Shedd Aquarium

This week was free at the Shedd Aquarium so the girls and I decided to take a summer fieldtrip to downtown Chicago to visit. Free days at the aquarium equal huge crowds but we went first thing in the morning and considering we only waited 30 mins. to get in and saved $75, it was worth it. (When we left the aquarium at 2:00 that afternoon, the line to get in was 3 hours long--now that is not worth it!)

We had a great time looking at the exhibits. We saw lots of turtles and rays but the girls favorites were the sea otters. It has been about two years since we have been to the aquarium

so it still felt new enough to the girls who were a little jumpy
as some huge fish swam by them or a Japanese King Spider Crab crawled up to say, "hello!"

We ate lunch at the aquarium but sat in the outdoor cafe which is right on Lake Michigan overlooking the city. It was a beautiful view and the warm breeze felt great---this was one of my favorite parts of the day. Ashley didn't agree because she was so paranoid about the seagulls flying 100 feet overhead, but we won't go into that.

As we left, we stopped at the gift shop and bought a glow-in-the-dark torpedo tiger shark toy to play with in the swimming pool.

To make the day even more special instead of driving downtown, we took the train and got to ride to work with Dad. When it was time to go home, we decided to wait 45 minutes and ride home with Dad too! The girls and I enjoyed a smoothie from Jamba Juice and a cream cheese brownie from Corner Bakery as we watched the White Sox vs. Cubs game on tv at the train station. Then we all rode home together, happily ever after.