Meandering...: Another Day in the City

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

The kids had mentioned wanting to go to the Shedd Aquarium. By Tuesday we were sufficiently recuperated...teehee...to again venture into the city. We found a rare, perfect parking spot that was close to the Shedd and gave us this view of the Shedd, Navy Pier, and the city.

Even though it was very hot, the day was this beautiful. This next shot includes both Willis Tower (left behind the Shedd) and the Hancock Building (far right, dark building). You can't often capture both in one shot.

When we got to the entrance of the Aquarium, the line to get in was shockingly long, after all it was already after noon. Instead, we decided that to make the best use of the afternoon, we would stroll just a bit farther to the Field Museum of Natural History. Built in the Classical Revival Style, it is a magnificent building; I could just wander and wonder at the beauty of it for hours. The kids are standing against one of the columns inside the North Entrance and the following photo is looking up to the ceiling at the entrance doors.

Prominently displayed in the main hall is Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton found.

We were all fascinated by our journey through Underground Adventure. Here is Dylan in the room where we were shrunk to the size of bugs for our entrance into the underground.

As we traveled through the dirt we were in the company of lots of bugs, worms, roots, etc. and...even a long lost penny which provides the scale for you to see how tiny we were!

We saw several of the exhibits but I do wish we had been able to explore even more of the museum. And I didn't exactly help matters by stopping so often to take photos of the building itself!

Much too soon it was closing time. This was the view from the museum steps, looking north up Lake Shore Drive at the rush hour traffic.

As we walked back to our car, I was so excited to discover this replica of Olmec Head #8. Since learning about them in a college art history class, I have been fascinated by these colossal sculptures of their rulers' heads.

On a much lighter, much more fun note, we had dinner at Ed Debevic's where the kids get such a kick out of the rude remarks from the waitstaff.

And where, apparently, we only eat the center out of the pizza but we thoroughly enjoy every bite of their World's Smallest Sundaes!

The kids had never been to the Observatory on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Center; I think I was ten or eleven years old the only time I had ever been there. To me there is no contest...these are the best views of the city at the lakefront.

Rich thought we should be there for sunset and to watch the lights of the city come on...what a fabulous idea! The kids said that they had never before watched a complete sunset and we posted the entire series of photos on Shelby's blog. Here are two, the beginning and near the end.

I'm excited to post these next shots. Each of these two views were captured at dusk and again after dark. In this first one you see Willis tower to the right with the white antennae.