There was a moment of silence right before our Amtrak train pulled into Chicago Union Station, following an overnight trip from New York City. In that moment of pitch-perfect silence, our travel host, Bianca Golden, scanned the train, intently locking eyes with every single member of the team before breaking out into a huge smile. Yeah, it was time to own Chicago.
We were all quite familiar with the Windy City, but none more so than Golden, our resident model, who had shot numerous ad campaigns there. As we emerged from Union Station to begin our day, our first question was, “Where to?”
Her answer: “Shedd Aquarium.”
To state it plainly, Shedd Aquarium was quite impressive. Boasting the title of world’s largest aquarium (in total number of animals), Shedd kick-started our Chicago journey in a major way, as we petted stingrays, fawned over the beauty of jellyfish and became enamored with the sheer brain power of dolphins.
After leaving Shedd, we headed over to visit our friends at the DuSable Museum as they celebrated the super cool “Funky Turns 40” art exhibit, which celebrated the golden age of black animation. From Fat Albert to the Brown Hornet, our fondest animated heroes were all there, live and in color thanks to the great work of the staff at the DuSable.
By that time, we had worked up quite an appetite, so Golden suggested that we stop by Garrett Popcorn for a bag of Chicago mix. While the line stretched out of the door, we were thankfully given VIP access, and even looked up to find Golden behind the counter serving popcorn to guests.
