Chicago - Part 2

Because our train back to Bryan didn't leave Chicago until 10pm, we had another full day to spend in Chicago. In the morning, Jenna, her American Girl doll, and I headed to the American Girl store for brunch. Our first stop was the doll hair salon (Yes....I said doll hair salon!) to have her doll's hair done. The doll's hair was out of control and after $15 it looks much, much better. (Who would have ever thought I'd pay $15 to have a doll's hair done? You just get sucked into things like that once you enter the American Girl store!!) Our next stop was brunch in the cafe inside the store. Everything in the cafe was decorated in black, white, and hot pink. It was so cute! Jenna's doll got a special high chair that hooked right on the table next to her - she even got her own doll-sized cup and plate! The food was really good and the servings were huge! We had cinnamon rolls to start. I ordered french toast with cinnamon apples and Jenna had breakfast pizza. Then they brought our dessert - white chocolate mouse with oreos crumbled on top and an iced sugar cookie. By the way, dessert at breakfast is a BRILLIANT idea! Our last stop was shopping. Jenna used some of the money she had saved to buy her doll a new outfit - jeans and a Chicago t-shirt - and then I splurged and bought Jenna a matching t-shirt.

While we were at breakfast the boys ventured to Mary's diner and had their own breakfast and then headed to some stores on Michigan Avenue. We went back to the hotel to get our stuff together and take a quick nap (I was starting to not feel well....which I later found out was strep throat). After we checked out, we walked down Michigan Avenue to the Lego store. We decided to get tickets for a double decker bus tour of the city. The kids loved it - esepcially Jacob. He can tell you all about the great Chicago fire and the Hancock building. There were 13 stops on our tour and with only 3 stops left to go, our bus broke down (the axle broke). We all had to climb off and wait for other buses to come pick us up! We eventually finished up our tour and then headed to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. After dinner we walked along Michigan Avenue and bought Garrett's popcorn for a train treat (YUMMY stuff!). Then it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up our luggage, and take a cab back to Union Station to catch our train. Our train left on time (10pm central time) and we finally got home to Van Wert at 3:45 am!!
Buckingham Fountain (taken from the bus)
Michigan Avenue
Hancock Building
Tribune Tower



Our broken down bus
Waiting oh-so-patiently for another bus to come pick us up. Luckily it broke down near a big grassy area, so we had somewhere to wait!
Skyline along the Chicago River

Chicago River - and yes, it really is that green!