Listened to The Girl scream bloody murder this afternoon because The Boy marched around the Metra platform, nowhere near the yellow strip and with the train running 20 minutes behind. This may be the reason that our adventures are severely reduced. With 3 kids, I cannot devote the mental energy required to prep us all plus watch the boys and work to calm The Girl (a futile effort it would seem). She was, quite literally, hysterical. Finally, after I threatened to go home and then counted slowly to 10 with her for about 5 minutes straight, she calmed down enough that we were able to sit on the platform and wait another 10 minutes for the train to arrive.
The transportation comedy of errors continued when the water taxi reached capacity as we were on the ramp, and we had to wait 20 minutes for another boat. It ended up a good thing, however, as we discovered when the next boat showed up that the original boat was heading east to Michigan Avenue, in the opposite direction of Chinatown.
Before getting on the water taxi, we stopped at the food court in Ogilivie Center for lunch. Food courts are such a bad concept for families with young children. The Boy, The Girl, and The Tot had McDonald's Happy Meals while I had an Arby's Jr. The Dad got something from Great Steak and while he was waiting, I fell victim to the tourist-hounding scam artists downtown: $1 for a postcard of Chicago's skyline "to help the homeless." Oh well; The Boy can send it to Grandma Texas.
We did eventually get the water taxi to Chinatown and enjoyed a pleasant ride down the river to Ping Tom Memorial Park. We let the kids plan on the equipment for a good 1/2 hour before heading further into Chinatown in search of caffeine and a snack. I hadn't been to Chicago's Chinatown in over 20 years, so the outdoor shopping mall we entered through the "Dragon Gate" was completely unfamiliar. What I remember of Chinatown is garish storefronts, MSG-laden and dark Chinese restaurants, and 5 & Dime stores selling rice candy and cheaply made bamboo finger cuffs. Very different from the sleek and airy restaurants, bubble-tea hawkers, and imports stores that greeted us today. It was at this point that The Boy ramped up his complaints: he didn't want to eat here and he wanted to go home, NOW, for a snack.
We stopped at Joy Yee for dessert--original frozen yogurt (that actually tasted like yogurt) with sprinkles and M&Ms for The Girl and The Boy, respectively. The Boy didn't like his and quickly abandoned his "no-sharing-with-The-Tot" attitude and the yogurt itself to The Tot, who loved it. The Dad ordered a watermelon smoothie with tapioca; he discovered 3 sips in that he doesn't like bubble tea (what was he doing during our 4-year stint in Silicon Valley?!?).
The Boy, The Girl, The Tot and I made a brief trip into a store with lots of Sanrio. The Boy begged me for some Yam-Yam sticks and got them. The Tot ran in circles until I handed him to The Dad outside. The Girl and I looked at lots of Hello Kitty stuff, eventually settling on stickers and a sandwich carrier.
Not long after, we called it quits and headed back to the park, the water taxi and the train. We caught the 4:30 p.m. train home, just managing to find 3 adjacent seats way up in the front of the train. I did have to ask a woman seated near us to move her giant bag and nearly-as-large purse out of the seat so that The Boy could sit down for 10 minutes while she read her Lucky magazine with a disgusted look on her pinched face. Oh to be the fly on the wall of the compartment after we got off at the Irving Park stop and a whole crowd of drunk and sweaty Cubs fans got on after the afternoon's double header. I was never so happy to get off a train, walk home, and make dinner (zucchini quiche with zukes and dill from this morning's farmer's market at the park this morning).
Showing posts with label metra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label metra. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Thursday, November 06, 2008
The Tower
Today, I went on a field trip with The Boy's class to the Sears Tower. It was a field trip that is only possible in the city; it was very different from the field trips of my youth, which invariably involved a sack lunch and a big yellow schoolbus. Instead, 50 kindergarteners, 2 teachers, 1 aide, and about 30 other parents walked two blocks from the school to the Metra station and climbed aboard a fairly crowded train to Ogilivie Station. We disembarked downtown and walked the 6 blocks to the Sears Tower. I had charge of two kids -- The Boy and another little boy in his class (J).
