A fun 2-day trip to Chicago during Spring Break 2023! Our itinerary included visiting the Shed Aquarium and the Museum of Science and Industry. On the first day, I tried convincing my kids the night before to stay overnight in Milwaukee so we could sleep in. However, they were not having it. So, we woke up at the ungodly hour of 5AM and hit the road. Traffic was manageable until we were about 10 miles from Downtown Chicago, and then we hit a massive slowdown. But, we still managed to reach the Adler Planetarium parking lot before 9:30 AM, and parking for the day only cost us $12. The planetarium is only one block from the Shed, which was perfect for us. The area is stunning, located right on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, but since the weather was cloudy, we didn't spend much time outside. I can only imagine how fun it would be during the summer. We bought our tickets online, which gave us a QR code, making getting through security and the ticket area a breeze. Since we were early and it was Wednesday, it took us less than three minutes to get through. The Shed building is beautiful, and there's so much to see. We walked through and took our time checking out the upper-level aquariums and then headed downstairs to the large aquarium for the whales and dolphins. There are shows throughout the day, and we stopped for lunch, where we all had chicken strip baskets. They cost $13 per meal, which I thought was pretty decent for a tourist spot. After lunch, we went to the 4D experience, which was nothing too exciting, in my opinion. However, the kids loved the aquarium and said they'd go back again. Overall, we spent six hours covering the aquarium, lunch, watching one show, and doing the 4D experience.

We found a place to stay on Airbnb just outside of Downtown, and it was really cute. The price was reasonable for the area. After visiting the aquarium, it was great to come back and have some downtime and enjoy each other's company. We hung out for about an hour, and then my little man wanted ice cream. There was a Baskin & Robbins just down the street, but the reviews were terrible. So, I found another ice cream spot about seven blocks away called Jeni's Incredible Ice Cream. We got lucky and found a parking spot right away. Jeni's place was super cute, and they had a great lineup of flavors to choose from. My little man got the Milkiest Chocolate, and my daughter got salted peanut butter chocolate chunks. The ice cream was pretty damn good. A single scoop sugar cone cost us $12, so with tax and tip, we spent a whopping $26. Afterward, I looked at the kids and asked, "Is that the best ice cream you've ever had?" The little man replied, "I'd rather have Culvers." And that cracked me up.

We went back to the house and chilled for a while before deciding to get some pizza since we were in Chicago. Giordano's was recommended, so off we went. They have a very good deep-dish pizza, and we got a small one that filled up three of us, and we still had two pieces left. The prices were pretty good for this as well, and it cost us just shy of $50 for the pizza and three fountain drinks. We went back to the house for some sleep and to get ready for a day at the Science and Industry Museum.

The following day we embarked on a 30-minute ride to the Science and Industry museum from our rental, and being the smart people we are, We decided to leave early to account for traffic. And boy, were we right to do so! The traffic was absolutely nuts, but I guess that's just a typical morning occurrence. Finally, we arrived at the parking garage and snagged an amazing spot right away.

As we walked into the museum, we immediately felt the immense size of the place. Luckily, we had ordered our tickets online, so getting in was a breeze. A ride up the escalator and we were wowed by a 60-foot tornado exhibit and a Tesla coil that made a sound like a crazy loud horn. There was so much to see and do, and it was all amazing and so much fun! The photos we took give you just a glimpse of this incredible attraction. We had lunch here, but be warned, it was a bit pricey at about $20 per person.

Overall, the kids absolutely loved this place, and they were entertained for the entire 5 hours we were there. Our parking cost us $22, but it was worth it. This place is perfect for kids and fun for parents, so I highly recommend it to anyone.

After we got home and chilled for about an hour, we decided it was time to grab some grub. My kids love chicken, so I did some online research and found a place called Crisp. It had great reviews on Google, so we decided to take a chance and check it out. We quickly found out that finding parking in the area was no easy feat. We drove around the block a few times but couldn't find a spot until someone left and we lucked out. We were only 100 feet from Crisp!

The restaurant was small but had a fun and energetic atmosphere. The kids got chicken strips with barbecue sauce, while I went for the whole wings with SoulSauce. Let me tell you, the SoulSauce was an amazing Asian blend of spices! The wings had the perfect crispy skin and were perhaps the best wings I've ever tasted. Just writing about them now makes my mouth water. My daughter got the regular BBQ, which still had a little kick to it, but she ate them like a champ and really enjoyed them. My little man wasn't as impressed; he said they were just "alright." I gave him a bite of one of my wings, though, and he liked it a lot. I offered him some of my wings, but he stuck with his strips. I highly recommend this place to anyone who loves wings.

Finally, we got cleaned up and ready to head out to the Blue Man Group show. Once again, we found that parking was quite the challenge, but we got lucky and found a spot super close to the theater. We waited outside for about 15 minutes before getting into the theater and finding our seats. The place was about 60% full, but the show was an absolute blast that kept us laughing the entire time. The kids were absolutely entranced, and my daughter even said it might be the coolest thing she's ever seen. Maybe she was just saying that for my sake, but I'll take it! I was so glad I got to take them to see this show. If you're looking to see it when you're in Chicago, the best deals I found were on Groupon. We waited too long to get ours, so we ended up buying them on the main website through Ticketmaster, which cost about $65 per head.