We left our house around 1pm and headed for the airport. It was supposed to be a direct flight that would put us into Chicago around 9pm. Everything was going perfectly fine until we were about an hour away from landing. The captain got on the intercom to inform us that we'd be making a detour to Kansas City due to thunderstorms in Chicago. So we sat out the storm for 2 hours in KC. Yay. Thankfully, they let us off the plane, but there was nothing to do or eat there. We managed to finally make it to our destination pretty late. Once we got our rental car, picked up some taco bell, and arrived at our Air BnB it was almost 2am!
Ready to fly!
The Taco Bell was across the street from Wrigley! Our house was a short walk from here,
We met up with Chris's family at our Air bnb. It was fun to be able to all stay together in the same house. I would definitely do that again. We all had our own rooms and plenty of space to spread out. We made breakfast together the next morning and then headed to Wrigley Field for a tour. When we stepped outside we were immediately greeted by a wall of humidity. I don't know how we survived such weather in VA.
Neat Chicago Fire House near the field
Cub gear heaven at the fan shop.
As you can see we walked ALL over the stadium. We saw things from many perspectives and heard a bunch of history. It was interesting, but it was a pretty hot day for climbing so many stairs.
Sitting in the Cubs's dugout
After our field tour we headed towards the Navy Pier along the lake for a boat tour of Chicago. It was a little bit dramatic because we were planning on taking a shuttle and then it didn't come in time. We all had to call an Uber to take us there at the last minute. Thankfully, it worked out and we boarded our Sea Dog tour just in time.
The boat took us through the locks and onto the Chicago River. They narrated the journey to tell us all about the historic buildings and other fun facts about the city. It was a nice way to see all of the major buildings of downtown Chicago without walking or trying to drive through. At the end they took us out into the lake for a quick speed boat joy ride.
After the boat ride and dealing with some lost keys...we had some dinner and then set off for Millenium Park. It was there that we got to see the Chicago Bean. It is this cool mirror sculpture that looks totally different when you get close to it. Pretty neat.
The next day was game day. We had been eagerly awaiting our chance to see a game at Wrigley. The weather was nice, we got there very early, and our seats were behind a column. Like right behind it. To say our view was obstructed is a major understatement. We were pretty bummed. I spoke to one of the nice older ladies who was there to help people find their seats. She suggested that we just move down a couple of rows and she could help us find better places to sit as the game started. So that's what I did. Grace and I had a great view for the entire game. After a bit others joined us as well. It turned out alright. The other bummer was the final score. A loss is not what we were hoping for. Oh well. We still had a good time.
All decked out in our Cubs gear!
You can see the column behind me, and Chris. That was where our seats actually were.
After dinner we drove through a crazy thunderstorm for almost 3 hours to Lafayette, Indiana. Chris's cousin John lives there with his wife April and their daughters. When we arrived it was late and the power was out. Thankfully we all just went to sleep and it came back on in the middle of the night.
The rest of our trip was spent at their house hanging out with the family. The kids really enjoyed playing in the hammocks and our impromptu games of yard volleyball, corn hole, and even batting. We stayed up late playing games, chatted, and ate tons of pizza. It was fun to see fireflies and enjoy being with the family. Thank you John and April for letting us come to your home. We all had a great time!
They spent a TON of time out in the hammocks!
Cracker Barrel
Our flight home wasn't until about 8pm, so on our last day we woke up and had a nice breakfast and then headed out to Fair Oakes Farms. It was a beautiful day and the farms were great to see!
We were able to see the birthing barn where the cows are put when they are ready to give birth. We were lucky enough to see 2 such cows while we were there. We got to watch the whole thing. It was amazing! Claire and Neil were grossed out and didn't want to watch, but I thought it was fascinating. Even Chris enjoyed seeing the birth.
We took a bus tour of the actual working farm. We saw where all the cows live and sleep. We got to get out and see the milking parlor up close. It was very interesting to see how they manage to make milking so efficient.
Of course there was an ice cream shop attached. We had to try the delicious fresh ice cream and cheeses.
There were plenty of exhibits as well as hands on activities to learn more about farms and cows. It's harder than it looks to milk a cow.
Here is the baby we saw born. Only a couple hours later he was up and walking around.
There were some beautiful gardens here as well. It was such a neat place to walk around and enjoy the sunshine.
Beautiful barns! The big one below is a fancy restaurant. The roof was green. The picture doesn't do it justice. So pretty!
After the farm we headed north again back towards Chicago. We stopped off at a Carver's for lunch and then went to a candy factory. We were able to briefly see them making different gummy candies. We then had to buy a few for the plane ride home.
From there it was straight to the airport to catch the flight home. We were able to see our Oregon family one last time at the airport before heading out. Thankfully the trip home was uneventful. We arrived safely home exhausted but happy! So much fun. We will have to do it again sometime.
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