Chicago With Kids: Millennium Park and The Art Institute

After last night's torrential rains it was difficult to trust the sunshine and blue skies on our first full day in Chicago. As usual, D rose before anyone else, so the two of us set out to explore the city and scare up some breakfast. I have never been a morning person, but over the past (almost) two years, I've come to enjoy my morning reconnaissance missions with little D. In the morning hours, even a bustling city like Chicago is relatively quiet and just waking up. A peaceful walk through the streets of a new city in search of breakfast and with only one kid to manage, is a nice way to ease into the day, and D is usually content to sit quietly in in the stroller and take it all in... a welcome reprieve from the constant juggling I will have to do once I have two small kids to manage.

We wandered down Michigan Avenue, past the American Girl Place, and towards the local Whole Foods Market. Lately, Whole Foods has become our version of Mc Donalds when we travel. I can always find healthy snacks that my kids will enjoy, and I get to try local cheeses, baked goods and produce too. There is always a dining area where we can sit down for a quick bite to eat, and a microwave where we can heat up hot dogs or other prepared foods. Whole Foods certainly isn't cheap, but compared to dining in a restaurant with a picky eater who might reject everything you order, it's a bargain. It's also fast. Today, we picked up snacks and breakfast items to get us through the next few days, and I scored a gourmet Zingerman's Candy Bar to secret away in my purse for a desperate moment.

With great caution, and with rain-gear in tow, we decided to take advantage of the sunny weather with a trip to Millennium Park. Like most kids, mine love to splash in fountains, so our first stop was the impressive Crown Fountain. The fountain is made up of two 50-foot glass block towers stationed at each end of a shallow reflecting pool with a vanishing edge. The video projection screens on the towers cycle through huge images of faces, and water spouts out of their mouths. The fact that the kids walked cautiously through the fountain, closely watching their feet, instead of running, giggling and chasing eachother is a monumental testament to my inability to reliably predict what they will like best. Who would have thought that driving rain and the Bloomingdale's raincoat department would have be more fun than an open fountain on a sunny day! This is also a great example of why it can be so difficult to make recommendations about traveling with children. An activity that might be a hit with one child, or even on a specific day, might fall flat with another. As a traveling parent, I find it's best to be open minded about a wide range of experiences, and not put too much emphasis on any one idea or activity.

We wandered through the Boeing Galleries, an outdoor sculpture garden. The kids were fascinated by the soaring metal sculptures by Mark di Suvero. D giggled as we seated her on a swinging structure because her slippery rain gear made her roll right off. Walking through the garden at our own pace was a great way to show the kids some urban sculpture without making a lecture out of it.

Eventually, we made our way to the Cloud Gate a huge mirrored sculpture, shaped like a bean, that reflects the Chicago skyline and the images of anyone lucky enough to walk next to or through it. D screeched and screamed as she ran around and through the sculpture watching her reflection as she went, while E was more cautious and reflective, cautiously considering all the angles.

As D tired herself out, we noticed the Opera music wafting over from the Frank Gehry designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion. I happen to love the drama, ornate sets, and over-the-top costumes of a good opera production, but for me, it's best experienced live and I haven't made much of an effort to introduce my kids to this artform. Today was the perfect day. Jay Pritzker Pavilion is an outdoor space, and despite what must be a challenging environment, the acoustics are wonderful. We all sat down on the chairs and watched as a full symphony orchestra and three Opera singers performed. I broke out some snacks, and the kids were quiet, stationary, and enthralled. Four songs later, when the performance finally ended they were actually disappointed. What a great eye opener for me. While I'd still be too nervous to bring them to an indoor Opera performance, I need to seek out more opportunities to watch live music (besides the odd street performer) at home.

With D finally ready for her nap, I put her in the sling, and we walked over to Frontera Fresco, celebrity Chef Rick Bayless' family friendly outlet inside a Macy's food court. My food, a "Torta Cubana" filled with hunks of avocado, smoked pork loin and bacon and a bowl of Corn Chowder was excellent, but I couldn't help but be brought down the mall-like atmosphere on the 7th floor of Macys. I have a feeling that if I had been eating in a dirty hole-in-the-wall restaurant down a hard-to-find side street, I would have fawned excessively over the food instead of merely stuffing myself and licking my lips. Still, the location was convenient, and the fact that there were other choices for picky E (including a gourmet hamburger shop and a La Brea Bakery) made it a wonderful choice for families.

