Weekend in the Windy City

We just got back from a fabulous weekend in Chicago. We were only there for a mere 72 hours, but were still able to pack a lot in.
We spent several hours at the Field Museum of Natural History. We learned about Ancient Egypt, endangered species, mammals, mythical creatures, the history of life on the Earth, DNA, dinosaurs, weather and natural disasters. We had a great time. Here is a picture of Anthony, Theo, and Sue--the largest and most complete known T-Rex fossil in the world.
After we played at the museum we played on a cool web at a nearby park. Here we are at the top.
Thursday night we took the L to Wrigley Field and caught a Cubs/Rockies game. It is always fun to watch baseball with passionate fans.
The Cubs pulled out a victory and the players that are on Anthony's various fantasy teams played well too. It was a win-win for him. It was a little too cold and windy for me, which is why my hair looks so messed up in this picture. It was really humid/windy/rainy off and on so my hair looks wacky in most of these pictures.Friday we planned to walk around and explore the Navy Pier and then rent bicycles to ride around the city for awhile. When we left the house it looked like it would probably rain, then it started to drizzle, and the closer we got to the pier the harder the rain came down. By the time we got there it was pouring. We walked around the shops for awhile--quite dejectedly-- trying to decide what to do. We were talking about going to a museum when we saw a sign for Trolley Tours. We aren't usually the type to fork over serious cash for something like that, but because it was raining we decided to go for it and were so glad we did. We spent the afternoon riding around town, learning lots of interesting facts about the city, and sightseeing. Our tour guide was great. We saw Oprah's new place, the construction site for the new 'Chicago Spire,' the Sears Tower and Hancock Building, the Art Institute and Soldier Field. By the time we had completed the route it had turned into a beautiful day. We now know what Anthony will do when he retires: he will be a tour guide. Or we will get called to a visitor's center mission like Nauvoo or Palmyra.Here is a picture of us at Millennium Park next to the "bean" statue. Its real name is Cloud's Gate.
That night we caught part of the Gospel Festival held at the Pritzker Pavilion, also located in Millennium Park, with Steve. It was really cool to hear such passionate songs about Christ. We didn't get a picture here because it started to rain again. We also saw a film called The Visitor.

Saturday morning we got up and decided to try and go on a bike ride. It turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day! We rode along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. It was so fun and refreshing. Of course it took me a few minutes to get my bearings straight on the beach cruiser, but once I did everything went smoothly.We stopped at the Buckingham Fountain to take a picture and get a drink.
Here is a picture of us near the Shedd Aquarium with the skyline of Chicago in the background.
Saturday afternoon we ventured to the Theatre District to see the play Wicked. It was great! Our seats were a lot better than we were thinking and the Oriental Theatre is gorgeous. I look gross in the pictures we took there so they will not be posted.
After the play we had to head to the airport to catch our flight home. Many thanks to Steve Bennett and family for not only letting us stay with them, but also showing us around town and making many of our activities possible. Also thanks to my mom and Jill for driving to us to the airport despite construction of I-35.