We had such a fun trip to Chicago and Lake Michigan! Ellie was a great traveler and we fit in a lot in six days.
Our first stop was in Quincy to celebrate Grandma Suzy's birthday.
Next we went to Springfield where Ellie got to play with Harper. She loved it and still talks about Harper all the time, although she's sure her name is pronounced "Piper".
On Sunday, we drove to Chicago where we stayed with Mark and Allison. Ellie adored their cat, Carl.
We went to the riverfront and then walked around Lincoln Park.
The next day we went to a cool playground and out to brunch with friends. After brunch, we made a quick visit to the Lincoln Park Zoo and then drove to New Buffalo.
Our first stop in New Buffalo was dinner at the Stray Dog. We ate there all the time when Alex was at La Lumiere and it was fun to go back there with Ellie.
We finished the day with Bubbles Ice Cream in Michigan City and a movie in bed at the hotel.
On Tuesday morning we went to the beach in New Buffalo but the wind off the lake was pretty chilly.
After the beach, we drove to South Bend to walk around Notre Dame.
Visiting Zahm, where both daddy and grandpa lived.
This tree on Main Circle is dedicated to Great Grandpa Conrad.
We had lunch in Eddy Commons and then headed north to explore Benton Harbor and St. Joe. We played on the beach and then got pizza at a cute place by the water.
On Wednesday we drove back to Chicago for Chris to attend his conference. While he was in meetings, Ellie and I went to the American Girl store for lunch.
The restaurant was really cute. Ellie especially liked decorating cupcakes for dessert.
After lunch, we walked to Navy Pier to ride the ferris wheel. Ellie has been into ferris wheels for months but this was her first time actually riding one. I thought she might be scared but it turned out she loved it and I was the one who was nervous.
We walked all the way to the end of the pier to look at the view of Chicago and then played in the moving fountain.
That night, Chris had a networking event so Ellie and I made a visit to the Disney Store and then had a picnic in our hotel room. We were lucky to get a room facing the lake so we could watch the fireworks over Navy Pier from our room.
The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at the hotel and then drove to Shedd Aquarium.
The Oceanarium show at Shedd was so neat and Ellie learned a lot. She especially liked the beluga whales and the owl, Rainier.
Touching starfish.
Ellie wasn't so sure about the shark exhibit.
Learning about turtles.
After the aquarium, we picked up Chris and started the long drive home. It was a great week and Ellie has already been asking when we can go back to Chicago.