Barns Brews & Back Roads

Technically this destination was in Illinois but we did end up on some Indiana backroads returning from CHICAGO. I know the blog is supposed to be all about Indiana but when you live 3 hours away from the 3rd largest city in the United States, it’s hard not to include it – occasionally. And since I like to incorporate movie quotes into my blogs as heading, we’ll be using “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory” quotes.

“What is so great about plans? I never had a plan!” – Dory

Theo and Lauren flew home to Indiana for Theo’s 23rd birthday with a simple request: go to an aquarium. One problem, Indiana doesn’t have any aquariums. Not to worry though, there are two in driving distance. First, and closest to where we live, is Newport Aquarium (1 Aquarium Way Newport, KY). Newport is a nice aquarium – we visited when it first opened when Dawson was not quite 2 years old. We also went with Isaiah and Addie to visit “Scuba Santa” in December – which is a pretty cool opportunity for kids to tell scuba diving Santa what they want for Christmas through a special microphone that is connected to his scuba gear. There is also an elf who guards Scuba Santa from the sharks with a candy cane – I wonder what the job description for that looks like? It also has an impressive Coral Reef Tunnel where sharks swim over your head.

But, since it’s Lauren’s second time visiting Indiana and she had never been to Chicago, we picked John G. Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL. Because some describe it as being “old” you should know Shedd Aquarium first opened May 30th, 1930 and was built in classical Greek architecture with large white columns and and a huge dome. Its architecture matches the other buildings in The Museum Campus, including The Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, and Soldier Field (before the controversial 2003 addition of the second deck “spaceship”). It is the third largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere and eleventh largest in the World, and is included in multiple “Best Aquariums” lists from various sources.

“Have you seen a clown fish swim by? It looks just like him.” Dory

In the Wonder of Water area (pictured above) there is both a freshwater and saltwater display. It’s located in the middle of the original octagon shaped area with the lit overhead dome. One of the amazing things throughout the whole aquarium is small attention to detail like the custom made ceramic tiles featuring all types of sea creatures. There are hidden sea life details, like the tiles, all over the aquarium.

There are roughly 32,000 animals in the aquarium. In addition to the yen-yang Wonder of Water exhibit, there is Amazon Rising, Wild Reef, Oceans, At Home on the Great Lake, Abbot Oceanarium, Polar Play Zone and a Stingray Touch pool. So where do you start? Good question, we started at the Wonder of Water and then starting weaving in/out of the spokes from under the octagon dome to see everything else.

“All drains lead to the ocean.” Gill

So the unique thing about the Main Level is you walk through both the Great Lakes and the Oceans exhibits, so you see sharks, octopus and moray eels, then move to sturgeon, catfish and snapping turtles. Theo liked the Great Lakes area because it showcased what was close by. Of course it also makes you think twice about swimming in the lake. Dawson however was greatly concerned in the Amazon Rising area. Snakes are not his thing, and they have a whole area dedicated to an anaconda. Including what you look like to an anaconda – which kind of looks like a scene from “Predator.” But what had Dawson freaking out was that in this huge anaconda exhibit, you couldn’t actually see the anaconda. Her name is Beatrix and she’s an 11 foot green anaconda. Dawson is still convinced that Beatrix was loose somewhere in the building.

“No! No kids! Kids grab things! And I’m not losing another tentacle for you.” Hank

We bypassed the sting ray petting pool as well as a few other “touch” experiences because there were a lot of kids there. In the Great Lakes area you can touch a sturgeon and in the Polar Play area you can touch starfish. There are also three 4D Experiences – Penguins 4D, BBC Earth’s Shark 4D Experience and Octopus: Blue Planet II 4D. In the amphitheater you can watch the dolphin show. There are also additional encounters you can pay extra for including: sea lions, sea otters, penguins, beluga whales, and a shark feeding tour. There is a specialized “Must See” tour where you go with a group and are provided a lot of behind the scenes looks and information. If you book one of the experiences ahead of time online, your admission to the aquarium is included. Now would be a good time to mention it’s best to buy tickets online ahead of time. Ticket prices change based on the day of the week and how busy they expect to be. Also there are discounts for Chicago residents, Chicago Police and Firefighters, Teachers and Foster families.

“Fish are friends, not food.” – Bruce the shark

If you get hungry while you’re inside, there are several vending areas as well as the Surroundings Cafe, Bubble Net Food Court and the Deep Ocean Cafe. We grabbed some snacks and drinks at the Deep Ocean Cafe, which provides excellent floor to ceiling viewing of the Abbott Oceanarium below the water line. Mostly we saw the pacific white sided dolphins who were gearing up for their next show. But also on the lower lever you can see the sea lions, sea otters and beluga whales. And then around the corner from the cafe, there is the Polar Play area which is home to Rockhopper and Magellanic penguins. The penguins were very fun to watch, and I think they enjoy putting on a show as they like to swim up by the window and try and attract attention. The oldest Rockhopper penguin, named Wellington, is 35 years old – more than double the life expectancy of a penguin in the wild. Oh, but back to food… on the way into the aquarium there is a series of food trucks set up with some nice picnic areas in the Museum Campus and overlooking Lake Michigan.

