Rick had the 4th of July off from work, so we decided to take the kids to Chicago to see some sights and check out the Field Museum. We would never have planned a day outdoors in July in FL, that's just crazy talk. But we're in the North, now! It's not that hot! The humidity is lower! All of the seasons are now ours to enjoy!
Holy Flaming Heatwave, Batman!
Yeah, we dragged the kids all over downtown Chicago in
record high temperatures. 102 without the heat index, tied for July 4, 1911. Perhaps it wasn't the most stellar parenting, but by golly, they got a good dose of culture and exercise and Quality Family Time, whether they liked it or not. ;) And we took pictures. You can click
here to see all of them, but I'll give you some highlights.
Here are the boys outside of Ogilvie Transportation Center, their individual personalities firmly on display. We're able to take the train in from Elburn, and it's just under 2.5 hours total travel time from our house.
 |
| Behold the big shiny buildings! |
By the time we'd walked to Millennium Park, we were really feeling the heat, so we headed straight to the Crown Fountain for relief.
After a quick spritz, we went to ooh and ahh over the Cloud Gate sculpture.
We wandered around the park area for about 2 hours, checking out the amphitheater and the gardens, then we collapsed on a shaded bench, where a friendly passer-by offered to take our picture.
 |
| We're melting... meelllllllltiiiiiinnnng! |
We had some trouble locating the subway station that would take us to the museum, but we stumbled into this nice little skyscraper/fountain/garden niche where the kids and I took a load off while Rick scouted to find it.
Eventually, we made it! Here they are, inside the lovely air-conditioned Field Museum, newly-purchased Annual Family Membership stickers fresh off the press, standing in front of a T-Rex named Sue.
We explored the Genghis Khan exhibit, which Gabriel really enjoyed. He's old enough now to read the plaques and look and ponder things, rather than just rushing through. There were enough Mongolian sabres and whistling arrowheads and trebuchets and giant triple crossbows for launching 6-foot flaming spears to fuel his battle fantasies for weeks. He also appreciates the philosophy and culture, though -- we learned that the Mongolians were the first people to use a bow on stringed instruments, which was relevant to his interests as a future fiddler.
Seth's choice was Underground Adventures, where you "shrink" to 1/100th of your size to explore soil science from a bug's-eye point of view. I was really impressed with this exhibit -- soil science is not something I've ruminated much upon, and there's a lot to it. This made it very accessible and thought-provoking on many different levels.
We had to rush through the Egyptian exhibit, because the museum closes at 5, but I hope we can go back when we have more time. We just scratched the surface of what The Field has to offer. Two hours of air-conditioned intellectual stimulation was a nice start, though.
Back out into the heat we trudged, and we took a moment to appreciate the lake-front view with its adjacent skyline.
Then we began our quest to experience authentic Chicago-style deep dish pizza. On the way, we saw that Columbus Drive had been blocked off by police barricades. "Perhaps they're preparing for a 4th of July parade, how nice!" we thought. Then there was a synchronized double-take:
 |
| putting the "wave" back in "heat wave" |
Yyyeah. It was so hot,
the pavement buckled. Luckily, no one got hurt. That's just nuts!
Our pizza quest ended at Lou Malnati's which turned out to be absolutely worth the walk. The interior was cool and dim, the friendly waitress kept the ice water flowing, and the food was fantastic (and very reasonably priced). Gabriel declared that the pizza was "indescribably delicious."
 |
| A Quest Fulfilled |
By the time we got out of Lou's, the sun had begun to set, and it wasn't quite so miserable outside. We took a leisurely walk toward the
Sears Willis Tower, enjoying statues and gardens and architecture along the way. We finally got there, said, "yep, that's pretty tall," then dragged ourselves back to the train station. It was dark when we pulled out, and the kids got to see a few stray fireworks out the window to complete the 4th of July experience.
We're planning another trip in 2 weeks for Seth's birthday. We'll be spending the bulk of that excursion inside the
Museum of Science and Industry.
I trust that it's air-conditioned.
