When Family Comes to Call

Last weekend my parents, little sister, and grandma came to visit Chicago and it was quite a treat! Without asking for it I had Friday off, so I had a full four day weekend with my parents and it was fabulous!!

Look! Here we are waiting for Let Them Eat Chaos on The Second City Mainstage

My parents and sister (Mary) got in late Thursday night. So we started all of our adventures bright and early(ish) on Friday.

Friday: 

My Mom, Dad, and Sister ventured all the way from the loop down to my neck of the woods to see my lovely apartment and eat at "a cute little ethnic place" by my house. I had yet to eat at any of the "cute little ethnic places" by my house, so I had no idea which one to take my parents to. Thankfully they stopped a "cute little mexican bakery" on their way to my house and got a recommendation of a Mexican Restaurant close by. It was pretty delicious, and as a matter of fact I just finished off the home made tortilla and fajita left overs as I sat down to write this blog. 

After Lunch we ventured on down back to the fun and exciting touristy areas of Chicago. We decided since we didn't have much time before we had to leave to go get my Grandma at Midway, we went down to the Navy Pier and walked around. 

Ohio Street Beach. I have very vivid memories of playing on this beach as a 10 year old the last time my family visited Chicago

Navy Pier

On the Navy Pier they have a Fun House Maze, which I remember going through as a young child when we vacationed in Chicago. So just for the heck of it my parents paid the outrageous $20 for my sister and I to do the Fun House Maze. Now I wish I could tell you that it was really lame and the maze wasn't really a maze and we didn't spend 20 minutes running around in circles and running into mirrors. I wish I could say that my sister and I whose cumulative age is 36 could reason our way out of this maze, but alas, that would be a lie. My sister and I got so lost that we spend probably 20 minutes running around while many other people came and went, finally we got a hint from the people who run the house that you have to push. After that is was easy peasy (although again I would be lying to you if I told you that I didn't scream at the silly little noises and gusts of air...).

 After our adventures on the Navy Pier my Dad and I hopped a couple of trains to Midway to pick up my Grandmother. And after we were going to meet Megan at Giordano's (deep dish pizza), however, we did not have the forethought to think there would be a 2 hour wait.. So after much confusion we ended up eating delicious barbecue at Jake Melnick's Corner Tap. 

Saturday: 

Being in my early 20's and the person that I am I could not fathom making plans before 11 with my family. They on the other hand toured the Tribune building and one of the bridge houses before our 11 o'clock meet up at Lou Malnati's (a better deep dish pizza joint as recommended by several people on the train ride from the airport). 

After our delicious and filling pizza our plan was to head down to Shedd Aquarium, however, apparently all of Chicago also had that plan. The line was an hour and half long just to get tickets (why can't we get away from lines?). So in a quick change of plans (seems to be a recurring theme on this trip) we headed next door to the Field Museum. 

Here we all are again (Dinosaurs!)

The Field Museum has a rad Ancient Egypt exhibit, an enormous amount of Native American stuff, and a pretty decent dinosaur exhibit (which we rushed through as the museum was closing). But what I really wanted to see was the Chicago Worlds Fair exhibit that wasn't open until October 25th (coincidentally today, the day I am blogging) so we didn't even get to see it :(

Oh well! There was also a giant fancy party being set up throughout  the day. Beautiful tables with gorgeous center pieces, waiters in tuxes with white gloves, and a red carpet amongst other extravagant things. As we were leaving we started to see the lucky guests arrive in their limousines in their fancy ball gowns and tuxes (NOTE: this is not an exaggeration). 

We had planned to go down to the Twin Anchors in Old Town for dinner, but we were all pretty much pooped so we headed to a little fast food(ish) restaurant called Pockets (cue concierge at hotel sticking his nose up at the very idea). So yet again our plans changed. 

Sunday: 

We woke up bright and early (6 am for me) to make it to the Aquarium a solid 30 minutes before it opened, just to be sure! But to be clear... it was totally worth it! Shedd Aquarium was everything that I wanted it to me and more, I more or less turned into a 5 year old at Disneyland! 

Outside the Aquarium

Yes, my parents did buy the souvenir, green screened photo of us at the Aquarium because "It was just such a good picture... everyone had their eyes open."

The Aquarium was fantastic!! We got to see the special jelly fish exhibit where I learned more about jellyfish than I ever thought possible! There were some that were so tiny and clear and looked like little contact lenses, and they talked about some that get as big as mini vans, weigh 450 pounds, and can capsize a boat easy! We got to go and touch the sting rays, which is a first for this Colorado Girl!

We spent a while here and my sister and I were forced to leave by our bored parents. 

We got to see the Beluga Whales and Sea Lions getting fed. We caught the aquatic show where they showed us how easy it is to train a dolphin (in fact it is just like training a dog... and they proved it!). We even got to see the 4D Sea Monster movie, which was my Grandmother's first ever 3D, let along 4D, experience complete with something hitting your legs, bursts of air on your face, getting splashed in the face with water, and a rather jarring punch to back during the Shark Attack. I couldn't stop laughing it was so much fun.

For lunch my parents ran down to one of the hot dog vendors and I enjoyed my very first ever Chicago Style Hotdog. 

Mmmmm.... Delicious

After Lunch I had to duck out of the Aquarium to rush down to Wrigleyville for class at the iO. After which I rushed down to Second City for Let Them Eat Chaos. The show was fabulous as to be expected and my mom bought me a rad Second City sweatshirt (which I happen to be wearing right now). 

I didn't include my face because it is quite a hot mess this Friday afternoon. 

Sunday: 

On Sunday we had a nice brunch at a cute little breakfast place near my parents hotel, called West Egg Cafe. Afterwards we just walked around the Magnificent mile and my grandmother bought me this great hat (which I will not model right now, due to the fact that my hair is a disgusting mess). Hopefully I will post a good picture of it at a later date.

I said goodbye to my family before I had to go to class. I had such a blast seeing them last weekend! It was really great to get to see my family since I wont be able to make it home for Thanksgiving!

Now to start saving money for Christmas...