Chicago Trip - Part One: {Thursday and Friday}

I have to make a slight side note for this post: it is my 500th post! Man, it's hard to believe I've written that many in just 4 short years. No matter how long you've been around, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and keeping up with my little family :)

Back in Decemeber, Phil and I decided to take the train from Kansas City to St Paul for Christmas with my folks. The price was comparable to flying, and I wouldn't have to be worried about the weather :) Unfortunately, as you know, we got the stomach flu right before we left, and missed our train. Boo. After we called Amtrak, we were told we would have a few months to use up vouchers to make up for the train we couldn't take.

With that in mind, we decided to just play a mini-vacation to Chicago because Phil has never been. We told my folks, and we ended up planning on meeting them there. We ended up having a great trip!

The train from Kansas City to Chicago leaves at 7:45 am, so Phil asked for Thursday off so we could head up to KC. We got there in time to have a little dinner after getting our tickets at the station. Then I treated Phil to a late birthday/early Father's Day gift - great seats at the Royals game! My aunt offered to watch Jillian so we could enjoy the game together :)

{Jillian at our lunch stop in Wichita. She says "We're #1!"}

{We had to find Phil's brick before the game. Do you see us?!} 

{The view from our seats} 

{It's not a trip to KC without some Topsy's popcorn :)}

{Not pictured: my delicious limeade}

{We left at the top of the 7th because it was already 9 pm, and we had to leave the house for the train station at 5:30 am. We did win which was awesome!!}

Friday morning came too soon, but we were ready to get on the train! It was the first ride for both Jillian and Phil. It was closer to 14 years since my last ride, but it was still fun! If you have a young child or active toddler, I highly recommend getting a sleeper car. It's not a lot of room, but it has enough that they can stand, walk a little, etc. Jillian would have been miserable in coach if she had to stay in the same seat the whole time. Plus, meals are included on the train! We got breakfast, and lunch for free. We did pay extra out of pocket for something for Jillian, but it was worth the $4.

{Waiting for our train at the station :)} 

{Jillian looks thrilled to be on the train HAHA} 

{Fun on the train} 

{This was the only nap she took on the train - during our lunch!} 

{Our first glimpse of Chicago!} 

{My parents offered to pick us up, but unfortunately got stuck in traffic. What would have taken 45 minutes took 2 hours! Luckily, we had some Daniel Tiger episodes on Phil's phone that kept Jillian occupied :)} 

{Once we checked into the hotel, we had enough time to get settled, then take the Red Line train* to the game! We were a little late to the game, but it was ok.}

{The Sox fans were much better behaved than the last game my family went to. I think not having a 2 hour rain delay while people continue to drink really helped with that ;)}

{*Note: If you're in Chicago for a period of time, I highly recommend buying a CTA pass. We got a 3 day pass for $20 a person, and we got our money's worth! (We didn't need a pass for Jillian) We were able to ride as many trains and buses as we needed to get around easily.}

{Jillian dancing at the White Sox game!}

{We went to the White Sox game on Friday night. It was much cooler than we expected, so we had to buy Jill some pants and a jacket so she wouldn't get too cold. We left after the 7th inning stretch because we were all pretty tired. They ended up losing anyways, so we didn't miss out.}

Next up: Chicago Trip - Part Two {Saturday, Sunday, and Monday}!