Saturday in the park

Photo credit: John Roll

...I think it was the...uh, 29th of October, the day of an utterly charmed visit to Chicago. We get a parking space next to the elevators in the Museum Park garage, early enough for the early-bird parking rate, and, as we head out of the garage, remember to shield our eyes to avoid looking back at (what have they done to my) Soldier Field, in its renovation the architectural equivalent of Vogon poetry. We're greeted by a helpful and cheery ticket seller at the Field Museum admissions counter, and have free run of the museum, including the Chinese dinosaurs (Szechuanosaurus? Tsintaosaurus? Suddenly I'm hungry. And thirsty.) and the Herculaneum excavations. The girls revisit their favorite Egyptian galleries, and our son snaps shots of his favorite animal tableaux in the vintage natural history exhibits. Then the whole family walks for an hour without complaint across Columbus Drive and Michigan Avenue and up State Street to (gaze on it for the last time, kids) Marshall Field's, where our party of five is seated within minutes in the Walnut Room at high noon, fussed over by a bevy of servers, for a great lunch capped off with his-'n-her Frango mint pies. We walk over to Millennium Park for the first time. I'm blown away by Cloud Gate (pictured above). It's warm and sunny on an uncrowded path as we take the long walk back to the car past a shimmering Buckingham Fountain, the great lake glinting blue-green. Can you dig it? Yes I can.

Comments

[Kathy]

Sounds like a perfect trip. I'll remember to consult you if I ever get to Chicago.

[Julana]

We went to Chicago for a reunion a few weeks ago. My husband is from there. Wonderful place to visit. We spent most of our time in South Holland, and on Navy Pier.