Midwest Roadtrip Day 3 – Chicago’s Field Museum and a little Rokbonki action

After getting our free breakfast from the hotel, we sat in more of Chicago’s interminable highway traffic on the way into town to see the Shedd Aquarium. After paying $19 cash for parking, then standing in line outside the aquarium, we were told it would be two hour to get in. Unbelievable. Comparing our options, we considered the nearby Field Museum. The girls walked over to the Field Museum to find if the lines were any better there, and we saw signs for the Chicago CityPASS. For $69 (for adults) and $59 (for children 3-11), you get admission five attractions, plus using the VIP entrance to the following:

  • Field Museum
  • Shedd Aquarium
  • Adler Planetarium
  • Museum of Science and Industry
  • Willis Tower Skydeck OR Hancock Tower Observatory
Joel @ the Field Museum

Joel @ the Field Museum

Now that looked like a good deal. We only have two days, but we certainly wanted to visit the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and the Willis Tower. Just for three attraction alone, plus the VIP entrance, that’s a good deal. We authorized them to buy the CityPass tickets, and Paul, Josh, and I got out of line at the aquarium, and walked over to the museum. Of course, we went to a different entrance (the East entrance), and couldn’t find the womenfolk. Eventually, Paul, Josh, and I found the North entrance, and walked through what turned out to be the Group Admissions entrance, and got into the museum. I looked back, looked at Paul, and asked him, “Did we just sneak into the museum?” Yeah, we did. I didn’t know you could do that. Why did we buy tickets?  🙂

We eventually found our better halves in the main lobby nearby Sue and a few replicas of African elephants. So what was our first stop after finally gaining entrance to the museum? It was past 1pm, so we went to the McDonald’s in the lower level! After lunch, we hit a few of the exhibits, including the evolution exhibit which I thought was great. The museum closed at 5pm, so we saw whatever we could see. The kids were extremely tired, so we called it a day, and made our way back towards the car, and eventually the hotel.

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Buckingham Fountain, Chicago

As we drove by Buckingham Fountain, Paul and Biji suggested we stop. We found some premium parking on the street, and hightailed it to check out the fountain and take some photos. It must be a popular spot, because we saw three different wedding parties there for photographs. The women were more interested, so I didn’t take any photos of all that. There is an ice cream shop next to the fountain, so I put more money in the parking meter, and everyone relaxed for a little R&R (and ice cream.)

In the evening, we opted for a 7:30pm dinner at a Japanese hibachi steakhouse named Rokbonki in Arlington Heights. It was a little crazy in there to get seats and drinks and booster seats, but eventually we were all squared away. Good food, but everyone was pretty tired.

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