We quickly managed to put together a train trip to Kenosha and Chicago. This is how it went:
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Friday, 7AM: Maia and I got in the car and headed over to the train station for our 7:50 departure. The train was a new experience for her, so of course she was giggly with excitement. We had to explore all the cars (including the cafe car, of course!) before we were able to settle in our seats and relax. The ride was mostly uneventful with some typical train delays.
Friday, 1PM: Waiting for our train from Chicago to Kenosha. Late. This never surprises me with trains. Got some pizza. Cuddled.
Friday, 2PM: On the train traveling to Kenosha. Maia is sleepy and cuddles with me most of the ride.
Friday, 3PM: We arrive in Kenosha to be greeted by my cousin Sam. He takes us over to his place where we meet up with Heather, Bella (5y), Gianna (3y), Henry (4m) and Joseph (4m). Maia gets along famously with Bella and Gianna. A whirlwind of little girls.
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Friday, 5PM: Sam takes me to an amazing Italian deli in town called Tenuta's. We picked up some pasta, meats, cheeses and pastries. Oh yeah... several bottles of wine (buy one, get one free on most of their wine... ???? Awesome.)
Friday, 8PM: Bedtime. This was a chore. That is all
Friday, 9PM: Going to bed with Maia. She is having trouble, and I am tired of fighting it. Going to bed.
Saturday, 4AM: Maia is up! Daddy is tired.
Saturday, 7AM: Rest of the family is up. We took a walk to Oliver's Bakery and picked up some delicious donuts. I got a Bavarian Cream and Maia got pink sprinkles. We had a picnic on the floor.
Saturday, 11AM: Headed off to Apple Holler. By the time we got there, the wind was blustery enough that the girls were getting cranky. Instead, we went to the Jelly Belly factory and took a tour. Free jelly beans. Can't beat that! While at the apple orchard we had a great idea. Let's make some caramel apples!
Saturday, 2PM: Hit the grocery store with Sam to pick up supplies for caramel apples. Lunch of mac & cheese.
Saturday, 4PM: Maia, Bella and Gianna made caramel apples. It was a mess. Sam called it a "once-a-year-kind-of-thing". I agree. BUT, the kids had fun and the apples were absolutely delicious. Honestly, I forgot how good a fresh caramel apple can be. The kids did a superb job.
Saturday, 6PM: Bath and movie night for the girls. The Princess and the Frog. I think they liked watching a movie together more than the movie itself... oh... and the popcorn :)
Saturday 8PM: Bedtime for the girls. Unlike the previous night, Maia was out like a rock. My other cousin (Stuart) came over. We introduced Sam to Zombie Flux and played it all night, drinking beer and catching up. Moments like these are priceless.
Sunday 7AM: Sam made waffles for the girls. Daddy ate one too. The girls said their goodbyes and Sam took us to the train station to ride the Metra into town.
Sunday 10AM: Toby, Lydia and Thomas (2 y) meet us at the Clybourn station and take us back to their place so the kids can play and get some lunch before we head in.
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Sunday 1PM: Shed Aquarium. Maia was beside herself. She kept saying "Daddy, I saw a shark, and I wasn't even scared!" after seeing a baby (about 36") hammerhead shark (click on the image just before this paragraph to check out a video of her reaction). The dolphins were a treat, along with the clown fish. When we saw some plant-like seahorses, Maia was convinced I was kidding. "You're just kidding. They're just plants. They're not real. You're just kidding". In honesty, they were odd looking creatures, and they did look a lot like plants.
Sunday 3PM: Meltdown. Big time. Maia got very crabby and everything we saw was dissatisfactory. The beluga whales weren't really cool looking. The dolphins weren't beautiful. The penguins were ugly. The buildings in the city weren't big. The aquarium wasn't any fun.
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Sunday 4PM: Field Museum to see Sue, the T-Rex. Maia has been looking forward to seeing Sue for over a year. It had been the most anticipated event on the trip. Unfortunately, Maia was still crabby and she didn't like Sue at all. "I want to see a BIG dinosaur, not a little one". Maia couldn't shake her crankies enough, and she was never able to enjoy it. I, however, really enjoyed seeing this dinosaur. Although it was indeed smaller than I had anticipated as well (T-Rex was only a medium-sized dinosaur), I found it to be magnificent.
Sunday 6PM: After coming home from the sights and a short catnap, Maia finally got out of her funk and she was back to her cheerful self. We all went to Piece -- Toby and Lydia's favorite brewery/pizza joint. A great meal and a growler for home.
Sunday 8PM: Kids go to bed. Again. out like a rock. The adults polish off a growler and catch up. Much like the night before, it is always great to sit back and catch up with people you haven't seen in a while.
Monday: 6AM: Wake up and push off to Union Station. Time to go home. Maia watched some movies on the train and daddy finished the majority of this journal.
In all, this trip was an unqualified success. In these quick, four days, Maia has grown up just a little more and she has two heaping handfuls of memories to take with her. We got to see friends and family who we hadn't seen in some time. We got to play and see new things. We bonded.
I want to thank both of our hosts for having us. Sam and Heather have a full plate these days. We really appreciate them opening their home for us and letting us add some more chaos to it. Toby and Lydia were also generous hosts, who went out of their way to make us comfortable. We experienced the greatest hospitality this weekend by both families. This trip wouldn't have happened without them
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