WR, Center of the Universe!: April 2019

27 March 2019 - We decided to stick a little closer to home for the kids' spring break this year. We left at 11 am on this Wednesday, taking Nick's Tesla, Felix (9.5) and Iris (6.5) to Chicago for the first time. We stopped in Madison to take a break and get a short charge. The weather was good and the traffic was as expected. Iris needed a bathroom break approaching Milwaukee, so we made a quick stop. Our interim destination was Oak Creek. We stopped at a super charger and killed time with nachos and beer at the Water Street Brewery across the street. Traffic picked up approaching Chicago. We got to our thole (Hampton Inn in N Skokie) around 4:15. Nick and Iris swam briefly. After they came up to the room [2 room suite] and god ready, we drove to Wheeling to visit with Kyle and Delphine and 2.5-year-old Louison. It was so nice to visit with them. Kyle & I (and Nick) reminisced about our college days, talked about our lives now (esp. Delphine & me) and politics, of course. They ordered Lou Maneti's Chicago-style pizza for dinner. Had an aperitif before dinner while chatting. We left around 9, when the kids petered out. They were very good playing with Louison before she went to bed. Got back to the hotel with a game plan for tomorrow. All to bed around 10:30.

Cara, Delphine, Kyle, Nick

Iris, Louison, Felix

28 March - I've had a cold for a week that's turning into a sinus infection. That led to me getting only a few hours of sleep (that, and a wiggly Iris in the bed). We got up early-ish, ate the hotel breakfast and drove downtown, arriving at our parking spot at ~9 [reserved via app the night before]. It was a nice day, good for walking around. Our lot was down by the river, so we walked from there to the Hancock building. Iris wanted to lead the way, but it was unnerving, as we didn't trust her to stop at intersections. We were among the 1st people going up to the 94th floor (360Chicago tickets). It was hazy, but we could still see a lot. The kids liked the view, although Iris didn't have the patience to stay there long. We were up there about an hour before we left. I made the mistake of presenting my photo ticket and felt guilted into buying a $25 family green screen photo. Cute, but not worth the $. Rooking mistake - I obviously need to travel more. :D We walked back down Michigan Avenue to the river and down to Millennium Park. Felix wanted to see the Bean while we were here. It was busy, but we got some good pictures. It was 11:30, so we headed to find lunch. We stopped a very French cafe nearby. Felix & I got savory crepes while Nick and Iris got sandwiches. At least we also got 2 macarons each for the $70 the meal ended up costing us. It was delicious, but I guess I have yet to learn my limits on foods now that I don't have a gallbladder.. The kids were done with the trip downtown after lunch, so we walked back and retrieved our car. We stopped at a supercharger in a parking structure for ~30 minutes and "watched" the Brewer's Opening Day opening innings. We drove past Wrigley Park, just to, then headed to the hotel. I was very glad to get there. Once I felt a little better, we all went down to the pool. We had it all out ourselves to start. Iris and Felix were doing flips off the edge. After about an hour, Iris flipped a little too close to the edge and whacked her head. She seems okay, but they were done swimming after that. We all cleaned off and spent some time relaxing. We drove across the highway to the outdoor mall there for dinner at Noodles & Co. Yeah, it's a chain, but I wasn't feeling well and the kids would eat it. It worked out. It also got chilly as we walked through the mall. The kids played in the kids' playground while Nick and I looked at some housewares. We purchased some awesome crystal cordial glasses at Crate & Barrel, which we put to use back in our hotel room with the bottle of port we brought. We all relaxed - everyone's a bit tired.

