Skip to main content

Chicago Weekend - Day 2

Image
By
The following day in Chicago was a perfect clear autumn day.  After checking out of the hotel, we head back to the Museum District as our base of operations for the morning.  Our first stop was a lengthy walk to see "The Bean."  Officially known as "Cloud Gate", the beloved piece of art was officially dedicated in Millennium Park in 2006.


Designed by Sir Anish Kapoor, the stainless steel sculpture is 33' x 42' x 68' in dimension. The sculpture earned its nickname, "The Bean", from local writers.  Something that Kapoor was not found of.


The day before, my wife kept going on and on about "The Bean".  I, of course and to the amusement of our Uber driver, had no clue what it was.  I wasn't really sure why we were walking the mile and a half or so to see it.  But I definitely will admit that once I got to The Bean, I am glad we ended up doing it.


The sculpture is a lot of fun, and all of the visitors at Millennium Park were having a good time.  The reflections and distortions of the skyline on the surface of The Bean made photography a lot of fun.  You can also walk under the center of the sculpture which everyone present enjoyed.



As you can see in the photos, it was a pretty much a cloudless day.  So capturing images of the Chicago Skyline on the walk to and from Millennium Park was ideal.




And of course with the better weather, getting that skyline shot from the Museum District was even better today.


Upon returning to the Museum Campus, we visited the Field Museum of Natural History.  The current site of the museum opened in 1921; however, its history dates back to the 1893 World's Fair (Columbian Exposition).  After the World's Fair ended, Marshall Field donated $1 million to preserve and house the nearly 65,000 artifacts that were on display during the Exposition.  The Field Museum, then called the Columbian Museum of Chicago, opened the following year in 1894.  Today, the museum is home to over 40 million cultural and natural artifacts.


After touring the museum, it was time to leave Chicago.  We headed east to South Bend for the Pitt/Notre Dame Football Game before heading to Indianapolis for the night and home to Charlotte the next day.

Though our visit was brief, Chicago is a wonderful city.  I can't wait to get back there.

All photos taken by post author.

 To visit the entire collection of photos on flickr, head here.

Site Navigation:
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

By
Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991.  Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73.  Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there.  But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio.  Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively.  Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards.  Currently, a $274 million widening project in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

By
As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit.  Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301.  This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history.  But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount.  When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

By
Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by.  Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s.  That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain.  Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot.  The milkshakes.  (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.)  Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal!  The fancy salad and hot foods bar.  Going to Rax was special.  Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight.  By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...
Post a Comment
Read more