Pirates, Nazis, and Death Eaters, Oh My!
This week has been ridiculous. Ridiculously AWESOME!! We left for Chicago on Monday around noon and we have been pretty much non-stop since then. Of course, we've all had extremely early bedtimes, but whatever. That happens when you're walking around the city all freaking day long.
Tuesday (because Monday was mostly spent in the car), we went around to the Field Museum and walked the Magnificent Mile. Holy shit, when we went into the American Girl shop, I was in 9-year-old heaven. Seriously. If I had bought all I had wanted to buy there, not only would I not have had enough money, they would have owned my soul because I would have had to sell all of my other posessions as well. I also spent $4 on a bar of chocolate from the Ghirardelli store. It wasn't even abnormaly large. It was just a regular sized bar. The fact that they gave me a real bag to carry it in, however, made it worth the $4.
At the Field Museum, we went to an exhibit on pirates, as if we hadn't seen enough pirate exhibits on other vacations. Still, pirates are awesome. We also went through the "Evolving Earth" exhibit where I've found out there have been 6 mass extinctions since the beginning of Earth. Yeah. I only knew of the one that killed the dinosaurs...and maybe the one that killed the mammoths and sabre-tooth tigers...but other than that. That's four other mass extinctions of which I knew nothing.
The next day was probably my favorite. We went to the Museum of Science and Industry. I know, I'm not a real science-y person, however they have an exhibit there that beats all other exhibits (including the Titanic one that was at Kings Island in 1998). Yes, they have a Harry Potter exhibit. I spent about $50 at the gift shop...which is surprising because I thought I'd spend at least $100. Yeah. I could have spent many many more if my bank account permitted. Anyway, they had all sorts of set pieces, props, and costumes from the movies. I got to play Quidditch and sit in Hagrid's chair. I even got my picture taken by the Weasleys' Ford Anglia. I got to see Draco's Quidditch robes from the second movie (and school robes too), costumes from all the professors we've seen (except Flitwick for some reason), all the Yule Ball robes, the Hungarian Horntail. I was on the verge of tears nearly the entire time because it was just so freaking awesome!
Oh, and if you were wondering how much my Harry Potter collection grew, here's what I got:
1 Slytherin scarf
1 Slytherin necklace
1 Harry Potter the Exhibition t-shirt
1 Harry Potter the Exhibition travel mug, and
6 Movie poster postcards
After the Harry Potter exhibit, we toured the U-505, a Nazi U-boat, because my dad was really interested in seeing it. Not going to lie, it was a really cool tour, short but cool. And then it was off to the ESPN Zone for dinner. We didn't play any games because we were so tired, but the food was good.
Today, we took a Chicago Gangsters Tour. I was going to include them in the title but decided to go with my original. Anyway, I highly recommend it. Now that I think about it, my family seems obsessed with the bad guys. It's not just me. It may just be me and my dad, but...well, no, Grant is going to a school whose mascot is the Blue Demons. It surprised me, on the tour, how many things were no longer there. One of the gangster's fronts for his illegal liquor business (a flower shop) was now a parking lot, and pretty much everything else was gone too, except for a church and the theater where John Dillinger was allegedly shot. (PS We were supposed to go see Public Enemies tonight, but I think we're too tired).
Then, it was a ride on the L to DePaul to see where Grant is going to be living for the next four years. It's a nice campus. Very small, but nice. We got to see his dorm building, the athletic center, the student center, the library, and, of course, the bookstore where we all got our DePaul gear. When we were done there, we went to the art museum. Oh. My. God. Amazing Impressionism exhibit. Lots of Monet, for which I was very happy. I even have a new Monet print to hang in my room and postcards to sticy tack to my walls, too.
So, that brings us to now. I'm sitting in the "Business Office," basically two computers in a hallway, and really wanting to go upstairs and lie down for a bit. So, that's all.
End Transmission.
Tuesday (because Monday was mostly spent in the car), we went around to the Field Museum and walked the Magnificent Mile. Holy shit, when we went into the American Girl shop, I was in 9-year-old heaven. Seriously. If I had bought all I had wanted to buy there, not only would I not have had enough money, they would have owned my soul because I would have had to sell all of my other posessions as well. I also spent $4 on a bar of chocolate from the Ghirardelli store. It wasn't even abnormaly large. It was just a regular sized bar. The fact that they gave me a real bag to carry it in, however, made it worth the $4.
At the Field Museum, we went to an exhibit on pirates, as if we hadn't seen enough pirate exhibits on other vacations. Still, pirates are awesome. We also went through the "Evolving Earth" exhibit where I've found out there have been 6 mass extinctions since the beginning of Earth. Yeah. I only knew of the one that killed the dinosaurs...and maybe the one that killed the mammoths and sabre-tooth tigers...but other than that. That's four other mass extinctions of which I knew nothing.
The next day was probably my favorite. We went to the Museum of Science and Industry. I know, I'm not a real science-y person, however they have an exhibit there that beats all other exhibits (including the Titanic one that was at Kings Island in 1998). Yes, they have a Harry Potter exhibit. I spent about $50 at the gift shop...which is surprising because I thought I'd spend at least $100. Yeah. I could have spent many many more if my bank account permitted. Anyway, they had all sorts of set pieces, props, and costumes from the movies. I got to play Quidditch and sit in Hagrid's chair. I even got my picture taken by the Weasleys' Ford Anglia. I got to see Draco's Quidditch robes from the second movie (and school robes too), costumes from all the professors we've seen (except Flitwick for some reason), all the Yule Ball robes, the Hungarian Horntail. I was on the verge of tears nearly the entire time because it was just so freaking awesome!
Oh, and if you were wondering how much my Harry Potter collection grew, here's what I got:
1 Slytherin scarf
1 Slytherin necklace
1 Harry Potter the Exhibition t-shirt
1 Harry Potter the Exhibition travel mug, and
6 Movie poster postcards
After the Harry Potter exhibit, we toured the U-505, a Nazi U-boat, because my dad was really interested in seeing it. Not going to lie, it was a really cool tour, short but cool. And then it was off to the ESPN Zone for dinner. We didn't play any games because we were so tired, but the food was good.
Today, we took a Chicago Gangsters Tour. I was going to include them in the title but decided to go with my original. Anyway, I highly recommend it. Now that I think about it, my family seems obsessed with the bad guys. It's not just me. It may just be me and my dad, but...well, no, Grant is going to a school whose mascot is the Blue Demons. It surprised me, on the tour, how many things were no longer there. One of the gangster's fronts for his illegal liquor business (a flower shop) was now a parking lot, and pretty much everything else was gone too, except for a church and the theater where John Dillinger was allegedly shot. (PS We were supposed to go see Public Enemies tonight, but I think we're too tired).
Then, it was a ride on the L to DePaul to see where Grant is going to be living for the next four years. It's a nice campus. Very small, but nice. We got to see his dorm building, the athletic center, the student center, the library, and, of course, the bookstore where we all got our DePaul gear. When we were done there, we went to the art museum. Oh. My. God. Amazing Impressionism exhibit. Lots of Monet, for which I was very happy. I even have a new Monet print to hang in my room and postcards to sticy tack to my walls, too.
So, that brings us to now. I'm sitting in the "Business Office," basically two computers in a hallway, and really wanting to go upstairs and lie down for a bit. So, that's all.
End Transmission.