Bad Hair Day In Chi-Town

I went onto the city yesterday to see the DiVinci exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. As the train neared Union Station I saw the city was cloaked in the sort of fog you expect of Chicago but rarely see. I was standing at the corner of Adams and the Chicago River and could not see the top of the Sears Tower. Although there was a cool mist hanging in the air and occasional drizzle it was also warm and humid. I took a bus from near Union Station to the museum with no idea how far it was. The museum is just past Hyde park in the southernmost corner of Chicago. We drove past Soldier Field and the White Sox Cellular Field, got on an expressway for a bit and finally arrived near the museum.

Just as I entered the building a man with two children asked me the time and said something about the museum being free today. That struck fear in my heart. I had canceled this trip once before due to a "Free Admission" day sure to pack the place with children. The ticket lines were long and I wondered if I would even get to see the exhibit. Twenty minutes later I had tickets to enter in a little less than 1/2 an hour. I guess most of the crowd was getting general admission tickets or going to the Omnimax theater. I looked around a bit, got a Pepsi and waited for my 11:30 entrance time to the exhibit.

When my turn came I entered, saw a short film on the subject and got my headset for the audio tour. On clueless couple had their three children with them, the youngest girl was about 3 years old. Once she began to cry I found i couldn't hear the audio on my headset. So I slowed down a bit and allowed them to move ahead out of ear shot. As the group thinned out I was able to really see everything at my own pace and enjoy learning about all the devices DiVinci either invented or improved.

Near the end there is a "workshop" with lots of hands on items and two working catapults. A museum worker was there to explain how DiVinci improved the catapult and demonstrated it in action. Apparently DiVinci had attempted to make a name for himself as a weapons expert. When the Museum guide asked if there were any questions a woman asked "Why was DiVinci so interested in war". I had to bite my tongue not to answer "Because he was a genius not a pacifist" but the guide was even more of a realist and answered, "for the money". There is no way to know for sure what his motivations were but leave it to some people to assume that any great man must be anti war.

I had lunch and wandered around the museum for a while checking out lots of interesting stuff then walked to my bus stop at about 2:45. There I learned that the bus I took to the museum wouldn't be running again till afternoon rush hour. I took another bus planning to go to Navy Pier and catch the bus there to Union Station. Instead I got off at Adams and Michigan and walked from there. Back at Union Station I had time for a cold drink and made the mistake of seeing myself in the mirror in the ladies. The brush in my purse has been missing since Camp Auntie and the long walk in the heat and the steam had taken it's toll, oh well the anonymity of the big city is very liberating. I caught the rather crowded 4:50 home. I might not have walked the 10 blocks in the city if I had remembered that my car was parked 1/4 of a mile from the station. I guess the higher gas prices have more people using the train and a Grandmother managed to beat me to the last parking slot in the more convenient lot.

Tomorrow Jack and I plan to take one of the Architectural cruises and have lunch in the city. I plan to see the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum also, but will wait until all the kids are back in school. Summer heat will be gone soon, and fall is fabulous here. Come visit if you can!