The Shedd

Chicago is littered with worthy cultural destinations, including the Museum Campus, where you can find The Adler Planetarium, The Field Museum and The Shedd Aquarium. On the first nice Sunday of the spring, Dad decided it'd be a good idea to meet our friends Michael, Alister and Audrey Johnson at the Shedd for an afternoon of aquatic adventure.
After finally giving up on trying to game Mayor Daley's parking scam, we walked to the entrance to see a gigantic line. Luckily for us, the Johnsons arrived earlier and, due to a friend's generosity, got to wait in the short line to receive free tickets. Once we were inside, we walked around looking at giant snakes, whales, fish, penguins, and more fish. We even got to dress as penguins and climb around a mock penguin enclosure and saw the whale/seal/dolphin show, before heading back to the car.
I really wanted to go to the Adler too, but Dad claimed it was closing soon. I laid off him after we discovered a nearby hidden park with a big jungle gym and other oddities, including big hills we could run and roll down. Not surprisingly, I fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Why We Live In Chicago

Dad is a huge fan of Chicago and even more so in September, when the temperatures are ideal and the sun shines the most. This September he or I were away three of the four weekends, so when the second weekend arrived and we were both in town, we made the best of it.

On the Friday night we met Gigi and Papa for a snack and a Lyric Opera performance in Millennium Park. Dad and I liked the greatest hits set and it ended early, so we got to walk around a bit.

Saturday night we headed to Belmont Harbor to check out Redmoon Theater's production of Last of My Species: The Fearless Songs of Laarna Cortaan. I had seen a Redmoon production before and this one had their great contraptions and interesting music, but it was on a much larger scale.

Finally, on Sunday we headed back to the Lakefront for a trip to the Shedd Aquarium. I hadn't been since they unveiled their remodeled Oceanarium and it's Polar Play Zone. I spent a good twenty minutes acting like a penguin and another twenty manning a submarine. I was none too happy when Dad said we had to leave and I gave the fish one heck of a show before I was finally dragged out of there. I passed out before we got back to the car and when I woke from my nap, Dad made sure to remind me that this weekend was why we live in Chicago.