And In Conclusion...

Before we got to go in to see Body Worlds 2, we spent some time wandering around the Museum of Science and Industry. While the place was okay, if I had my druthers, we would have been at the Field Museum of Natural History. Now THAT'S a place I could get lost in for DAYS and not want to leave! I don't want too much time to go by before we go back, so that I CAN get to the Field Museum.

Anyway, our tickets for the exhibit were for 5:00pm, the time the rest of the museum closes. By the time we decided we really wanted to see certain things, they were closing--namely, the U-505 submarine and the Pioneer Zephyr (Silver Streak) train. We did walk through most of the museum and found several things that were quite interesting.

In one area of the museum, there are full-sized aircraft suspended from the ceiling. There were several planes from WW2--a German one and a Japanese one. Also, there was a United Airlines Boeing 727--which we got to walk through. It was a bit unnerving to realize you were suspended in mid-air while walking through! Here is a picture of the planes:


The other exhibit that I liked was called The Great Train Story. While I wasn't particularly interested in the trains, the miniature Chicago that the trains went past was really cool. Some of the buildings had to be 5' tall, anyway. (This display was right under the planes.)


On Sunday, we spent three hours at the Ikea store! I LOVE Ikea--such a fun place to explore. Our friends had never been in an Ikea, and we had only been in one once before, so we had a good time.

As we headed back north, we stopped at the Jelly Belly Center in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. We went on the tour--a little lame :)--and bought 'Belly Flops'--'not quite right' Jelly Bellys. It was very touristy, but fun. We got to wear paper hats and ride a 'train' around the warehouse, as we were told the story of Jelly Bellys. (Yes, there is a picture of K and me wearing paper hats. No, you cannot see it. The pic is locked away in a secret underground vault and will only see the light of day when I am skinny and beautiful--or after I am dead. Guess which one will happen first! :)) Here are a couple of pictures from there:



Final thoughts:

The thing that surprised me and flabbergasted me the most on this trip were the tollways in Illinois. You had to pay to get on a road AND you had to pay to get off! It was a little nerve-racking, considering we don't EVER have to go on toll roads. We missed paying at least two tolls--both because we found ourselves in the wrong lane! Now, I am trying to figure out how to pay these tolls--it isn't fun. When you go online to pay, they ask you all sorts of questions that I can't answer: What highway were you on? What exit/plaza did you use? What day did this occur? What time did this occur? What color was the sky at that exact moment? (I made the last one up, but they might as well ask it, cause I won't know the answer to THAT one, either!) Oh, well, I guess I will make up some kind of answers and hope they don't mind--after all, I WILL be sending them money, so why should they complain!

We got home early on Monday evening--exhausted, but happy. Now I get to start planning our next trip: the end of May we will go to see The Lion King! I can't wait!