What's next? Our funniest toddler moment ever. If you are easily offended, you can skip this paragraph. Every parent of a toddler knows that the most banal things can turn into a major obsession. One of E's quirks is that he LOVES to push the elevator button. I frequently use this quirk to hurry him through a long corridor. When he's tired or out-of-sorts, arriving at an elevator door to find that the button has already been pushed can cause a complete and total melt down. That's what happened today. As we walked up, a stoic looking woman was standing by the elevator door, having already pressed the "Down Arrow." E just lost it. He cried, he yelled a little and he was generally unpleasant. Once I got him to recover and apologize, he moved on to other things... having visited the bathroom a few minutes before he decided that his penis wasn't adjusted properly in his pants. And then he decided that the best way to make friends with our already emotionally-scarred future elevator companion would be to show her his favorite part of his body. At three, E is just discovering his Penis, and we hadn't until this moment, been given an opportunity to tell him that it should stay inside his pants when he's not in changing clothes or in the bathroom. I was so surprised by the whole thing, that I was cracked up and then gently tried to get him to put everything back where it belonged. As soon as he'd safely pulled his pants back up, the elevator door opened, our new friend stepped inside, and pushed the button for the first floor. When E started to loose it again, I asked him "should we wait for the next elevator" and the woman, not at all amused chimed in "I think that would be best." I suppose we're lucky she didn't report E to the police!

Clearly it was time to do something E would truly enjoy. We've been completely remiss in our duty to introduce the kids to popcorn. I think E has tried it once or twice, and he's never had caramel corn. Garrett Popcorn, a small local chain, sells Cheese Corn, Caramel Corn, and a variety of popcorn/nut mixes. If that isn't enticing enough, Garrett's has been recommended by a slew of local celebrities and it has been featured as one of Oprah's favorite things twice. As we walked in the door and joined the Disneyland style winding lineup, E's eyes widened. He stood motionless looking at the huge rotating drum used to coat the corn with its topping. He watched quietly as a assembly line of employees scooped popcorn out of huge glass bins into bags, and then he ordered exactly what I told him to... a bag of half CaramelCrisp and half CheeseCorn. He simply couldn't believe his luck as the huge bag was filled and handed to him. We departed quickly to a nearby park to feast on the crunchy, sweet, and salty mix!

I hope everyone is still reading, because at our next stop, The Art Institute of Chicago came one of the high points in my parenting career so far. Seriously. Before we left for New Mexico, I blogged about how much I love art, and the terrible job I've done introducing my kids to it. I asked for your help in making art museums more fun for my kids and I got it. Then, while we were in New Mexico, E fell head-over-heels in love with Georgia O'Keefe, already a proud accomplishment for me. At the Art Institute, we high-tailed it to a large O'Keefe painting hung over the museum's back stairs. As we walked slowly up the stairs, the painting was unveiled, Sky above Clouds IV, the same painting pictured at the end of My Name is Georgia. E let out an audible breath, sat down on the stairs and said "Oooooh, I like this painting. This painting makes me feel happy." For me, that was the home run. I don't expect that he'll be dragging me through art museums any time soon, but he gets it. Art isn't meant to be boring, and isn't meant to be memorized. I'm not even sure it's meant to be understood all the time. For me, it's meant to make you feel something, or think something, and sometimes it's even meant to make you do something. For me, watching E relate to a painting as a source of emotion was a huge, wonderful milestone because I feel like I've begun to turn the corner with sharing one of the great joys of my life with him.

In a funny aside, D woke up from her nap a few minutes later, looked at the painting and heard us talking about Georgia O'Keefe. She was absolutely convinced that we'd left Chicago and gone to Santa Fe while she was sleeping. Poor kid. I know there are thousands of people who advocate letting kids nap in a sling (and I'm certainly a fan of the practice myself) but it must be a little disorienting when your mom is as unable to sit still as I am.

I could tell you more about our afternoon and evening. We certainly loved the Art Institue with its basement "kids museum" and fantastic hands on activities, and I had a great "grown-up dinner" with my mom while the babysitter put the kids to bed. But I think I'll stop here, because this moment is the one I want to linger in my mind when I think about this day, and I want it to linger in your mind too.

Filed Under: travel-stories

6 comments | Posted on September 26, 2008 | Save to del.icio.us

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