Chicago on a Budget

 

You are never too old to visit the Zoo! (and make sure you watch the video at the end if you aren’t sure!)

Last week we had a free afternoon in Chicago and we decided instead of hitting the Magnificent Mile to shop, we would Uber down to Lincoln Park.  We wanted to exercise our minds and feet rather than our wallets.  My husband was annoyed I suggested we visit the Lincoln Park Zoo, but after a few minutes of walking around – he was all into it!

Our first stop in Lincoln Park was for lunch at RJ Grunts. I loved this place when I lived in Chicago. One of the best soup and salad bars in the country!  And better yet, it’s literally a block from the zoo entrance.

After lunch, I smiled big and BEGGED my husband to go the Lincoln Conservatory first.  I LOVE flowers and tropical plants! They were hosting the Spring Flower Show and this a can’t miss sight! It ran from Feb. 6 – May 8 and it’s a must see in Chicago.  And better yet, it’s FREE!

I loved waking in the different “rooms”, looking at all the different ferns, orchids, and more.  I couldn’t stop smiling looking at all the beautiful plants.

My mom would have loved looking at all the different types of orchids.

The Spring Flower Show display was truly amazing!  Did I mention all this beauty was FREE!?  

I was in awe of their hydrangeas. Regardless of the region I live in, I can’t grow a hydrangea.

I loved flowers when I was little. My parents will “chuckle” when they read this. I used to pick a lot of flowers when I was a little girl.  A few more pictures I shot that afternoon of all the gorgeous flowers and plants.

 

Not enough pictures yet?  Ok, just a few more!

After we walked through the Conservatory, we walked 200 feet into the Lincoln Park Zoo.  Spoiler alert: it took about 3 minutes for my husband to proclaim “I am so happy we came to the zoo!”

I lived in Lincoln Park a few years ago and enjoyed visiting the zoo year round. It’s FREE and it was always a good place to take friends in town for the weekend.  Visiting last week, I noticed The Lincoln Park Zoo has really stepped up its game!

I took a lot of pictures! I didn’t want to forget some of the information we read about, so I took pictures of some of the signs as well. It was like taking a picture of where you parked at the airport so when you return a week later – you can remember B3 instead of D4 or something else in the alphabet!  Pretty wise, eh?

We were both intrigued by the baby monkey feeding. So precious!

Nick loved watching the lemurs play. They ran all over the large display!  I made it clear there was no way we were getting one as a pet.  Read this article to find out why!

It was two hours well spent.  I put together a short video of the different animals we saw getting active in their cages.  The opening part of the video is of a tiger. There was a small child in the exhibit hall screaming and the tiger walked over when he heard the screaming and his ears perked up.  It was like he was thinking “Please take that child outside, she’s hurting my ears!”

Chick here to watch the video I put together on Final Cut Pro.

The moral of this blog is you are never too old for the zoo!  The chance to see baby monkeys, lions, tigers, monkeys, and bears close up was truly breathtaking.  Look at the smile on my husband’s face?  Doesn’t it just say, “Oh man! My wife was right again!”