We had a few days of rest in Utah before we headed out again. Rested and repacked we drove 14 hours to Lincoln, Nebraska to stay the night with our couchsurfing host Colby Thomson. We had a great time talking with him and getting to know him. We got up early the next morning to drive to Chicago, Illinois.
Art Institute of Chicago
On Thursdays the Art Institute of Chicago is free after 4pm. I really wanted to get there in time to go through the museum, so we had to get an early start. Eight hours later we arrived in Chicago, and we had and hour and a half before the museum closed.
We hurried through trying to see everything. Here are a few of my favorites:
Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
Wood, American Gothic
Hopper, Nighthawks
Millennium Park
Millenium Park has a lot of interesting and fun things to see. In this section of the park there are two huge pillars. The pillars sit in a very shallow wading pool (only an inch or two of water) and they also have water running down the sides of the pillars. On the side that faces the other pillar they have tons of tv screens that display faces (like in the picture below). The real surprise is that every 5 or 10 minutes these faces spit water out of the mouth! It was a nice way to cool off after walking around in the heat.
Adler Planetarium
We spent several hours at the Adler Planetarium. There were a lot of cool exhibits and interactive displays.
They had a few costumes to try on. This is what a student would have worn hundreds of years ago.
Chris - the next astronaut! Ironically, article actually mentions a Mr. Jones.
Giordano's Stuffed Pizza
Since we were in Chicago, we had to try Chicago style pizza (stuffed pizza as they call it). We went to the highly rated Giordano's, and it was really delicious and super cheesy. We definitely ate more than we should have.
Hancock Tower
Since "The Tower Formerly Known as Sears" (Willis Tower) is no longer "The Sears Tower" it lost a little of the magic, and we didn't feel obligated to ride the elevator to the top of that particular building. Instead, we went to the John Hancock Tower. While The Hancock also charges money to ride the elevator to the observatory, we chose to go with the free elevator ride to the lounge (two floors down from the top). The only catch is that there is a one drink per person minimum. So, we chose from the four non-alcoholic drink options and enjoyed a Pina Colada while looking out at the city.
While we were enjoying our view of the city, we realized why everyone was gathered near one particular window... an air show was going on! We got a really good view of the air show from the top of The Hancock.
You can see the pilot was doing some crazy stunts.
Delightful Pastries
I had read a review that mentioned an amazing pastry shop. So we had to go and make sure it really was as amazing as they said. Yes, yes it was.
Movie In The Park: Where The Wild Things Are
We decided to go and relax at a movie in the park. While we were there waiting for the movie to start the air show was still going on and the Blue Angels flew really close overhead a couple of times. It was really cool to see them so close. As everyone was setting up their blankets for the movie we noticed that everyone was putting on tons of bug spray... we hadn't noticed any mosquitos. About an hour later we were really wishing we had bug spray! I'm sure that every mosquito within a ten mile radius was there ready to feast on our blood. We put a blanket on over us, but it was so warm outside we were sweating. We finally asked to borrow some bug spray. We enjoyed the movie, but it definitely was not one of our favorites.
Kingston Mines
Our couchsurfing hosts, Rob and Ginny, took us to Kingston Mines to hear local blues. We had never heard live blues, and it was pretty cool. There are some very, very talented people in this world.
We had a wonderful time with our hosts Rob and Ginny. They are really fun, awesome people, and we had a great time getting to know them.
Wrigley Field
We weren't able to go to a game here, but it was fun to come and see the historic Wrigley Field.
Tribune Tower
This is a building that (somehow) got stone or brick from famous buildings all over the world and built those pieces into their facade.
These two pieces are from Roman Ruins and the Arc de Triumph in Paris.
Street Performers
In any big city, you will find street performers. We showed up right as this group got going. I snapped a really good picture right in the middle of their stunt. Two guys set up the stunt, the one in the black shirt bending over and the one doing the hand stand. Then the third guy ran and jumped hands and head first through the arms of the man doing the hand stand. So this picture was taken right in the middle of the stunt as his feet go through. It happened so fast I nearly missed the whole thing.
Art in the City
Ah, you gotta love these random, giant pieces of art scattered throughout the city.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
They have a free museum at the Federal Reserve, and we spent a little time in there learning about money and banking.
This cube holds one million, one dollar bills.
Buckingham Fountain
We wandered into a park and found this wonderful fountain. We happen to arrive just a few minutes before 9pm, and we discovered that at 9pm music plays over hidden speakers and there is a fountain show. It was really pretty, but we didn't have our camera with us. I snapped this photo of the fountain later as we drove by.
Frank Lloyd Wright: Robie House
We drove by the Robie House designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright on our way out of town.
And that's Chicago!Labels: Summer 2010 Road Trip
Hopper, Nighthawks
They had a few costumes to try on. This is what a student would have worn hundreds of years ago.
