The Windy City

So...we, took a trip to Chicago. It was my 1st parent trip to downtown Chicago. I have been to the 'burbs, and flown out of Midway, but I hadn't *actually* been to the city that I can remember well.
We couldn't find a hotel reasonable enough to stay at downtown so we actually stayed out by O'Hare. We got a killer deal on Priceline.com and stayed at a Renaissance by Mariott for just $55/ night plus taxes and parking. I love Priceline. We took the CTA trains in to town every day and even rode a few buses. I am actually surprise at how many people are afraid to use public transportation. We paid just $12 for unlimited train rides and bus rides for the days that we were there. You can't beat that.
We visited the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, the Adler Planetarium as well as the Art Institute. We also got a great deal on tickets - we bought a City Pass. This includes admission to 6 different venues all for $50 (in Chicago, it varies in different cities). So I din't feel bad when we only spent 2 hours are the Art Institute, or the the Shedd was jam packed... We also got to by pass some of the LONG lines, so it was worth it just for that.
Anyway, Chicago was a success and I know we will be returning soon!