Adventures in Chicago
I made it to the airport without incident and took my first flight to Philadelphia, but then my forward momentum came to a screeching halt on the tarmac. Apparently the weather in Chicago wasn't so good, so I spent the next hour and a half on the runway waiting for conditions to clear, and staring at the Philly skyline in the distance, one I knew so well, in another life.
I finally made it to Chicago, and the kids had stopped to grab some food while waiting for me. Wandering through the corridors of O'Hare, I had eerie flashbacks from when I arrived here some 15 years before, a young man about to begin Navy bootcamp. I saw young scared faces and I knew what they were going through. However this is a different time, and their war is much more dangerous than mine.
We all met up at the US Airways loading zone. The kids were electric, bouncing around like crazy, and we got it together enough to grab their bags and mine, so we could find the shuttle to downtown and get checked into the room. Through the maze of construction and after a couple wrong turns we found our van, dropped the $45 and were rocketing our way to the city.
The sun had set an hour before, so the city was lit up like Christmas, lights of all colors sparkling everywhere on the huge mountains of concrete and steel. Chicago at night is a truly magical place.
The Embassy Suites was located in center city, two blocks from both the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, geographically perfect for our intentions of doing and seeing as much as possible in our limited time there. We checked in and crossed the sky lobby, five floors above the sidewalk, and made our way into the glass elevators that showcased the incredible view properly.
Our suite was two rooms, a living room area and bedroom, much nicer than I had expected. We put up our bags and headed back down to the street to find something to eat, moreso for me as I was starving. One huge loop around the block and not one food joint was open. It was getting late so we went back to the room, where the kids dug into their doggy bags from Outback and I ordered room service, getting a decent cheeseburger and salad for $32. Thank god I don't vacation that often.
The kids broke out their Christmas presents, two Squire electric guitars, Katryn had a black strat and Christian, a left-handed old school looking Fender copy. Immediately Katryn showed natural guitar prowess, learning five basic rock riffs in five minutes. By the end of the trip, she nailed all 18 songs, moreorless, that I put in their School of Rock Christmas book that I had made for them as a present. Katryn is a natural. She has rhythm and time and could read tablature right off the bat. All this and only 9. I was a very proud father...
We slowly fell into "Return of the King" on cable and fell out. It was good to be snuggled up with my two little ones again. I haven't slept that good in months.
The next morning we had our breakfast in the sky lobby, staring at the open sky above as the hotel as the hotel, like many Embassy Suites, was hollowed out in the middle to the top 17th floor. It was like being on the inside of a man-made volcano.
We hit the streets by 9 a.m., our plan to head south to the museum complex. Making our way to the Miracle Mile, we took in the sites of downtown and just played in the streets like children, as we were, especially me...
We jumped on the bus and cruised along the Miracle Mile, taking in all the scenery of the city, the shopping districts, the skyscrapers, and even passing under the fast-moving L-train several times, hearing that all too familiar tone of the cars banging along the tracks. You could feel, hear, and taste the city. It was wonderful.
While reading the museum brochures, I had decided to buy the city pass, which saved money if you planned on visiting several places instead of paying admission at each stop. Our first stop was the Field Museum of Natural History. To my delight, they currently had the Tutankhamen exhibit there, something I wanted to see since I was a kid. Exiting the bus at Soldier field, we realized there was a Bears home game, and thousands upon thousands of loyal fans were already tailgaiting everywhere for the noon home game. It made for interesting scenery as we made our way to the gates of King Tut's tomb.
Once inside, we stumbled among the artifacts discovered nearly a hundred years before. It was amazing, but a slight bit of disappoint for two reasons. One, the museum disallowed photography in the exhibit, and two, they didn't have the big sarcophagus that Tut was found inside, that famous image you see whenever his name is mentioned. They had a gold statue that replicated it, that was an actual artifact form the era, but being only a foot long, it's not quite the Indiana Jones discovery I expected. The kids, however, totally dug it and couldn't wait to get to the dinosaurs next.
The Field museum is much like DC's museum of natural history, so I wasn't too overwhelmed by it, having the feeling I'd seen the same thing before. The kids loved it, which is what mattered, but they did have one thing that did blow my hair back, what little stubble there was on this bald head. No jokes...
We were out of the first museum and on our way to the Shedd Aquarium next but had to take the time for a photo op with such a wonderful backdrop of the city.
The Shedd Aquarium was incredible. Where the Field museum was much like DC's museum, the aquarium here blew away the Virginia Marine Science Center. They had all the critters, plus a doplhin show, and even a hundred little penguins running around frantcally in an underground exhibit. If you ever go to Chicago, I recommend this place be at the top of your list, but I'm biased, as I am part fish...el pescado to my latin brothers...