It was great fun to parade through the city to the Sears Tower. There was a huge caravan of kid-parent-kid trios; our party took up most of the length of a city block. Our walk was primarily through the financial district, so we passed a lot of suits. They didn't seem particularly amused, but when the market is in the can, it may be hard to appreciate a bunch of little kids taking over the sidewalk.
It was gray and overcast so the Sky Deck wasn't particularly crowded, but there were a lot of turnstiles, etc. to go through before we could actually reach the big, bad elevator. We went through security, had tourist photos taken, watched a (really very interesting) video (by the History channel) about the Sears Tower's construction, and waited in line before we finally made it up to the top. Most of the kids were pretty hungry by the time we actually got to the top so it seemed like a very short visit up there.
The Boy's teacher, Mrs. Callaghan, had prepared a worksheet of things the kids should look for when they got to the top. When we initially got out of the elevator and out by the glass, The Boy was pretty scared. He did not want to go near the windows. J., on the other hand, was crawling under the railing to lean his body directly on the glass. The Boy warmed up to coming to the railing a bit later. He and I had great fun finding the landmarks from the worksheet -- Marina Towers, Buckingham Fountain, the United Center, Wrigley Building, Merchandise Mart, etc. My other little charge, J., pointed out the boats along the river and the trains. The field trip was the end note of a unit on community. The height of the tower allowed the kids to see just how big their community really is.
By then, everyone was hungry and the kids were having trouble maintaining a good behavior standard. We hauled back to Ogilvie Station to have lunch at McDonald's in the food court on the first floor. Unfortunately, it was 12:30 when we arrived and the food court was packed with office workers, so it was hard to get seats. However, we did manage to get all the kids seated and eating their McNugget meals. The Dad came over from his office to meet us and I dashed over to Arby's to get something for myself. I bought both The Boy and J. a cookie from Mrs. Field's to eat on the train, inadvertently sparking a trend among other parents on the trip.
We managed to score most of a car to ourselves for the train ride back. With full tummies, the kids' energy returned and the ride back was noisy with the energetic chattering of 50 happy kindergarteners. It started to rain just as we pulled into the station, so The Boy, J., and I raced back to school before the sky really opened up. It was a lot of fun.
It was great fun to parade through the city to the Sears Tower. There was a huge caravan of kid-parent-kid trios; our party took up most of the length of a city block. Our walk was primarily through the financial district, so we passed a lot of suits. They didn't seem particularly amused, but when the market is in the can, it may be hard to appreciate a bunch of little kids taking over the sidewalk.
It was gray and overcast so the Sky Deck wasn't particularly crowded, but there were a lot of turnstiles, etc. to go through before we could actually reach the big, bad elevator. We went through security, had tourist photos taken, watched a (really very interesting) video (by the History channel) about the Sears Tower's construction, and waited in line before we finally made it up to the top. Most of the kids were pretty hungry by the time we actually got to the top so it seemed like a very short visit up there.
The Boy's teacher, Mrs. Callaghan, had prepared a worksheet of things the kids should look for when they got to the top. When we initially got out of the elevator and out by the glass, The Boy was pretty scared. He did not want to go near the windows. J., on the other hand, was crawling under the railing to lean his body directly on the glass. The Boy warmed up to coming to the railing a bit later. He and I had great fun finding the landmarks from the worksheet -- Marina Towers, Buckingham Fountain, the United Center, Wrigley Building, Merchandise Mart, etc. My other little charge, J., pointed out the boats along the river and the trains. The field trip was the end note of a unit on community. The height of the tower allowed the kids to see just how big their community really is.
