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Chicago...and more!

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I knew this part of summer was going to be busy, but it's been absolutely chaotic! But fun.

G and I wrapped up our summer 5-movie adventure...we finished it off with Minions and Monsters, and then Spider-Man. It was such a fun activity that we looked forward to all summer!



My mom, Arya, and I spent several days in Chicago recently. We took the Amtrak, which was a new method of transportation for us, and we learned so much about the rails. I would do things a little differently next time if we take the train again, but I'm so glad that we tried something new!

Day 1: Wednesday, July 29

We started off the day with breakfast in St. Paul while we waited for our train (which was four hours delayed... yikes!) The train ride was uneventful, but we were all very happy to get to Chicago. We didn't eat dinner until 10:30pm that night. Thank goodness for DoorDash!


Union Depot in St Paul



Here we go!


Crossing in Hastings


Winona!


I think this was in La Crosse? It's the Mississippi River


Hi Chicago! I realized it was dark at 8:30pm in Chicago, but it was still very light at home. Weird!



Day 2: Thursday, July 30

Today, we spent the day walking around Magnificent Mile and shopping. We also went out to the Wicker Park neighborhood to hit up some thrift stores. Lots and lots and lots of walking this day...so very tired by the end!



This was the view from our room... You can barely see Lake Michigan on the left side!


Heading to dinner at Labriola


The biggest piece of carrot cake that I have ever seen. We snacked on it for our entire trip!


Heading over the river to check out the River Walk




Such gorgeous weather to be out and about



Day 3: Friday, July 31

We knew the weather was going to be iffy on Saturday, so we wanted to spend more time outside this day. We walked over to Navy Pier, had lunch, and enjoyed sitting by Lake Michigan. We headed home right before a rainstorm came through...whew! We took it easy this afternoon, got a mani for Arya, and then headed to Copper Fox for dinner. Afterward, we dropped my mom back at the hotel, and I took Arya for Cold Stone. Yum!






I told Scott I bought him this boat!



Did I mention that Lollapalooza was happening this weekend, so Chicago had 100,000+ extra people in the area. We didn't go, but I liked that we could see the setup from Navy Pier.


Got some popcorn for my G!


Gorgeous color!


Ice cream...so good




All lit up!



Day 4: Saturday, August 1

As we expected, Saturday was a rainy day. We struggled to find something to do... we had already shopped at all the places, we didn't want to head close to Lolla, and we couldn't go outside. We landed on going to the Museum of Science and Industry...and it was great!


Hall of Mirrors maze


Space stuff!


Climate change is real, people!


Tornado!


More trains




A walkthrough of Main Street from a century ago


There's Lolla again!


Dinner at River North Bistro...excellent!


Day 5: August 2

Time to head home...hooray! The train ride was so much more efficient and clean on this day, which was a blessing. We had zero issues with the return trip. If you travel between St Paul and Chicago, I recommend the Borealis, and not the Empire Builder (it comes from the West Coast and is often delayed because it's been running for days)

Union Station in Chicago


Coming out into downtown Chicago


My mom's new best travel buddy


Welcome home to MN!



And because we haven't been busy enough, let's throw in a few more things!

We met up with friends for Leprechaun Days at the end of July. I love that we can see the fireworks from our neighborhood park. We get to avoid the traffic!




I took Arya with me to vote early in the MN primary...so proud of her for using her voice!


This cute little guy and I had a staring contest for a while. He ran away, so I won!


Today, we have a very fun afternoon/evening planned to see the Savannah Bananas at Target Field. Can't wait to cheer them on and enjoy the game!

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