through the woods and back to our car.

















2. Hike Number 2 - Riverbend Park to Great Falls, VA - This is more of a walk than a hike, as the trail stays flat and there are no stream crossings. But the views are gorgeous, especially in early spring/late winter when the trees are still bare. We even saw a swan. Plus, if you hike into Great Falls you don't have to pay admission (score!!) and my kids love climbing on all the boulders on the sides of the path.

Directions - We learned about this hike from Kidfriendly DC, click here to read her wonderful directions. The total hike is around 3.5 to 4 miles. And, while I've seen people with strollers navigate the path, it does not look like an easy thing to do (esp. through the "boulder field").