By then, everyone was hungry and the kids were having trouble maintaining a good behavior standard. We hauled back to Ogilvie Station to have lunch at McDonald's in the food court on the first floor. Unfortunately, it was 12:30 when we arrived and the food court was packed with office workers, so it was hard to get seats. However, we did manage to get all the kids seated and eating their McNugget meals. The Dad came over from his office to meet us and I dashed over to Arby's to get something for myself. I bought both The Boy and J. a cookie from Mrs. Field's to eat on the train, inadvertently sparking a trend among other parents on the trip.
We managed to score most of a car to ourselves for the train ride back. With full tummies, the kids' energy returned and the ride back was noisy with the energetic chattering of 50 happy kindergarteners. It started to rain just as we pulled into the station, so The Boy, J., and I raced back to school before the sky really opened up. It was a lot of fun.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Things'll be great when we're downtown
I was told that I was an adventurous soul by at least 3 people during our day's adventure. The Boy, The Girl, The Tot, and I took the Metra downtown, walked 1/2 a block, took the Wendella Water Taxi down the Chicago River, and disembarked at the last stop, which was Michigan Avenue. I've since learned that the Wendella Water Taxi (black and yellow boats) makes 3 stops along the river during the week (Ogilvie Transportation Center, Clark/Lake, and Michigan Avenue by the Wrigley Building), and goes to Chinatown on weekends only. Its competitor, Shoreline Sightseeing, drives blue boats and goes to Navy Pier and the Shedd as well as to the Mag Mile and Union Station. Still, at $4 for a day pass, the Wendella was a better deal (compare it to the $34 it would cost our party of 4 to travel on Shoreline). Our big goals for the day were to take the Metra and the Water Taxi, so I was at a loss for an activity once the traveling part was over. If I were going to shop the Mag Mile (which I haven't done since about 1997; I'll leave 10.25% sales tax to the tourists), I certainly wouldn't do it with 3 kids in tow.
I took the elevator to the Shops at North Bridge, intending to use the mall to cross up to Michigan Avenue and wander from there (the MCA? Seneca Playlot?), but The Boy started complaining as soon as we got into the mall part. I suggested to him that there was a Lego store and his mood brightened considerably. Along the way to Lego, we passed a Sanrio store, which immediately attracted The Girl with its various walls of miniature knick-knacks with Japanese anime in pale colors.
At Lego, The Tot was happy to move Lego from one play table bin to another, while The Boy marveled at all of the Star Wars, Speed Racer, and other licensed Lego sets. The Girl, meanwhile, repeated, "I want to go to the Hello Kitty store" ad nauseum. The Boy "needed" another set of Duplo (we are holding off on Lego until The Tot no longer wants to eat them). After Lego, we headed straight to Sanrio, where The Tot immediately found the plastic console filled with candy in the middle of the store. I was able to steer The Girl into a Hello Kitty lunch/bento box, and The Tot got a package of gum that he chewed his way through while we were in the store.
With that, we headed to lunch. I had asked The Boy whether he wanted to try a new place for lunch, or go with something familiar. Not surprisingly, he chose the old. We ate at Nordstrom Cafe and all had "the usual" (Cilantro-Lime Chicken Salad for me, chicken strips for The Boy, mac & cheese for The Girl, and The Tot shared with all). We headed back toward the Water Taxi entrance, but then veered off on a series of side trips.
We hopped the free trolley to Navy Pier. The Tot nursed and fell asleep, so we rode the trolley for awhile, switching to another line after doing the whole loop. The second trolley was headed, as we were, toward the train station. But when it passed the Howard Washington Library, we got off at the next stop and walked back. I have always wanted to go to the Howard Washington Library Center; whenever I search the catalog, it is the library branch that seems to have everything. It was gorgeous. It's one of those places I'd like to explore more sometime when I am kid-free. As it was, we visited the Children's Library on the 2nd floor, which was nearly empty at 2 p.m. on a random August Tuesday. The kids and I had a good time picking out and reading books in the S-Z section. I even found a book that seemed to be written for The Boy: Beatrice Doesn't Want To...
