Last Day in the Windy City

Monday was our last day in the Windy City. Our Favorite Daughter had several things on her list and so did we. Our first stop was the Shedd Aquarium.  The line was quite short when we arrived. That wasn't the case when we left two hours later. We saw some neat aquarium animals & habitats and found souvenirs for the g'kids. SUCCESS! Also on both agendas was a Chicago Style Hot Dog. DELISH! How convenient that there were several stands on the sidewalks around the Shedd! Then we parted ways. OFD spent a couple of hours in the Art Institute and we geocached in downtown Chicago. And more SUCCESS! A good ending to our Chicago trip.

The Shedd Aquarium

water fountain statue outside the aquarium

colorful tree snake

blue frog

red starfish

colorful sea urchin

colorful fish

Magellan penguins

rockhopper penguins

Lunch

hot dog stand in front of the building

poppy seed bun filled with Vienna beef hot dog, 

dill pickle spear, chopped onions, diced tomatoes, hot peppers,

pickle relish, dash of celery powder, topped with bright yellow

mustard and bright red catsup

YUM!

OFD's Destination

Chicago Art Institute

famous lions standing guard

Our Destinations

a walk past a popular water park

water would spout from the mouth of the

 imposed face (from someone in the crowd)

crossed Paul Harvey Street

a working clock

neat architecture

water tower

destination #1

I did not stop to shop

nor did I get a carriage ride

didn't do the double decker bus either

we walked, and walked, and WALKED

Chicago Tribune office

destination #2

my favorite caching stop

woo hoo! South Dakota

a selfie at The Bean

destination #3

another interesting green space in downtown Chicago

destination #4

destination #5 was the very beginning of Route 66

no photo

We saw lots of interesting and educational sites

driving the toll roads, back roads, busy city streets,

and road construction was STRESSFUL

Glad we came

More glad to be heading home

Saturday's Agenda

Our Favorite Daughter's agenda for Saturday included a visit to the Oriental Institute Museum on the campus of the University of Chicago. The museum is known for its outstanding display of Egyptian artifacts. I tagged along as we walked through the campus. I've included some of my favorite photos from the museum and then of other eye-catching details.

Looking at this piece we realized walls of the tombs

were not painted as we thought, but the painted pieces

are inset into the wall.

There were 3 mummies in display cases

Some of the painted detailing

Huge statuary

Down the street was this Frank Lloyd Wright house

Tours were full

I find his window designs very interesting

Seen on the walk back to the car

Reminded me of Europe

After the tour and walk, we had pizza on the mind.

The Best?

Chicago style pizza was on our list of MUSTS while in the Windy City. OFD had recommendations from several of her friends, but the one with the most favs was...

OFD ordered for the 3 of us

A yummy salad to start the meal

and pepperoni deep dish entree

a buttery thin crust, topped with pounds of

cheese, topped with a scattering of pepperoni 

slices and crowned with diced tomatoes in 

a tomato sauce. OH, SO GOOD!

The Best? I'm not sure, but it certainly

was delicious and hit the spot after walking the 

University of Chicago campus and the 

Oriental Museum.

4 Hours or 13 Innings

One of Our Favorite Daughter's requests on this trip was a ballgame at Wrigley Field. She had not been to the stadium, but the rest of the family had. The 3:05 game was on the agenda for Friday afternoon. We found the stadium and the reserved parking lot without too much trouble. I was interested in seeing the changes that may have been made to this, one of two original baseball stadiums. (The other is Fenway Park in Boston.) It has been about 15 years since our last visit.

Wrigley Field is 100 years old

A view of the outfield and some of the skyscrapers

The bleachers on top of the buildings across the street 

may be an addition. I know folks sat on the rooftops

the last time. I don't think the bleacher system was

as extensive as it is today.

See that bleacher on the brick building to the left?

Scary!

About 5:00 the sea gulls started flying in to the 

bleachers and outfield.

At this point the Cubs were ahead 3-0 and it looked

like the game would end on time.

The bleacher section was clearing out and

the birds were moving in to scavenge.

Somewhere around the 8th and 9th innings, the 

Marlins also scored 3 runs. That is the scoreboard 

in the 11th. Notice the two open windows. 

The scoreboard folks watch the game and at the

end of the inning open a door and put the correct

number on the scoreboard...

for EVERY major league baseball game being 

played during the Cubs game.

Notice the time (6:50 PM) and the game is in the bottom

of the 12th.

And notice the height of the scoreboard and the little 

doors/windows. 10 doors are above the Cubs & Marlins

section.

7:15 PM. Finally.

Yes, we did get our money's worth of baseball.

It was a good game 'cause the home team won.

Because of bad choice of roads heading back 

to the hotel...we got home after 9:30.

It was a LONG day.

We did learn what roads NOT to take into 

and out of the city.

Happy Anniversary to us.

Not even a decent dinner that night.