So... last April we decided that we wanted to take a trip to Shedd Aquarium. We were headed in that general direction for my niece, Abby's, 4th birthday party, and since Caleb's birthday was just around the corner... and since Caleb loves ocean animals... it made sense to check it out!
Well... upon researching the cost of Shedd, I found that it was actually cheaper for our family to buy a membership than to visit for just one day. The obvious decision was to buy the membership... which we did. And since it was gettin' real close to the expiration date, we decided to use it again today!
We woke up a little after 5am and left the house later than we had originally planned only to arrive at Shedd a full 50 minutes before it opened... ooops... time change! :)
So we ran around taking some pics. in the slightly... uh, very... chilly Chicago air!
So... when we had about 1/2 an hour until opening time, we went and stood in this construction tunnel thing that led to the entrance. We played rock, scissors, paper (uh... pencil, pinchy claw... you probably shouldn't ask), I spy, and finally the quiet game...About 5 minutes before they were supposed to open the doors, a Shedd employee came out and asked if anyone in line had a membership, and of course I shouted out, "We do!"... and now I must diverge for just a moment...
It is spring break. It is the weekend. I am planning to converse with fish and stingrays all day. We are all dressed in jeans and T-shirts. Phil and I are wearing hats. And in the picture above you can see what the wind did to the kid's hair that was only hastily brushed in the parking garage...
So the lady looks at me and says, "You have a membership?" And I say, "Yeah." And she keeps looking at me like there is no possible way that this sort of messy lookin' family has a membership to Shedd, so I hold up my membership card, which I've had in my hand all along, and she says, "It would be to your advantage (I'm not kidding, that's what she said) if you went back out through the tunnel and up the stairs and entered through the membership entrance, because we're having a construction issue." And then Phil says, "Is there an elevator?" Of course, he says this, because Ian is in his stroller. And the lady says, "Can't you fold it up?" And I think to myself, "Well... not with the baby in it!" But Phil says, "Yes," and we begin our long exit out of the tunnel with people looking at us and a few even asking each other if Shedd is closed today, and we didn't say anything at all, because it occurred to me that if I started announcing loudly that members could get in line somewhere else, half of the huge line might beat us to the stairs, and then we would have to spend more time in the cold! And Seth and Grace were still playing the quiet game.
We finally made it up the steps and took our place among the well groomed, cultural elite of Chicago, who turned to look at us with eyes that said, "You have a membership?" And I laughed... until the people in front of us shut the door in our faces (remember, I am holding a baby here, and Phil is carrying a stroller that contains a diaper bag, several changes of clothes, my purse, and three camera bags... not to mention the three other children hovering nearby! The absolute best part was when Seth exclaimed, "Hey... you can't do that to us!" And then I really laughed, because I guess he figured we were part of the culturally elite, too, and people shouldn't go around slamming doors in our faces. Seth didn't think it was too funny, because he lost the quiet game. He did, however, open the door for me.
That's probably the best story on the day.
Oh, wait... I just remembered a couple more little incidents that occurred, making us slightly less than... uh... classy...
We didn't want to pay a bazillion dollars for a lunch that we wouldn't even like (Soundings and the regular food court are closed during the renovation... not that I would have been caught dead at Soundings looking how I looked today), so we just sat down among all the people eating their expensive vendor style food and pulled out nine packages of fruit snacks from the diaper bag. It was an amusing lunch. I think the custodian who "cleaned up" after us (we didn't leave a mess) was looking at us as if we just fell off the moon or something, but that's OK...
I also enjoyed the gift shop... immensely. I have regretted not buying the stingray puppet I saw last year, almost since I exited the building! So when I looked at the back wall of stuffed animals and saw "Mr. Ray" staring back at me, I made a beeline for him. When Phil saw where I was headed, he said, "Oh, no," and I did not disappoint! Upon securing "Mr. Ray" on my hand, I started singing... sort of loudly... "Let's name the zones, name the zones, name the zones... Let's name the zones of the open sea!" (You have to crescendo at the end, or it's just not the same). At any rate, a couple of teenage boys said, "Hey, are those hand puppets?" And I turned around... laughing again... and said, "Yes." What I really wanted to say was, "What do you think?" but I figured I'd already caused enough trouble as it was.
I bought "Mr. Ray". He sings a lot... I also purchased a sticky, gooey, frog for Caleb and a sticky, gooey, lizard for Ian. The frog jumps around. The lizard says, "ribbit," talks to his mommy and daddy, and goes by the name of "dinosaur" or "snake"... we're workin' on that reptile identification thing.
Seth and Grace bought all kids of fun stuff... like rocks... and a rock shaped like a dolphin... and a dolphin necklace... and some more lizards for Caleb's upcoming b-day. Phil didn't buy anything. I think all of his "souvenir money" went out the window when he realized we were going to have to pay $19.00 to park...
We enjoyed all of the animals... especially in the Wild Reef, where you have several opportunities to find Nemo. One of Ian's best quotes of the day was, "I see three Dorys!"
I took just over 70 pics, which is not a whole lot for me, but some of them turned out pretty good. The Oceanarium is closed until June, so our trip was a little shorter than last time...
Hope you enjoyed this look at our delightful family adventure. Isn't there a saying that says, "When in Chicago, act like the Chicagoans?" Guess we haven't got that down just yet, but we sure had an awful lot of fun!Lisa
PS I wonder if you're supposed to sit on those turtles? :)
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