Team Breitmann World Tour: Chicago

Team Breitmann galloped into Illinois, the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, and settled in about an hour north of Chicago. Chicago is an interesting and bustling place as we were soon to find out!

Here we are, all set up at Illinois Beach State Park, located near Zion, IL. The campground is located directly on Lake Michigan and seems a world apart from the hustle and bustle of Chicago. You can read a bit more about this park at this link: Illinois Beach State Park

Hailey, ever the tom-boy, just can't resist a good climbin' tree! "Hey, dad!" Me: Looking around, bewildered. "Hailey?! Where are you?!" Hailey: "Dad! Up here!" Me: Looking up..."go figure!" Why am I surprised?!

A first for the gals of Team Breitmann...on the shores of Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes. Do you know the names of all five? Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, Ontario. Lake Michigan is the 5th largest lake in the world and the third largest of the Great Lakes. It is the only one of the Great Lakes that lies entirely within the borders of the United States. All the other Great Lakes are bisected by the borders of the US and Canada. Lake Michigan is 307 miles long and 118 miles wide, giving it a dimension only slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia. At it's deepest point it is 923 feet.

Of course, the girls have to jump in the lake to get the "full experience!" This ain't Florida, girls! Kids...if only we as adults could be so open to the "full experience!"

"Are ya cold?!" Look at the red nose and fingers! Hailey (teeth chattering): "Ddddaaaad, wwwwere issss the the tttttowells?"

The sand isn't quite like the sands like back home on the Gulf of Mexico but, hey...it's good for making mud volcano!

Just up the road from our campground is the Zion Metra train station, which we use to get back and forth to Chicago. This is definitely the way to go! It took us about an hour by train to get to the very downtown of Chicago. The Metra dropped us off at the Ogilvie Train Station, where we could connect to subway, trains, or buses. If your interested in maps, schedules and general info on the trains, you can see it at this link: Metra Rail - Chicago

All aboard!! Look at these three lovelies getting on the train to Chicago! "Going my way, girls?!"

Okay, we made it to downtown Chicago....now what?! Notice Stacey has a CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) map in her hand. We are trying to decipher the bus schedule. It took us three days to fully comprehend how things worked but, we "cracked the code" and by the third day, we were giving strangers directions! You can view the CTA map at this link: (keep in mind, we did not have the "click able" version in hand!): CTA Map

A familiar face!!! Since Austin, Texas, we have not seen a familiar face but, we have now! Stacey's friend, Donna, flew into Chicago to meet up with us! How nice! We all just love her! Stacey and Donna stayed downtown and did a "girls" weekend, while me and my "two reds" hung out in Zion. It was nice for all of us. Stacey got to shop til she dropped with her friend and I got some quality time with just me and my girls.

What is going to Chicago without some deep dish pizza-pie?! Our first order of business, after meeting up with Donna was to go directly to Gino's East for pizza! Good stuff! Take a look at Gino's here: Gino's East of Chicago

It isn't all fun, games and pizza! Hailey works on here "final version" of writing assignment on President Andrew Jackson, while I do the laundry. We are both thrilled! (Sarcasm intended!) :)

With laundry and school assignments complete....it's back to the big city! Well, you can take the country girl to the city but, you can't get the country out of the girl! No, trees?! Well, Hailey will climb whatever looks good to climb! Here she scales her way up a monument on the Navy Pier in downtown Chicago. Notice, she took her shoes off! Gotta love that gal!

Downtown doesn't compare to the good looks of these two!

The gals of Team Breitmann seem to look very metropolitan as we make our way to the Museum Campus area. The Museum Campus is a very cool place. It is home to the Alder Planetarium, the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum and Soldier Field. You check out the a map of the Museum Campus here: Chicago Museum Campus

Hailey strikes a pose in front of the Chicago Field Museum. You can check out the Field Museum here: The Chicago Field Museum

Here we are inside the Chicago Field Museum posing with "Sue" the T-Rex. Sue is the world's most complete and well preserved T-Rex in the entire world. We laughed when we saw "Sue" because this looked like something right out of the movie "Night at the Museum"! We love that movie and the sequel. If you haven't seen them, check them out.

One of the museum staff members let the girls hold a casting of one of Sue's teeth. It's as big as a large Bowie knife! Yikes! I gotta hand it to Heidi! Just like in the Lowell Observatory, she held her own with one of the museum staff, as he tried to espouse evolution , along with stating that there were four "extinction" events in the Earth's history, as if it was a proven fact. Heidi listened patiently and calmly and with a nonjudgmental statement, replied; "Sir, I don't subscribe to that theory as fact. I subscribe to creationism, as described in the Bible. Thank you, for sharing! Have a blessed day!" She asked me later, "Hey, dad. If there were supposedly four distinct extinction events, then how did life supposedly start over four different times?!" Good question, Heidi! There are indeed a lot of holes in evolutionary theory that are claimed as fact. I love her!

What museum would be complete without an ancient Egypt exhibit!

Chicago is famous for it's huge buildings. In fact, Chicago can claim the title of "home of the skyscraper". The world's first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building, was built in Chicago in 1885. By today's standards it is not impressive. It was ten stories high. However, it's architectural design known as the "Chicago skeleton" form of construction, which consists of a load-bearing structural steel frame that supported the entire weight of the walls instead of traditional load-bearing walls led the way to the massive structures like the one pictured above. This particular skyscraper was designed to appear as a waterfall, complete with ripple glass to look like water.

Stacey shares some of the things she learned on an architectural boat tour she took with her friend, Donna. She is describing the building of the Civic Opera House and how the owner had it designed to look like a throne. On a side note, the water ways in Chicago, pictured here, are dyed green during the massive St. Patrick's Day celebration held here, yearly. St. Patrick's Day is very big here due to the rich Irish heritage roots.

Near the Navy Pier, the girls cool off in a water fountain! It was fun to watch them frolic, care-free amidst the hustle & bustle of Chicago. I watched as the faces of passersby changed from introspective blank faces to wide spread smiles as they noticed the Team Breitmann gals skipping about in the spray of the water!

Lest you forget the fool-proof formula for fun....
Kids + Water = Fun!

Here the gals pose on the Navy Pier, in downtown Chicago. It is Chicago's number one attraction. It was originally designed for commercial shipping use and also was used, later as a fully dedicated Navy Training center, during World War II. Now, it is a public gathering place and home to shops, restaurants and cruising boats. The girls and I take a ride on a replica of George Washington Gale Ferris' Wheel, which he designed and had built for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The original Ferris Wheel. It no longer exists but, this replica is a tribute to the original one. You can read a history of the Ferris Wheel here: The Ferris Wheel

A view from atop the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel, looking out towards Lake Michigan. You can read more about the modern day Navy Pier here: Chicago Navy Pier