Shannon’s Perspective:

“And only happen in a town like this.”

This was our first trip to Chicago as a family and if I remember correctly, we were on a pretty tight budget so we tried to make each dollar stretch as far as we could.  One of those ways was taking advantage of the free admission days that Chicago museums offered back in 2000. There were a few other times Larry and I went to Chicago, but this was the only time we took the kids.  I’m glad we were able to give them this experience, even if they may not remember it well since they were so young at the time.

Larry’s Pick: My Kind of Town

I made mention in my So Hard post about heading to Chicago for the concert with my friend Aaron. But that wasn't the only time. Because Chicago is relatively close to Columbus and because we were relatively young and stupid, we used to on a whim just take off over the weekend and head over. We'd hit Navy Pier, look for record stores, enjoy the food and then head back. Sometimes all within a 24 hour period. Mainly because we didn't have money to afford a room.

There will be another Chicago story a little later around Shannon and I, but this is all about the kids. And being broke. And being smart while being broke.

Since we had kids so young, for a long time we had zero money to go on any real vacations. So we had to improvise as best possible. Since Chicago was so close and so full of museums, we decided that would be a great getaway. So as we started looking up all the great cultural things to do, we stumbled upon the fact that each one had a "free" entry day - mainly to support low income families the ability to see all this greatness.

Shannon and I were not above considering ourselves low income.

Thus began a small vacation where we took the boys to The Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium and of course, Sears Tower. I vividly remember that this is where I saw a moose for the first time - and was absolutely blown away at how large they are.

Just some great family memories. Except for when Shannon told me I was not allowed to play this song on the trip anymore...cause you better believe I was belting it out!

30th Anniversary

Our Story - Shannon's Perspective

Our Story - Larry's Perspective

Ghost of a Chance (Rush) and why?