I’ve included some pictures of our trip in this post, for more pictures click here.
We left Virginia Beach around 2am in a rental van. The goal was to drive straight through to Chicago. We’d check into our hotel, pick up my mom from the airport, and chill. It worked perfectly. I forgot how fun driving together on a long trip can be. We had so many great conversations. We know each other pretty well, but we got to know each other even better during that 14 hour van ride. The first few hours Jaron kept us company. The last few hours, Ava and Davin chimed in. The middle few hours went something like this ….
(That’s not a planned photo. Jaron actually slept like that.)
We spent Day 1 at the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI). We were there the entire day, 9am to 4pm, and we could have stayed longer. It is a huge, interactive museum, and we all enjoyed it. The wearable technology exhibit was educational, the mirror maze was fun, the storm science area was another favorite. The MSI was right up there with The Smithsonian for us. This first picture shows a screen where you can catch falling beads with your shadow.
Ava competed in a singing competition on Day 2. She did well, but there were extremely high quality singers among the 35 contestants. She also watched a master class, and was encouraged to work even harder over the coming year.
Hamilton was on the docket for the evening, and it did not disappoint. We’ve all listened to the music for years, and seeing it come to life on the stage was magical. The story is poignant and heart breaking. The staging for the song “Satisfied” was mesmerizing, as Angelica rewound the scenes from the previous song and told it from her perspective. Amazing. I think Come From Away may still be our favorite musical, but Hamilton is a close second.
Day 3 was a trip out to Aurora, IL to see a brand new preview of a musical called August Rush at the Paramount. It had a lot of Broadway talent, including the producer and director. It was a creative, artsy show, where the performers all played their own instruments. There were beautiful moments, and some soaring music, but the songs weren’t memorable. Also, I think the story suffered due to the avant-garde production. It was enjoyable, but not great.
We headed back toward the hotel determined to find some Chicago style, deep dish pizza. We settled on local, well-known chain, Giordano’s. So much cheese, so much flavor. We enjoyed some crispy, extra-thin crust pizza in addition to the cheese filled, deep dish. We aren’t pizza connoisseurs, our only comparison is Uno’s, but that was some good pizza. With our bellies full we decided we should walk it off, so we headed downtown to check out The Bean.
The weather was beautiful, and the entire lake front area of downtown Chicago is a combination of parks, with all kinds of walking and biking trails. We spent a couple of hours strolling around Millenium Park, walking through the gardens, and of course admiring The Bean.
Day 4 we headed to a bed and breakfast in West Virginia. We had gone the entire trip without Chick-fil-a and withdrawal symptoms were setting in. We stopped outside Dayton, OH to see some waffle fries in front of us, but alas, the Chick-fil-a was closed due to tornado damage from the huge swath of storms that passed through over a week earlier. We settled for something not as good, and continued on our journey. The Country Road House and Berries farm house was perfect. It was rustic, over 130 years old, and peaceful. We spent the night there, and had an amazing breakfast to kick off Day 5. Our trip home was uneventful, and we did finally get some Chick-fil-a once we got back to good ‘ole Virginia.
All in all, a great trip. Someone backed into our rental van in one of the parking lots in Chicago, so I’m learning how insurance deals with rentals. It actually seems to be easier than having to deal with it myself. I also realized that I prefer driving straight through at night, unless we are planning to stay multiple days at our stop. It is much easier to drive 14+ hours all at once, than to drive 7+ hours two days in a row. The highlight for me? Making my mom laugh. Learning more about how my kids see the world. Trying to get pictures of the ever elusive Lianne Stevenson. In short, the highlight was spending time with family.
For more photos and a few video clips, check out our Google Photos trip highlights.