That afternoon, we spent about two hours shopping on Michigan Avenue. While it was incredibly stressful and rushed, the nickname “Magnificent Mile” was dead on. The Hershey store had huge amounts of chocolate, including Reese's cups the size of my palm. Nike town was equally impressive and had several floors of options to choose from. There were numerous high-class stores that I couldn’t even afford to breathe in, let alone pronounce correctly. It’s safe to say shopping in Chicago put Findlay’s mall to absolute shame.

        Next, we saw the Blue Man Group. It was a unique experience that can best be described as quirky and weird. The show had a lot of humor, music, and multimedia. Mrs. McIntosh was selected from the audience to join the group on stage and her face was absolutely priceless the whole time.

        We then went to Navy Pier off the shoreline of Lake Michigan. Before our dinner, we were allowed time to adventure the pier which allowed for a lot of selfies with the skyline.

Our dinner was at Bubba Gump Shrimp and it was elaborately decorated inside the restaurant. It was entirely based on the movie Forrest Gump and the waiters even had a trivia game for us to play. Not only was the atmosphere fantastic, but the food was delightful. It was the works: spinach dip, a meal, and chocolate cake. It had my taste buds saying “mmm-mmm good.”

After our stomachs were full to the brim, we had another hour or so on the pier. Chicago during the day and Chicago at night are two completely different things, but both beautiful, and we experienced this first-hand during our time at Navy Pier. Looking at the thousands of lights within the city was breathtaking and the brisk lake breeze accented perfectly.

Unfortunately, the 150-foot ferris wheel on the pier was closed, but a group of us rode the old-fashion giant carnival swings.The Navy Pier was easily my favorite part because of the beautiful scenery and downtime to fully take in the beauty of Chicago.

The second day started at 8 a.m and we first stopped to get a group picture in front of the entire Chicago skyline (yet again breathtaking). Then we went to Shedd Aquarium and saw all the unique creatures that roam the ocean. Having been there before, it was just as exciting as the first time. I loved looking at all of the “scary” animals such as the sharks and a giant anaconda, which was massive. We watched One World which was their aquatic show with dolphins, beluga whales, sea lions, and even a rescued dog.

The White Sox game followed and, after much concern over the weather, ended up being incredibly warm and clear. I love baseball games and all of the entertaining people that go with them (#let’sgolarry), so I enjoyed it. It was relaxing to bask in the sun while eating a classic meal of a hot dog and potato chips.

The game ran pretty late, as it was around 5 p.m. when it finally finished. We immediately went to dinner afterwards at Gino’s Pizza to experience deep dish pizza. The pizza was mediocre but it was not as good as other deep dish style pizza that I have had previously in Chicago.

Our group then headed to the John Hancock Observatory to get a look at an awesome (and terrifyingly high) view of Chicago 1,000 feet above Lake Michigan and the skyline was extraordinary. For those who loved heights, it was intriguing. For those who didn’t (such as myself), looking down from the window was traumatizing. However, everyone agreed that view made for some pretty awesome pictures. The observatory was adequate, we were rushed to see the view and leave in order to get back to the hotel.

Everyone originally had plans to go swimming at the hotel’s pool for the night, but those plans were quickly shut down after the pool was closed. Some of us spent the couple hours we had before lights out in the lobby playing cards and others were in the rooms relaxing.

After another satisfying breakfast at the hotel, we began our last day (queue sad violin). In the morning we experienced what many consider to be the epitome of Chicago--The Bean in Millennium Park. It doesn’t matter how many times you go there, it’s still just as legendary and inconceivable.

We also saw the Jay Pritzker Pavillion (a modern outside music venue), Lurie Garden, and Crown Fountain (made of two glass brick towers that showcases visitors’ faces)

For our last adventure in Chicago, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. It had a lot of interactive experiences and exhibits such as the Coal Mine or the Treasures of the Walt Disney’s Archive to visit while there. My favorite parts of the entire museum were the genetics section where there were hatched chicks to observe, and the weather section that had a vortex show mocking a tornado. This was my least favorite part of the trip because we were there for about three hours and it got tedious. By the last hour, my group decided to get ice cream inside the museum and relax.

Once we had all met up and boarded the bus, it was time to venture back to good old Ohio. On the way home we watched two quality movies: The Avengers and Napoleon Dynamite. My favorite parts of the entire trip were walking along Navy Pier and people-watching downtown because of the diversity and immense amount of people all in one city. The senior class trip was both a fun and enriching experience to spend with friends. Thanks to mother nature who provided awesome weather, the senior class had a fun time together in the windy city. I am so glad we went and have memories that will last a lifetime. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to spend with my classmates!