“THE DROP OFF? THEY’RE GOING TO THE DROP OFF? WHAT ARE YOU, INSANE?” Marlin

It’s Chicago so I feel like we need to discuss parking. The Museum Campus is HUGE and there are several parking garages close to each of the attractions. Those parking garages charge around $30ish dollars but can be much higher if there are special events going on – like NFL football games and concerts. Adler Planetarium has an “early bird” special before 9:30AM for $13. We used the parking app “Spot Hero” – which is what I use anytime I need to park in Chicago. I pre-paid for a spot, less than a mile away from the aquarium, it cost $10.99 and it was in a garage. Now, we are all able bodied individuals who are capable of walking the .06 mile to the aquarium. If you have special mobility needs I would recommend the Museum Campus garages. Side note: parking space in Chicago can garner top dollar, so most parking spots are as small as legally possible – just know if you drive a larger SUV, minivan or full size truck you will need to squeeze into tiny spots. Like the six passenger Hyundai Palisades we rented…

‘Cause we were like, “woaaaah.”, and I was like, “woaaaah.” and you were like, “woaaahh…” Crush

What was everyone’s favorite attraction/animal?

Sam

• The black stingrays with the white spots snuggling for a nap
• Beluga whales & dolphins
• Watching the dolphin show from underwater

Dawson

• The Amazon
• “Sam took all the other good parts.”

Theo

• Fishes of the Great Lakes
• Also the Beluga whales

Lauren

• The penguins

Dave

• Also the dolphins and Beluga whales

Andi

• The sea otters
• The Beluga whales
• The octopus (who was hiding)

One thing I love about Shedd is that’s it’s right on Lake Michigan, and from the Abbot Oceanarium – while you’re watching the beloved whales and dolphins – you’re also overlooking the Lake.

“Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.” – Dory

We drove from the southside of Indianapolis to Chicago and it took just over 3 hours – traffic gets bad right at the Indiana/Illinois border heading both in to and out of Chicago. Sam pointed out that you can park at the South Bend Airport and ride the South Shore rail line and it drops off at the Museum Campus. “Where was that information yesterday Sam?” – agitated-stuck-in-traffic-Dave asked 🤭Unfortunately it was also rainy most of the day so sight seeing wasn’t going well. But we had fun! If you’re planning a trip to Chicago the Museum Campus is a bucket list item – you won’t be disappointed by any of the museums. We’ve done a ton of day or quickie overnight trips to Chicago and we’ve visited Shedd and The Field Museum. But there are THOUSANDS of things to see and do in Chicago so I can’t even begin to list them, but some of my favorites are: Navy Pier Ferris Wheel, Lincoln Park Zoo, Museum of Scene & Industry, Field Museum, Garfield Park Conservatory, Riverwalk (I’ve always wanted to take the architectural boat tour), Water Tower Place and the AMAZING views from the John Hancock building. I’ve never been to Wrigley Field, but we have been to a White Sox game. So much to do.

“Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine” – Seagulls

Since it was Theo’s birthday I was content with letting them pick a restaurant, but ever so graciously Theo picked one of my favorites – Ricobene’s (252 W 26th St, Chicago, IL). How do you describe it -old school (since 1946) Italian with a famous and iconic breaded steak sandwich – my favorite (see below). Theo and Lauren got chicken parmesan sandwiches and Sam got a meatball sub and there were zero complaints! Dave even ate cannoli’s – he doesn’t like ricotta cheese and had zero idea that’s the filling. 😉They also serve Chicago style pizza by the slice and Italian beef and sausage.

In case you’re confused at what you’re looking at – that is a breaded skirt steak, marinara sauce, mozzarella, giardiniera, and is served on a Turano French roll. We watched one of the employees hauling in massive bags of bread as we were leaving. Trust me -it’s worth a 3 hour trip to eat this sandwich.

Driving back we were diverted from I65 to US41 to head south and once we were out of Highland and Schererville we got to see some Indiana backroads. And, we drove by The Shrine of Christs Passion (10630 Wicker Ave. (U.S. 41), St. John, IN). I’ve seen multiple signs for it on I65 but never driven by it. That might have to make the list of places to visit – I’m intrigued. It’s an half-mile winding Prayer Trail that depicts the last days of Jesus Christ’s life, with over 40 bronze statues. Like I said, intriguing for sure.

Does this cloud look like a dog jumping? I think so….