1/26/10 Chicago: Space, the Bus and Chicks, man.

This is day five of my Chicago adventure. Due to the full day of playing that I did yesterday, I took the morning off and lounged around to catch up on my TV watching. The afternoon, however, was full of tourist-y fun.

12:00pm- Today I got smart. Yesterday the cold took me by surprise, but today I was ready for it. I put on two pairs of socks, (one being bright red knee length soccer socks), two shirts, my heaviest cords, and my trusty tennis shoes. I also commandeered one of the Seester's scarves from her coat closet and wrapped it over my head. On top of that I put my hat and my furry scarf. The result was a cross between Nanook of the North and Maid Marian, but whatever works, right?


12:33pm- Took the Green Line down to Garfield and set off towards Hyde Park. Along the way, I came across a frozen pond. Since I don't recall ever actually seeing a real life frozen pond before, I took a picture. Riveting, yes?
12:44pm- Wandered through the University of Chicago campus on the way. The architecture is amazing here. Do you think they'd let me live here?

1:3opm- After a brisk two mile walk, arrive at the Museum of Science and Industry. This place is huge! I played here for hours today and still didn't make it through everything. There are dozens and dozens of interactive exhibits here.

1:58pm- This is me on the thermal camera in one of the exhibits. Note the complete lack of heat in my hands. This explains why Tony flinches whenever I try to warm them on the back of his neck. (Hey, don't judge me. You know you'd do the same thing given the chance). Apparently suffering from poor nose circulation too.
2:10pm-She's got the whole world in her hands. (Okay, okay, so it's technically the moon, but close enough). There's a fabulous planet exhibit here.2:14pm-Just hangin' out with my pal the nebula here.

2:49pm-This is your brain. This is your brain sliced into little tiny slices and mounted under glass. Cool, huh?
3:03pm-One of the exhibits is on genetics, complete with chick hatchery. (This was probably my favorite part of the whole museum). For 30 minutes, I watched this little guy peck his way out of his shell (which is apparently pretty exhausting since he just basically laid around after that). I'm amazed that he was even able to fit in that little egg! I mean, not exactly a lot of closet space in there. (And especially with the size of his feet! He's like the Bigfoot of the baby chicken world. Like claw-shaped clown shoes. Poor guy.)
3:09pm-After they've had time to rest up and fluff out a bit, they hang out on the chick playground. Strangely, I developed an incredible craving for marshmallow peeps.4:00pm- Museum closes and security chases escorts me out. I had planned to walk the 2 miles back to the Green line, but right as I was passing a bus stop, a downtown bus showed up out of thin air. (I have a no bus policy due to the high concentration of crazies that seem to find me whenever I board them, but I figured that such perfect timing could be a sign). So I got on. And I rode all the way back to the Seester's apartment, and no one, crazy or otherwise, paid the slightest bit of attention. I consider it a personal growth victory.


4:36pm-On the way home, I passed a Potbelly's, which any Chicagoan will tell you has the best sandwiches EVER. I treated myself to a tasty roast beef and pickle sandwich. Delicious!
8:00pm- I couldn't possibly leave without having a traditional deep dish pizza, so we had one for dinner tonight. Tomorrow I'll grab a quick lunch with the Seester and then head to the airport for my trip home. While I've had a blast here, I must admit that I miss my Tony-kins.