Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
71
at
Wrigley F ield.
D ine on hot dogs or
bratwurst while you sip a beer and the kids
polish off cotton candy and licorice whips,
and cheer on the C ubs with the other
perennially hopeful fans. See p. 278.
3
THE BEST OF CHICAGO IN 3 DAYS
Use your third day in Chicago to amble around the lovely grounds of one of the country's
oldest (and, thankfully, still fr ee of charge) z oos, or, if y our kids ar e older, head to the
Museum Campus to visit the Field Museum. End your day with an evening of theater at
one of the N orth Loop Theater D istrict's many r estored historic theaters, or at B riar
Street Theatre, home to B lue Man Group's popular sho w (but only for kids age 5 and
over, please).
Start:
Bus 151 to Lincoln Park Zoo.
2
Farm-in-the-Zoo
Just south of the z oo, this re-creation of a
working farm gets children in touch (liter-
ally) with animals. B ut the highlight for
many little ones seems to be the giant John
Deere tractor; y ou'll usually find a line of
kids waiting to be hoisted up to sit behind
the massive steering wheel. See p. 197.
3
Oak Street Beach
Where Michigan Avenue merges into Lake
Shore Drive at Oak Street, head down the
underpass to get to O ak S treet B each, a
curved stretch of sand that's a summertime
hot spot. B ikers, skaters, and joggers fill
the paths, while kids play in the sand.
Think of it as Chicago 's o wn minir esort
getaway—but unless y ou're visiting us in
the heat of June, July, or August, I wouldn't
plan on swimming in the generally frigid
water. See p. 168.
4
The Field Museum of
Natural History
You'll feel as though you've entered a truly
grand place when y
1
Lincoln Park Zoo
This charming urban z oo is so compact
that a tour of the various habitats takes all
of 2 or 3 hours—a conv enience factor
even mor e enticing when y ou consider
that the nation's oldest zoo (it was founded
in 1868) stays open 365 days a year and is
one of the last fr ee z oos in the countr y.
The star attraction is the lo wland gorillas
at the
Regenstein Center for African
Apes
. The zoo has had remarkable suc-
cess in br eeding both gorillas and chim-
panzees, and watching these ape families is
mesmerizing. The popular
Sea Lion Pool
is home to harbor seals, gray seals, and
California sea lions. Finish your visit with
a ride (y ou'll pay a fe w dollars per rider ,
and the price is w ell worth it) on the gor-
geous
Endangered Species Carousel.
See
p. 197.
3
ZOO EATS
Between exhibits, stop for lunch at
the
Park Place Café
food court,
located in a historic building that
originally was Chicago's first aquarium. Alter-
nately, you can stop at
Big Cats Café,
a
rooftop eatery in the Mahon Theobold Pavil-
ion. It opens at 8am (1 hr. before the exhibits
do) and serves fresh-baked muf fins and
scones, focaccia sandwiches, salads, and
flatbreads
.
ou walk into the
museum's massiv e S tanley F ield H all.
Indeed, the Field Museum is one of those
classic something-for-ev eryone institu-
tions, with ev erything from animal diora-
mas to S ue, the largest
Tyrannosaurus r ex
fossil ever discovered. The Field upped the
ante for kids when it added the C
rown
