Chicago

Arrived at our Chicago hotel after spending the day dodging rain showers. This is the first day of bad weather so far on our trip, so we have been pretty lucky in that department.

The hotel is directly off Congress Parkway, right where the road goes under the Post Office and the Stock Exchange Building.  Always wondered who thought that was a good idea - let's put the money building over a road where, these days, people could park a truck full of fertilizer and blow the place up.  Maybe that is why both buildings are now empty.

Chris had to work, but we had good times sharing dinners with him on work days and a day at the museum on his day off. In between, Russ and I toured familiar parts of Chicago - there are always new things to discover.

We spent one evening celebrating Octoberfest with Chris at the Hofbrauhaus. This is patterned after the one in Munich and was full of beer, traditional music and schnitzel. It was a lot of fun watching the performers, including a folk dance group. We sat at a long table which we shared with another family. Reminded me of the one in Munich, except that one had a 2nd floor where we were advised to dine because of Christopher's young age (he was eleven). The first floor was full of young drinkers who had been at it for a while and the language and behavior was a bit vulgar. The Chicago place was much more G-rated.

It had been years since we had been to the Museum of Science and Industry, so we headed out there with Chris on his day off.  There was a special exhibit on Legos architecture where we spent most of our time.  The models on display were all done by one person, Adam Reed Tucker, who is one of only a few certified Lego professional designers. He is known for creating architectural models using standard Legos without any modification to the parts. He said he got his start when his aunt, who is a civil engineer, took him to the Museum.  She bought him his first Legos set and the rest is history.  He developed a detailed process for creating his models, which the exhibit demonstrated.  There was a video showing his methods and a tour of his studio.  Walls and walls of Lego parts, sorted by type and color. Pretty cool.

We sampled a couple other areas - the Fairy Castle, farm technology (including how cow poo is being converted to energy and fertilizer) and a couple of the trains, but the museum is just too big to cover in one day.  A great way to spend a cloudy, rainy day with my two favorite guys.

We did not see the sun the whole time we were in Chicago and we dodged rain showers every day.  So the good vacation weather record has fallen. Still always good to spend time with Chris.




The wind was brisk the day we walked down Michigan Ave to check out the stores. We managed to miss the rain until just before we got back to the parking garage. I was saddened seeing all the homeless people  begging on the street corners, but heartened when I saw a young woman bringing sandwiches to several of them. Nowadays, we see homeless seemingly everywhere but these folks seemed particularly lost. One young man had massive bleeding sores on his hands and arms. So, so sad.

 


Outside the Chicago Tribune building.



 

There were several candy stores on Michigan Ave. We managed to resist until the Ghirardelli store. We broke down and had an ice cream treat, as if it wasn't cold enough already.

 

The city is shifting into fall by displaying lots of scarecrows sporting baseball hats and pjs.

 

If this guy is cleaning windows, someone needs to tell him that it is raining and perhaps not the right time.  I sure hope he is getting top dollar for his efforts.

 

Can you see that guy up on the very top?  A long way to fall - yikes!

 

The clouds kept creeping down as the days went by.

 

 

Outside the Hofbraushaus. The restaurant is part of a complex including several other interesting looking restaurants and a movie theater.

 

The entertainment was interesting - a mixture of American folk music and German songs which many of the customers seemed to know quite well.

 

The food was plentiful and delicious. I had a pork cutlet with noodles and Chris had some sort of stuffed pepper.

 

The singer gave me a great photo op with Chris.

 

At the Museum of Science and Industry (this is the only remaining building of the 1893 World Fair - all the others either were dissembled or burned down.) A huge scale model of the Golden Gate Bridge. The actual span was not self suspended - Plexiglas ledges are used to hold it up.

 

Pretty cool that the designer created a curved surface for the St. Louis archway using regular Lego blocks.

 

A model of the American Eagle wooden rollercoaster, the largest wooden rollercoaster in the country.

 

One of the interactive displays was the opportunity to create a bridge using a single page of paper.  Chris turned it into a tube.  We stacked a lot of bean bags!

 

Then we found the breaking point!

 

It is hard to get a grasp on how large the Museum of Science and Industry is.  These are full sized plans hanging from the ceiling - including the 727 on the right. 

 

This train set a speed record of 112.5 mph in the late 1890s.  I suspect this might be the fastest that human had traveled at the time.  Current trains in the U.S. rarely go above 90 mph.

 

This amazing castle was the hobby of a famous actress in the 1920s and 30s. At one time, it was plumbed for water so the fountains were fully functional.

 

 

Amazing detail. Some of the objects are hundreds of years old. Several pieces have precious jewels, like diamonds.

 


This is the most incredible miniature house - details were amazing.  I sure would not want to be the one to keep it dusted.