CHI-town

This past Friday Adam, Ella, and I took a day trip to Chicago. We left in the morning and flew home that night.  A few weeks ago Adam had a trip planned for Minneapolis. He went to the airport and ended up coming right back home. He did not make it onto the plane because of anxiety. He has a few conferences coming up so I knew he had to get over the anxiety he was having about flying. He has flown many times in the past but lately some anxiety has been creeping back in. I suggested we go on a little test trip to Chicago since it's a direct flight, and I could go with him. He needed some moral support, and I typically can not go on trips with him. Someone has to hold down the fort! We decided to take Ella and make a fun day out of it. 
Thankfully, Adam made it without a problem. He was actually telling the girl in front of us (who was freaking out) how safe flying is compared to driving. Go figure!  

Ella LOVES to fly. She takes full advantage of the beverages and snacks. She also got wings from the flight attendant so she was thrilled. 

After our flight and a 45 minute taxi ride we finally made it to Shedd Aquarium. Ella loves the aquarium we go to in Florida so we thought this would be the perfect activity for her. We spent most of our time looking at dolphins, sharks, and the beluga whales. We were also able to catch the dolphin show. 

I couldn't leave Chicago without getting a few pictures in front of Lake Michigan. It is so pretty! I really love Chicago and used to think I could live there. Not anymore! Maybe I'm getting old but I was not a fan of all the people, the traffic, and it was so cold there!!! I think we will just stick to visiting. 

We used Uber to make our last stop at Millennium Park. If you haven't used Uber I highly recommend it. Adam has used it many times, but this was my first. We met the nicest man who dropped us off at the park and came back to pick us up to take us back to the airport. He was super friendly and his car was so clean. It was so much better than a taxi. 

You can't visit Chicago without seeing the bean.

Ella was so happy to see that there was an outdoor ice skating rink. Ella loves to ice skate, and this just made her day. We were just happy that there was a starbucks nearby, because it was cold. Ella had the best time! This was probably my favorite part of the trip. 

It took us an hour and 20 minutes to get 17 miles back tot he airport. The joys of Chicago traffic! It was a whirlwind kind of day, and we obviously wore Ella out. She never falls asleep during the day, but she was such a trooper. 

We had the best day with Ella. It's nice to get out of the normal routine every once in awhile and go on a little adventure. We were only in Chicago for seven hours, but we made memories that will last a lifetime.