There are lots of fun places to take the kids in Chicago. If you live in the suburbs and can brave the traffic, the Lincoln Park Zoo is wonderful...and "free." Now "free" is a tricky word.  My 3 children are done with camp, and I wanted to find something fun and exciting to do that didn't break the bank.

After getting a late start due to some early morning fun at the park (we get up EARLY at our house), we headed downtown to the Zoo. The expressway this summer is like a slow moving parking lot, so we opted for the side streets. At least it was scenic. One hour later, we arrived at the Zoo by the Shore. Normally, I would try to park on Clark St. If you get there right around 10am, there is a block where it only costs $.25/half-hour. Of course I didn't, and was forced to pay $14 to park at the free zoo. The kids were SO excited. They ran through the gates, stopping briefly to cry about riding the Carousel, and straight to the lion house, after I promised we could ride the Carousel on the way out ($10 for 4 people). They loved the Primate house, and the underwater window to see the Seals was a huge hit, after I had to explain to the 3-year-old that we weren't actually going under water.

Now kids get hungry, and there is cotton candy, drinks shaped like animals, and popcorn at every turn. I managed to avoid that, but in the rush yesterday morning, I did not pack lunches. So we headed to the Cafe to find some food. You can choose just about any kind of fast food...Mexican, Italian/pizza, Burgers, Sandwiches etc. I talked the kids into the "kids meals" because unbeknownst to the children, the meals included Macaroni, carrot sticks, apples, juice, and animal crackers. They, initially, were disappointed, but hungry enough to eat the "good-for-you" food. You have to pay for "good-for-you" and the grand total for 3 kids lunches and a plain cheeseburger was $33! At least they ate well.

Finally, we visited the new Pritzker Children's Zoo. Very fun--I only suggest you don't go when every camp group in Chicago is there. There is a climbing maze for ages 4-8 that weaves up to the ceiling and back down. My eldest got stuck behind a group of kids who were having so much fun they didn't want to leave. After finally rescuing her, we headed over to finish our afternoon on the Carousel.

As we headed home, I began calculating the cost of our fabulously fun day. With parking, the Carousel, and the lunches, the cost reached approximately $60. And that didn't count the gas it took to drive down and back in the car over a period of 2 hours. And when I explained my expensive "free" day to entertain the kids to my husband, he asked, "so are you saying we would be better off paying for camp?" On the up side, I got to spend all that time with my kids instead of a camp counselor.