Looking South

Looking North

Bean-y Family

Teslas are pretty cool

Claiming dragon heads at the mall

29 March - We had a better night. We slept in a little bit, then headed downtown. We got there and parked ~9:45. It was chillier today (high ~50°). It took about 30 minutes to walk from our parking spot on E Madison to the Shedd Aquarium. We walked along the quiet lakefront. We were glad the wind was at our backs and the sun was out. It didn't take long to make our way in the building, but it was already pretty crowded - so many strollers! We took our time and walked through most of the exhibits. Iris had less interest than I thought she would. :/ We took a brief lunch break, watching the dolphins swim. That helped Iris get a second wind, as did playing by the penguin exhibit. We went into the Underwater Beauty exhibit, where we ran into the Bronsons (minus Rachel). Had a nice, brief chat, buffeted by passersby. Saw a couple tanks of jellyfish (my highlight). Nick was partial to the Amazon tanks and watching the diver feed the Caribbean reef fish/sea turtle/rays.The kids proclaimed nothing was their favorite, because they liked everything. Well, that's good. We finished up there after shutting down the kids' requests for overpriced-yet-worthless souvenirs. We picked their spirits up with doughnut holes and our energy level up with coffee from Dunkin' Donuts on the way to get our car. It was ready & waiting, so we got out of downtown. I asked to make a stop at Target, where I bought cold medicine and replacement shoes. We were back in the hotel ~3. I rested and read while Iris watched American Ninja Warrior. Nick and Felix watched some sports. We went back to the Westfield Old Orchard Mall for dinner, this time at Epic Burger. The kids enjoyed the play area again, and after dinner, Nick and I went back into Crate & Barrel. No purchases today, though. Got back a little before 7. We all took it easy. I even took a bath. Too many aches and pains! Nick and I relaxed with port while Felix started reading Harry Potter #4 and Iris went to bed.

Outside the Shedd, looking north

Jellyfishies!

Waving at dophins

30 March - We slept in until nearly 8 am. We ate breakfast and drove straight to the Museum of Science and Industry. Hooray for "lighter" Saturday traffic! We got to the museum and parked ~ 9:45. The Bronsons were the first people we saw when we entered the main area (ha!). We got our tickets and headed in. It was pretty quiet to start. we went through the Science of Storms and transportation exhibits first. Iris loved all the hands-on stuff. Felix was entranced by the giant model train. We walked through the Streets of Yesterday, then made our way to the Giant Dome Theater, where we saw a 20-minute show about Tornado Alley. After that, we took in a few more exhibits: planes; an exhibit about bodies; ships, race cars & bicycles; a cool whispering gallery; glaciers/ice. Then it was time for us to go through the Mirror Maze. That was pretty cool. I got separated from the others and got some cool pictures. The exhibit was ultimately about patterns, and pretty cool. We exited in the design lab, where we let the kids get a top that was assembled on a conveyor belt in front of us. Iris's failed the quality control check (broken top) and we had to restart. It made for a cool souvenir with their names and today's date etched on it. It was 2 pm, they'd seen enough, and we hadn't had lunch. We left, driving to a supercharger in Skokie. Only ~40° and windy - brrr! We ate lunch at a Buffalo Wild Wings while the car charged, then picked up some dinner for later at a nearby supermarket (frozen pizza for Iris, sushi for the rest of us). Headed back to the hotel ~4. The kids played with their tops, Nick & I packed up for tomorrow and relaxed.

Enthralled

Future Iris/

Which way to go?

Motion capture of my kids who don't stop moving

31 March - Iris & I were up around 7. We got ready and got a bite of breakfast while the boys got ready. Once everyone was ready and fed, we packed up and left Chicago for Milwaukee. We stopped in Oak Creek to charge. The kids were a bit squirrelly. After enough sipping coffee at the Meijer and trying to distract them, we got back on the road and headed to Miller Park. We parked ~11:15 and found Mom & Dad, who got there earlier. It was only in the 30s and very windy. Brrr! We were forced to tailgate until they opened the stadium at 11:40 (oh no, not a bloody mary!). After we finished our beverages, we joined the line of others desperate to get out of the cold. We picked up our Jesus Aguilar bobbleheads and found our seats. It was early and fairly quiet, so we got our lunches. The once who served me was very new and it showed. Oh well. We had seats in section 223, row 11. Nice view. Christian Yelich hit a home run in his first at-bat. Kind of quiet for the Brewers until the 8th, when we pulled to 3-4 against the Cardinals. In the 9th, Yelich drove in 2 runs to win! Woo! We took both kids to a Brewers game last summer. This time, we 1) saw a Brewers home run, 2) saw a Brewers win, 3) stayed for the whole game, and 4) let the kids do the base-running afterward. Since we had to wait for traffic to clear anyway, we waited in the long line that snaked through and outside the stadium. Felix had to be talked into it, but ultimately did it. Looked like fun! We went back to Mom & Dad's car as traffic continued to disperse, until a policeman on a motorcycle encouraged us to leave. :D We got on the road and should make it home by bedtime (hope I'm not jinxing us by writing this).