By then, we were all tired and the kids were rambunctious -- not a good combination with a quiet library -- so we left. We walked up State Street, stopping at Garrett's along the way for an afternoon snack of caramel and cheese popcorn, which we ate on the walk back to Ogilvie Transportation Center. Our fingers were stained yellow-brown and greasy from the popcorn. We arrived at the train station 15 minutes before the 4:05 train and were back home by 4:30.
I took the elevator to the Shops at North Bridge, intending to use the mall to cross up to Michigan Avenue and wander from there (the MCA? Seneca Playlot?), but The Boy started complaining as soon as we got into the mall part. I suggested to him that there was a Lego store and his mood brightened considerably. Along the way to Lego, we passed a Sanrio store, which immediately attracted The Girl with its various walls of miniature knick-knacks with Japanese anime in pale colors.
At Lego, The Tot was happy to move Lego from one play table bin to another, while The Boy marveled at all of the Star Wars, Speed Racer, and other licensed Lego sets. The Girl, meanwhile, repeated, "I want to go to the Hello Kitty store" ad nauseum. The Boy "needed" another set of Duplo (we are holding off on Lego until The Tot no longer wants to eat them). After Lego, we headed straight to Sanrio, where The Tot immediately found the plastic console filled with candy in the middle of the store. I was able to steer The Girl into a Hello Kitty lunch/bento box, and The Tot got a package of gum that he chewed his way through while we were in the store.
With that, we headed to lunch. I had asked The Boy whether he wanted to try a new place for lunch, or go with something familiar. Not surprisingly, he chose the old. We ate at Nordstrom Cafe and all had "the usual" (Cilantro-Lime Chicken Salad for me, chicken strips for The Boy, mac & cheese for The Girl, and The Tot shared with all). We headed back toward the Water Taxi entrance, but then veered off on a series of side trips.
We hopped the free trolley to Navy Pier. The Tot nursed and fell asleep, so we rode the trolley for awhile, switching to another line after doing the whole loop. The second trolley was headed, as we were, toward the train station. But when it passed the Howard Washington Library, we got off at the next stop and walked back. I have always wanted to go to the Howard Washington Library Center; whenever I search the catalog, it is the library branch that seems to have everything. It was gorgeous. It's one of those places I'd like to explore more sometime when I am kid-free. As it was, we visited the Children's Library on the 2nd floor, which was nearly empty at 2 p.m. on a random August Tuesday. The kids and I had a good time picking out and reading books in the S-Z section. I even found a book that seemed to be written for The Boy: Beatrice Doesn't Want To...
By then, we were all tired and the kids were rambunctious -- not a good combination with a quiet library -- so we left. We walked up State Street, stopping at Garrett's along the way for an afternoon snack of caramel and cheese popcorn, which we ate on the walk back to Ogilvie Transportation Center. Our fingers were stained yellow-brown and greasy from the popcorn. We arrived at the train station 15 minutes before the 4:05 train and were back home by 4:30.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Metra
Today, while The Girl enjoyed her last day of "school," I took The Boy and The Baby on the Metra downtown to have lunch with The Dad. We checked out The Dad's swank new (to him) offices in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange building. It made me giggle to see The Dad in khaki shorts and a polo shirt amidst a sea of men in gorgeous dark suits.
Unfortunately, we left The Dad's office too late to get an outside table at Rivers (which was filled with gigantic tables populated primarily by men wearing a sea of white, pink, and blue starched oxford shirts), so we went to Potbelly instead (also crowded). The Baby ate an entire dill pickle. We didn't have enough time to head east before our train, so The Dad took us to the Boeing store to browse around. I got The Boy a bunch of books on flying and airplanes in anticipation of our trip.
Unfortunately, we left The Dad's office too late to get an outside table at Rivers (which was filled with gigantic tables populated primarily by men wearing a sea of white, pink, and blue starched oxford shirts), so we went to Potbelly instead (also crowded). The Baby ate an entire dill pickle. We didn't have enough time to head east before our train, so The Dad took us to the Boeing store to browse around. I got The Boy a bunch of books on flying and airplanes in anticipation of our trip.
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