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THURSDAY, APR 25, 2024
Dori and Jen and Christy met me at work. We made good time and ate at Culvers just outside of Indy at 5:30p. Got to Embassy Suites about 8pm. Checked in, showered, headed to Shedds Aquarium tomorrow morning.
Dori and Christy got locked out of their room. Jen and I made a few trips to the car for things I forgot.
FRIDAY, APR 26, 2024
I woke up about 6am. But I slept surprisingly well. I got dressed about 6:40a after trying to go back to sleep. The breakfast was great. Scrambled eggs, pretty good back, and Coke! I also had some delicious banana bread and zucchini bread. Also pancakes and warm syrup.
Dori and Christy came down right after we did. We ended up leaving for Sheeds early, about 9am. The walk was kinda chilly, but not really too bad. We were all dressed warm. The walk was about 2 miles. We passed Milennium Park (the Bean is under construction) We passed the Art Institute of Chicago, also. We walked on the Riverwalk for a little bit. We found Shedds and it wasn't too crowded yet. Even though our tix were for 11am, they said we could go in at 10am. The weird thing is that when I bought them yesterday online, they were only $3 each plus a convenience fee. But we heard people getting tix today that were $90. Very weird. When we got in, we decided to do the 4D experience. The 3D was pretty good, and then there was vibrating seats, things swishing on our legs, (corresponding to the octopi tentacles), and stuff shooting water on us.
The first movie was "Octopus". It was good, but I thought the octopus was going to die at one point. The octopus and a grouper worked together as a team to chase fish out from under the reef. THe second movie was Sharks. There were some scarymoments. A group of 4th graders was in front of us and they yelled more than once, which I loved. The movies were ony $5, and it was buy one and get another free.
It was also good we did the movies right away, because it got crowded after that. We only had to wait behind one group.
Then we saw the beluga whales gettting fed and doing some tricks. Very cute. Then we saw them underneath, and also some dolphins and otters underneath. A little big of a penguin show, but he was a little boring. We saw the big dolphin show - dolphins jumping very high, and walking on their tails. We saw the "big reef" which has some awesome displays. Loved walking oer the stingrays.
After that we stopped for coffee at the cafe, the gift shop, and Christy and I got popcorn and Coke because the popcorn smelled so good. Then we headed to Sears (Willis) tower. It was about a two mile walk. It was just starting to rain when we got there. We didn't have to wait in line at all for tickets (these were $30 ish) On the way to the elevators there was an "immersive" experience. We sat on what felt like a subway car. There were also nice places to take pictures; when I caught up with the other 3 Dori came back with me to sit on the subway car.
We headed up 103 floors to the top. Although it was raining pretty good by then, we could still see a lot. We got pictures at the place where you are standing on glass - the Ledge?
When we got back to ground level the rain was pretty heavy. Dori and I got a donut and Jen got us an Uber. Jen sat in front and the rest of us were pretty tinght in the back. We got back to the hotel. I ran out to Target. It wasn't raining too badly then. I just got milk, Coke, and Oreos. After I got back I went to move the car, because it was taking up a charging spot. I ended up on the 3rd floor, took a different elevator, and came out all the way at Target. It was raining hard, and my shoes got wet, which really bummed me out. But I put them in front of the little fan I brought, and I'm hopeful that they will dry. I have plenty of socks, but only one pair of gym shoes.
Oh, at Willis Tower, I got this pen and a cool magnet.
After some down time, we went down to Happy Hour. Christy and Dori had drinks, and we snacked on soft pretzel bites. The other three decided to go to Shake Shack, and I came back to the room. All the sudden, I'm just kinda worn out.
J, C, D owe me: $4 - Aquar tix; $5 - movie tix; $21 - ferris wheel; C, D owe J: $10 - Uber ride
Sat, APR 27, 2024
We got up and had breakfast, and I read some more. We didn't head out until 945a because nothing opens until 11am. We got to Navy Pier and looked around some, and then found a door open to a ballroom. We sat in the ballroom for a while, just talking. We headed to the big wheel at 10:50a. We didn't have to wait too long. There was plenty of room in the car - it probably could have fit 8 people. Christy was worried she might get motion sickness, but she was fine. It was a nice slow ride, with a good view of the city around us. We went around three times, but with some stopping and slowness, that felt like plenty.
After that, Dori and I decided to go on the speedboat. It was a 30 min ride around the harbor. Because it was a super-windy day, they gave us ponchos. The usually cost $6. Our tour guide was a cute girl and told us some interesting stories. We went fast three times, once over choppy water. It was fun. We did get a little spray, but nothing much. My phone (and shoes) were fine.
When we were done with the boat ride, we just looked around at the food and shops, and they showed me where they have a big gymnastics meet there. We walked back to the hotel, and now we're taking a break before hopefully heading to the Magnificent Mile. We are talking about having an early dinner.
D owes JM - $47.50 (boat)
We headed to Gino's East about 4:15pm. It wasn't that far. They were able to seat us right away. We split a medium deep dish for the table. It took a long time to come out. But we had good timing - it really filled up while we were waiting. When we left, there was a line out the door. The pizza was good. It was so thick, we could each only finish one piece. We got a box for the last two pieces. Then we walked along the Magnificent Mile. We only went in a few places. We spent the most time in Ghiradelli - things looked so good. Long line for ice cream. I think I may go back tomorrow and get a sundae. Then we went down to the Riverwalk, which we were near, and walked along it until we got to Columbus, which is the street our hotel is on. Only a couple blocks from there. We got back to our rooms about 7pm, and we are settled in for the night.
Sun, APR 28, 2024
I slept from about 9pm to 8am. When I got up Jen was on the couch in the front room. Her fibromyalgia was acting up. I got up and ate a smaller breakfast. Dori, Christy and I headed out. It took a while to find a subway stop, but we finally figured it out. Christy found the cross streets. We got a single subway ticket - Dori figured it out first. We had to wait about 13 minutes. We started on the red line. After a few stops we got off for a blue line transfer. Got the blue line quickly to our exit. It took about 12 minutes to walk from there.
The WNDR museum was very cool. Different fun interactive exhibits - lots of lights and mirrors, video-type stuff that reacts to motion. We spent maybe an hour there. When we came back out, we decieded to walk back to the hotel. It was a 60-min walk, but the weather was perfect for it - coolish, and absolutely no sun (or rain). When we got into the city, we went down on the Riverwalk, so we got to see a lot more of it. It's about 2pm now. Around 3pm or so I'm hoping to go back to the Ghiradelli and get an ice cream sundae.
We went to Ghiradelli about 4p. Jen J felt well enough to join us. C, D and I got sundaes. They were very rich (and expensive). We were able to walk there in about 8 minutes. We took the Riverwalk on the way back, and went beyond our hotel ni order to get some more steps in and enjoy the nice weather of the night. We stpped a little bit away from the hotel and sat with our ice cream a little longer. Then we headed to the hotel and went to the manager's reception. It was practically empty. The bartender told me there were 1200 guests the night before, and only 400 tonight. She told me I could have as many Cokes as I wanted. I asked her if that was all day or just at the Manager's reception. She said just at the reception (I'm glad because I would have been bummed if I could have been getting them all day, lol) We sat downstairs for 90 mins talking, then returned to our rooms.
I forgot - earlier today, when we were crossing this metal bridge, an ambulance came along and shook the whole bridge. It was very strange. Tomorrow we are just going to get up and have breakfast and then head out.
Mon, APR 29, 2024
The trip home went pretty smoothly. We stopped at Culvers again for lunch. I think I got home about 5:30p or 6p.
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