Our last museum was the Adler Planetarium. We were getting pretty worn out with all the walking and I knew we didn't want to battle the football game traffic, so we made this one quick. However, we did get to see an incredible planetarium show. It had been years since I have been to one, and the kids never went to one, and all the advances in technology have come along way from the old days. It was fantastic, and I was blown away as much as the kids were. We found our bus and headed home for a couple hours in the pool...I missed swimming, especially with my two favorite fish...
The sun was starting to set and after we dried off and changed clothes, we were off on our next adventure to the Navy Pier. We wandered through the vast facility, taking in a 4-D show and ate dinner at the food court. The amusement park was closed for the season, but we still had fun with what was available, however we missed the most important exhibit there...don't worry...we found it the next day...
As we left the pier, the night had taken over the city and once again it was lit up magically...we slowly made our way back to the hotel, noting the AMC theatre connected to our building. Christian only had one request for his birthday and although it had been a busy day, it was still early, so we hit up the theatre and saw "Eragon," the first book in a series about dragon riders that Christian had devoured over the last year. It was a great film and we all enjoyed it.
Back to the hotel, we played guitar, watched TV, and enjoyed each other's company with the grand view of the city before us...it had been a great day, but we had another one to play...and it was my son's 12th birthday to boot...
It is important to mention that my son has a fear of heights. We took the elevator to the 17th floor and he wouldn't get anywhere near the railing, a look of sickness on his face. With that, I wasn't sure how he'd hold up on our next adventure: the Sears Tower.
Once again, we loaded into a bus and made our way along the Miracle Mile until we saw we were close to the Sears Tower. We made our way through the business district and stood there at the base looking up at the black mountain that rose above us. My son looked pretty bad.
"You going to be ok? Are you up for this?" I asked him.
He never really answered and we made our way in. There was a brief History Channel documentary that chronicled the rise of the structure and then we were in the elevator, shooting upwards, the elevator sign registering 10 stories at a time...60..70...80...90...103!!! The doors slid open and we were at the top of the building, at the skydeck.
Enclosed by glass, the view was one of the most amazing I'd seen. It was like being in a helicopter, but without the flying aspect. Christian had no problem with the heights and they both quickly begged for quarters for the binoculars and telescopes. I took my last four pictures and filled my camera.
I took more on my phone...just have to figure out how to get them off there and onto the computer...
Mom was heading to the city as the night approached. With little time left, we went swimming again, and decided to go back to Navy pier to eat and maybe catch an IMAX. The movie, however was like $45 for the three of us...They were disappointed but it didn't seem a fair price for "Happy Feet." That's when I noticed the Winter Wonderland sign. I asked a worker where it was and she told me at the end of the pier.
"C'mon guys..."
Still bummed about the movie, they asked, "where are we going?"
"You'll see." I had read about it and forgotten about it. We ran along the pier, playing, and laughing, and all, when I saw the entrance. "Let's go."
The doors opened to a huge convention center room with Christmas trees and lights and rides, ferris wheels and coaster, and inflated slides. The best part though was an ice-skating rink at the far end. We got our skates and took to the ice.
Ok, I haven't ice skated in years, decades, but played hockey when I was a kid. Now older, and with a bad knee, I though this might be a bad idea and that I might end up laid out on the ice screaming in pain. But I gave it a shot....amazingly, like a riding a bike, I was right into the groove and cruising around the rink with more confidence than I expected. The kids did pretty good, Katryn falling once or twice and Christian, a few times more. The best feeling was crusing along the ice, seeing my daughter on one side, my son on the other, Christmas songs blaring through the PA, with dazzling lights and trees everywhere. It was a truly magical Christmas.
It has been getting harder and harder to say goodbye, and this time was no different. We had a great time but it wasn't long enough for any of us. Summer will be here soon, and so will they, but these winter months are always tough on everyone.
I asked my son what his favorite thing was that we did.
He answered quickly. "Hanging out with you, Daddy." It took everything inside this tough facade to hold it together. I never hugged him so tightly...
As I left Chicago, the plane flew over Lake Michigan and then the shores of Michigan to the east. Once over land at 30,000 feet, the occassional small city would pop up along Michigan's bleak landscape. Then I saw the one I knew to be Kalamazoo...I waved to the kids, sat back and smiled, knowing that this summer approaching would be our last here together, and as I continued to look down to Michigan, I knew that below me was the place that will soon be my new home....
Merry Christmas to all and thanks for reading...
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Anyone who has seen "The Ghost and the Darkness" will appreciate this. The lions of Tsavo were two maneaters that killed 140 people during their reign in the the African village in the late 1800s, feasting primarily on railroad workers. The Field Museum has these two actual lions stuffed and on display, so I had to get a picture of them with the kids. The shot is kind of dark, but that lends itself to the legend, doesn't it?
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