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Illinois


We flew into Chicago to see the Field Museum and try some Chicago style hot dogs. It was a rainy day and we only had one umbrella, so we ran from the parking deck to the museum. Our shoes were a bit soaked but for the kids, running through the rain added to the fun.

Before entering the museum, we stopped by Kim & Carlo's Chicago Style Hot Dog Stand and picked up a beef Chicago style hot dog, turkey Chicago style hot dog, and hot dogs with only onions, relish, and ketchup. I don’t usually eat hot dogs (except occasionally at Costco) but this would definitely be my choice in how to dress up a hot dog. Our daughter liked all of the toppings as well but took out a few of the pepperoncinis. Our boys didn’t really like the onions and relish and took them out. We ate our hot dogs at the Explorer Cafe in the Field Museum.


The Field Museum is one of the largest natural history museums in the world. I was surprised to see that basic admission was covered through our ASTC membership (normally $29 per adult and $22 per child for out-of-state guests). Parking is a bit pricey at $25 for up to 4 hours, and $30 for up to 12 hours. If it wasn’t such a rainy day, the parking lot would be great for all day parking and allow you to walk to the Adler Planetarium and Grant Park.


The museum was huge. There were all sorts of interesting facts, such as a giraffe’s intestines being more than 3/4 lengths of a football field long - probably the longest guts in the world or the size of a human brain (middle) compared to a harbor porpoise (left) or a sperm whale (right).



Of course we had to visit the dinosaurs and Sue, the T-Rex. From Field Museum's website: "At more than 40 feet long and 13 feet tall at the hip, SUE is physically the largest Tyrannosaurus rex specimen discovered, out of more than 30 T. rex skeletons that have been found. SUE is also the most complete—around 90 percent." 


There were also exhibits on Africa, China, Tibet, and Ancient Egypt, along with a DNA discovery center, conservation lab, science lab, and so much more. Definitely a museum worth visiting and one you could spend all day in!

🛫Airport Tip🛬: When flying into Chicago, I think Midway (MDW airport) is usually a better option than ORD airport. Midway is only about 11 miles versus 19 miles from the Field Museum, and there always seems to be traffic to ORD (no matter the time of the day). It was about a 1 hour drive to ORD compared to 30 minutes to MDW when we were heading back to the airport.

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