Danielle Johansen

An absolutely amazing art museum and a must see of Chicago. I visited on a Monday morning which had significantly less crowds than the weekends. Entry was quick and easy and I saved on tickets by using the Citipass. Keep in mind tickets for non residents are more expensive. The entry way is beautiful and it's very easy to navigate around the museum due to the signage and provided maps. I especially like that there is a list of must sees on the back of the map for those who only have a short amount of time to visit like I did. My favorite areas were probably the Impressionists and Ancient Egyptian pieces. The layout is easy to navigate and separated in distinct periods that makes sense, nothing detracts from the pieces themselves, and it's overall an amazing experience. I can't wait to revisit with plenty of time to thoroughly explore all the exhibits.

As for accessibility: there were plenty of wide open spaces and wide open doors for wheelchairs/walkers/etc. to navigate through. There are handicap accessible ramps into the buildings as well as elevators to reach the different floors. There's wheelchair rentals near the coat check as well. https://www.artic.edu/visit/accessibility

Decided to stop here for dinner on a whim while walking around Chicago. The food was good; my fries and burger fantastic especially after adding avocado on it. It tasted great my inner quibble is it was so saucy the whole thing fell apart! Still good though. My mom loved the brussel sprouts and artichoke cakes. It took no time to be seated outside. The outdoor eating area was very cute- it was not inundated with noise from traffic and the music wasn't too loud. Nice shady area too. Our waitress was great. Very attentive and friendly.

Stopped in while visiting Lawrence, particularly look for vintage postcards. It's a pretty large shops with three different levels, though we came to close to closing to check out downstairs. Our loss! It's much like other antique malls, different booths/area rented out to be filled with every little type of thing you can think of! I found plenty of postcards and there was quite a few booths with a decent selection of different CDs and records. I also found a neat vintage jacket! The workers were friendly and helpful too. Next time I'm in Lawrence I'll have to give it another look and check out downstairs.

I visited the Seattle Aquarium in November of 2022 and have just got around to reviewing it but I loved this place! It was a Tuesday in November when I visited so it was not busy at all, we have plenty of time to linger and look at the exhibits though there are several outdoor spaces so dress accordingly. The touch tank near the entrance was very cool and stocked full of different starfish and urchins and anemones. I personally think the best part were the sea otters! They were so dang cute! I'm used to only being able to see river otters at my local zoo, which never seem to care to stick around and show off to folks, but these two dudes were just adorable! They were very playful and gave quite the little show! Of course everything there was cool but the otters were just the best. All the staff there were kind and helpful, and the little gift shop at the end was nice too. I got a little felt otter ornament. The aquarium is located on the waterfront so there is plenty to do in the area when you're done visiting. Definitely get the City Pass, which includes the aquarium and allows you to do a bunch of other things too, it helps you save money on tickets!

I've got mixed feelings about this place. I've now been twice, about a year apart, and recently they have done away with table service and posted notices of increased prices. Increased prices but no table service? This most recent visit we went at about 3:30 on a Monday so there wasn't any wait to order or get our food and drinks. That's great but what happens when it gets as busy as it was when I visited on a weekend a year ago? I imagine the bar gets swamped given they have to take food and drink orders and the outgoing food is picked up at the same place. I really like the food and drinks. The Steak Arugula salad and BLT Caesar Chicken salad are both great, the fish and chips too. I haven't had a bad drink there, and we've tried just about all of them. On the other hand the high prices mean you can quickly rack up a mean bill, especially if you order an app, an entree, and a drink. Not to mention sides are not included with entrees like burgers so that's an extra cost. The employees are nice and always helpful and the rooftop dining area is great- covered with some shade and plenty of misters. I'd like to eat here again if I'm in the area but man, not sure if my wallet can handle getting myself and the folks lunch.