Last Sunday, Wes and I took Oliver to Chicago. We talked this summer about taking a true family vacation with just the four of us, but with other traveling there wasn't really time. We also realized that a trip to any town would be a little hard with Emme still being so young, and she wouldn't really get much out of it. Then Wes found out that he had two trips to Chicago in October, and we decided to make one of them a trip for the three of us. We would get to have the experience of a family trip with Oliver, who is old enough to enjoy parts of it, and we could wait until next summer, when Emme will be older and walking, to try something with all four of us out of town.
We talked the trip up a lot before going. We explained to Oliver all the of the travel that would be involved, people and things we would see, and where Emme would be while we were away (at home,with my mom, who came into town to stay with her -- a treat, I take it, for both us and her). He talked about the trip beforehand, explaining to me what would happen at the airport and why Emme couldn't go ("it's too cold for her").
Sunday morning we got up very early. We had an 8:00 flight to give us a full day to spend together. Wes's conference was scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, so we wanted one day that he could share with us. Emme and Oliver actually woke up very early anyway, and the three of us had said our goodbyes and were out the door to the airport at 6:30. Oliver had his camouflage (or "camo-garage" as he pronounces it) book bag that his Aunt Laura gave him and was proudly carrying it on his back. I packed it with some books, our iPod Touch, and Cookie Monster, who did get out once on the plane to ride with Ollie. The flight to Chicago was relatively easy. Ollie only got antsy towards the end of what is a blessedly short flight. The weather was beautiful essentially the whole time we were there, and we didn't even get the rain they'd forecast.
After taking a ride on the Orange Line from Midway to Washington/Wells, we dropped out luggage at our hotel in the loop and took off to get Oliver somewhere he could run around. We went to Millennium Part first to see the "bean" (officially known as Cloud Gate) and check out the new walkway from the park to the Art Institute. We then took the bus north on Michigan Avenue to have lunch at Potbelly's. We went into 900 N. Michigan, a kind of mall setup, to eat. This was right down the street, about two blocks, from our first apartment in Chicago. The maternity shop where I bought my first maternity shirt and the baby store where we shopped for strollers is located next Potbelly's in this mall, and it definitely brought back memories to be there with the real-life child that resulted from that pregnancy, watching other expectant moms and dads looking around.
After lunch, we took Ollie to Lincoln Park Zoo. We saw a seal and penguins and a tiger, plus gorillas and chimpanzees, all things we don't have at our local zoo. We visited a playground next to the park before going back south onto Michigan Avenue. We took Ollie next to Water Tower Place to see the "jumping water" next to the escalators, to the Lego store, and to the food court, where we shared a drink. We found some more playgrounds around the mall and near the hospital, which Wes wanted to check out. We saw the new Children's Memorial, now adjacent to Prentice Women's, where I delivered Oliver, and the demolition on the building where Wes's chief's office used to be. We wandered around downtown for a bit longer until it was time to meet a friend for dinner at Bandera. We had considered a more child-oriented restaurant like Rain Forest Cafe, but ultimately found that Bandera, a place we'd liked when we were there, is pretty kid-friendly but more palatable for adults. Ollie did well all through dinner, which was surprising considering how tired he already was.
Sleep that night was slow in coming. We were all in a very small room, with Oliver on a roll-away. He wouldn't settle down to sleep until we went to bed, though, which wasn't until probably 10pm. Wes was up before 7am the next morning for his conference, which meant Oliver and I were, too. After breakfast at Corner Bakery, Ollie and I spent the morning at Navy Pier -- in the Children's Museum, on the ferris wheel and carousel, and along the lakefront. We got lunch at Au Bon Pain before spending maybe two hours in the hotel room. I was hoping he might nap, but regardless I had a paper to finish and submit before we could go back out. In the afternoon, we took the Brown Line to Diversity to see some other friends from residency who are also now parents to two. We took the boys to a playground. Oliver was basically asleep by the time we got to our stop, but managed to make it through dinner back downtown at Cosi (and a hot fudge sundae at McDonalds!). I put him in bed with me pretty early, which turned out to be a good thing since Wes was tied up at the conference until late. He slept soundly, even when moved onto his own bed, even when Wes got up the next morning.
On Tuesday, after a very quick donut and orange juice (spill...) at Dunkin Donuts, we made our way far south on the Red Line to the Museum of Science and Industry, where we met Oliver's former babysitter, her son, and her new babysitting charges for about an hour and a half. It was fun for us to see the other's boy "all grown up," and Ollie loved the museum. They had to head back kind of early, but we stayed a little longer to let Oliver watch the baby chicks hatch and thoroughly check out the planes and trains. We returned north the same way we came, through Hyde Park and onto the Red Line, then did lunch at Corner Bakery before venturing out for some Chicago paraphernalia. After trying Macy's and another gift shop, we found the Chicago Sports & Novelty shop on N. Michigan Avenue, just south of the river, and got t-shirts for me, Ollie, and even Emme. (I have to say, both kids look good in Cubs cobalt blue.) We made our way back to the hotel, passing some teenage boys drumming on buckets (high interest for a preschooler), and got there just before Wes.
Our trip back to the airport was relatively uneventful, though Oliver fell asleep on the El ride. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed and Oliver was exhausted. After we ate, I walked around the airport with him, walking on the moving walkways and looking in the kids' gift shop, until we could board. Wes and I were shocked he didn't fall asleep on the plane -- and in fact waited until just about two minutes before we arrived home in the car to do so. He's slept long and well the nights since we got back.
So here are the few things I learned from our big trip to the big city:
1. The most exciting part of a trip for a 3-year-old is not the destination or the sightseeing, it's the modes of transportation. Oliver has told everyone who knows that we traveled about his airplane ride and the pilot. He loved the train. He kept telling me that Thomas was pulling the train, and when the recordings played to announce the stops, he said it was Thomas talking to us. He thought the announcements themselves -- Doors open on the left -- to be completely hilarious and would mimic them. About the bus, he commented, "The bus is always stopping." (On the plus side, the new bus tracker system with smartphone app is genius for telling a preschooler how long they'll have to wait for the bus.)
2. The combination of an already slow-paced 3-year-old with that of a tourist in a big city results in a deathly slow pace. It was truly unbelievable how slow we walked. Add to that his state of exhaustion by the end of the trip, and he actually let me carry him to the Brown Line. I think Wes is secretly glad he missed the last 48 hours -- I don't think he would have stayed sane with Oliver's slow pace.
3. Trips like these really show the character of your kids, and I was reminded on this one -- all alone (most of the time) with Oliver -- just how good he is. He fusses, he says no, he sometimes acts out -- but all in all, he's a trooper. He walked a loong way in the city. He did things that were new and sometimes scary without complaint. He ate -- well -- in adult restaurants and was polite and behaved himself. It's nice in the midst of some growing pains to be reminded just how good your kids really can be.
Wes and I will not miss Chicago for long. He goes back next Tuesday (just to O'Hare) for another conference meeting, and then I head up Wednesday night until Saturday, though flying solo this time. I will relish the opportunity to walk at a slightly more reasonable rate there all by myself, but I won't be able to get on the plane, train, or bus without smiling at the thought of Oliver on them.
