Travel Adventures: Chicago 2019 & Sue the T-Rex

Our last trip of 2019 was a delight. I got to check something off of my bucket list and we truly enjoyed ourselves. We decided since we both had off some days this week to go to Chicago to catch a show and go to the museum. I have included some highlights below as well as a really fun story about my favorite Dinosaur Sue.

Leaning tower in IL. Watching Sunday morning on CBS is a thing I legit do weekly and they had a story on the leaning tower of Pisa piece. Little did we know that there is a smaller copy in IL. On our way to Chicago we stopped to look at it in the middle of a busy city next to a YMCA. It was fun to go off of the beaten path to see something fun like this.

We stayed at the cutest boutique hotel in a historic building in Chicago called Staypineapple. As you can tell with some of my pictures they have a theme to their location. We loved our suite. The staff was a delight and the room had the best view on the 15th top floor. 

Look at that tile floor. Everything was classy.

Our view of the city. Can see the park where Cloud Gate (the bean) is from our window.

Look at all the cute stuff in this hotel room.

Their mascot is a husky named Dash and they are EXTREMELY pet friendly. 

They offer two duvets so we did not have to share! Love it. 

Ryan checking out Dash.

The sweetest details. 

Loved their lobby area. 

Had to take a picture with Dash before we left.

The next step after checking in was to roam around until we went to see Phantom of the Opera at night.

Stopped to see the city tree that was still up. Super cool stop while roaming.

I have never been in the Chicago Public library and honestly this should be a place you stop at at least once in your life. The building is free to visit and you can really see some amazing free art like this dog tag military art installation. 

Ryan and I love dumplings and this was the perfect stop before heading back to change for the musical. 

The hotels signature drink the Naked Cocktail. 

A travel tip to be able to try a lot of things we do not tend to eat entire meals while traveling. We get a drink at each place and apps all over. Opens you up to try more things. This cheese tray was awesome before seeing the musical.  

I was really concerned Ryan would not like the show because their is some Opera type music but he loved it. The sets, the music and this specific theatre were worth the trip. 

Look at that ceiling! 

It rained hard after the musical and even though we were in a big city it was hard to find a place open. We found this tiny bar and had the best food late night. Mmm wings!

Sue the T-Rex!

Okay I do not want to overload you with the complete history of Sue but Sue is one of the main reasons I love science since I was a child and a big part of why I work in the medical field in general. Just an FYI we do not know if Sue was a she or a he so I will try my best to say they in respect for my favorite Dinosaur. I first saw Sue when I lived in South Dakota which is where they were found. Sue was at the time encasted in rock and I only got to really see part of their skull. This trip to see Sue  at the field museum in the new specialized room was a bucket list item for me. 

In general:

Sue is the nickname given to FMNH PR 2081, which is one of the largest, most extensive, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimens ever found, at over 90% recovered by bulk. It was discovered on 12 August 1990, by Sue Hendrickson, an explorer and fossil collector, and was named after her.

Click HERE to learn more about Sue's interesting life. I actually learned the complete history by watching documentary series Dinosaur 13. 

Sue was recently moved to a new special room in 2019 and remounted as science has taught us that the rib section of the t-rex should be located differently. Sue is now up and Wow. I cannot really express how special it was to see Sue and it was magical to share this experience with Ryan. I do not think he was prepared for how awesome this experience was going to be. 

I just loved seeing Sue. I also really enjoyed the other things that the Field Museum has to offer. See those highlights below.

The last thing I wanted to mention was balance. I always find I need to make sure Ryan gets to do some things he really loves when we travel so that it is not just whatever Emily wants to do. One way this trip was allowing us to roam more and taking Ryan to Wildberry for dessert pancakes before the museum. Dessert and breakfast are two of his favorite things!

I hope you get to check off some things on your bucket list really soon!

Until next time~
XoXo Emily