Chicago – Page 3 – Lemon Drop Pie

Our family is lucky that we live close to a big city with a lot to offer. However, we rarely go into Chicago. During our Spring Break, I wanted to take my daughters downtown on the train, but I didn’t feel like braving the Spring Break crowds at the various museums. So instead, we did something I haven’t done since I was a child. When you live by the city that has the world’s tallest skyscraper, you go to the top. Of course, the Sears Tower has been surpassed since I was little, but it’s still pretty darn tall. And it’s not called the Sears Tower any more; it is now Willis Tower, which is a shame. I used to love it when my second grade students called it the “Serious Tower.”

So on a Wednesday morning at 9:51, my sister, the girls and me boarded the Metra heading to Union Station. The train station is only a block away from Willis Tower, which was fortunate for us because the wind was whipping off the Chicago River and it was COLD!

We had to wait in line to go through security first, just like at the airport. I wasn’t expecting that, but it makes sense. After we bought our tickets, we took the minute ride elevator to the 103rd floor. It may have been cold outside, but the sun was shining and we had a beautiful view! A new feature of the 103rd floor are the ledges; four glass platforms that extend out of the west side of the building.

Lily was enthralled with looking by looking out at the Chicago skyline, and she didn’t want to take the elevator ride down to ground level. But eventually, we had to leave. By that time, we were all starving. Just down the street from Willis Tower is Giordano’s. When you are in Chicago, you have to have a Chicago stuffed pizza! My sister lives in California, so we made sure to feed her a lot of Chicago-style food during her visit.

Where would you go or what would you do if you had a “stay-cation?” Link up your blog post below or tell us in the comments! Please visit my co-host, Gretchen, and see where she would go on a stay-cation. She live in a much warmer place, so I’m sure it’s going to be good!

Don’t forget to stop by Second Blooming or here on Monday for next week’s prompt!

The Cubs lost on Sunday. To Cub fans like my husband, this was not surprising. We were at the game hoping that they might be able to win it, but they lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1. We didn’t know many of the players, since the Cubs have traded a lot of their well known players mid season. Ed made sure to quiz me on the retired Cub numbers, though; #26, #23, #14, #10….

It was a great game for several other reasons. Lily and Emmy received a Cubs chest protector pack. It’s like a backpack, only you wear it on the front like an umpire or a catcher. They loved throwing their peanut shells on the ground. They learned how to be part of a crowd wave. These are all important things for little Cub fans to learn how to do.

And they went to a Cubs game with their die-hard Cub fan Daddy. Ed made sure we got to Wrigley Field early so that the girls could get their special orange wristbands. The first 1,000 kids with a wristband got to run around the bases at the end of the game. That is a lot of kids, but the people working after the game to get us into line assured the parents that it would go fast. Once the kids started running around the bases that line moved really fast!

Since the girls were able to go run the bases, as their dad, Ed was able to walk on the actual baseball field for the first time and see the ivy walls up close. After being a fan since he was a kid, that was pretty thrilling!