What do you do with only one daylight in Chicago ? My family recently went there for a half-yearly reunification that I explained ina exchangeable post a few year ago . Since then , the families have grown by one husband ( mine ) and five stepchildren ( although only the youngest depart to the reunion ) . With only one full Clarence Day that all six family would be in town , we decided to start with a trip to the Field Museum . Our party of 21 people hiked about a stat mi to the train post and rode an hour into the city .
TheField Museumwasfoundedas part of the Columbian Exposition of 1893 that showcasedthe city ’s rebuildingafter the Great Chicago Fire . The museum moved to its present localization near the waterfront in 1921 .
The museum ’s signature exhibit isSue , the 42 - foot - longTyrannosaurus rexfossil cast that greets visitors in the museum ’s entry . This dinosaur was base in South Dakota in 1990 . After a prolong dispute over ownership of the fossils , the Field Museum buy the bones in 1997 for $ 8.36 million -a record price for fossils !
Other exhibits now undecided at the museum includeGenghis Khan , which was interesting as our political party include one tike from Mongolia in addition to nine from China . The younger kids enjoyed theExtreme Mammalsexhibit , but the half - dozen 15 - year - olds went flat for theGrainger Hall of Gems , a permanent induction .
The escort of our tour of duty was the 14th day of remembrance of the date we met our daughters in China . Not that we needed an excuse , but we adjudicate to keep with lunch in Chinatown . With the aid of opinionated local congenator and some handy iPhone apps , we found theMoon Palace Restaurant , which had plenty of room , food , and cordial reception for our big group in the centre of the afternoon . subsequently , we scattered around the neighborhood to pluck up keepsake .
As we ride by one C of edifice , I was impressed by the way apartment residents convert stair landings , balconies , and cap into outdoor bread and butter space with furniture and plants . Some were quite telling , but firmly to snap from a move train . I desire the train randomness is something one would eventually get used to .
The next stop was theWillis Tower , although mass around us assured us that Chicagoans as well as tourists still call it theSears Tower(the name was modify in 2009 ) . We could n’t die up the chance to go to the top of the tallest building in the country !
TheSkydeckat the top gave us a view of the full city . The glassed - in observation deck feature glass - floored ledges that jut out of the construction and give the illusion that you are standing over nothing but a 1,353 - foundation drop . Which youare , but its quite safe . The kids were excited about standing on the glass , but I passed .
Yes , the vista was spectacular , but I had been to the top of the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building . Although the Willis Tower is high-pitched , it does n’t seem so because the observation deck is not exposed to the candid airwave as the New York buildings are / were . The tourer elevators from the top do not stop at the ground storey , but go to a basement where you must traverse not one buttwogift shops before you may take another lift back to the background flooring .
We had provisional program to continue to theNavy Pier , but it was getting recent , and we had been to the Navy Pier during a reunion ten years earlier . The herd of teenager was ready for anything , but the parents knew we had an hour - long caravan drive forward and a hearty hike to the hotel , so we headed back for a former dinner . A practiced sentence was had by all .
Photographs byEmily Cobb Photographyand by yours sincerely .
