country mice in the big city

Shady character we found sitting in the back seat of our car

We lived in Seattle for eleven years, so you would think I might feel at home on city streets....ha! The sounds, the movement, the endless traffic and push of the city is at once fascinating and completely overwhelming! We're in Chicago for a few days with Dan, who is performing Starball at the Adler Planetarium (for any of you who happen to be in Chicago - the show's tonight!).

We're staying in a schmancy downtown hotel, which we could never afford on our own dime, and the girls and I are loving it. I guess we stand out a bit - the porter who helped us with our bags noticed Ani's excitement over the elevator to the 30th floor, and asked if we were from a smaller city perhaps? Um, yeah. He laughed when we said our town has about 8,000 people in it.  I think we could probably sit at our window for most of the day (the girls brought their binoculars) and be entertained.  Once we'd arrived (and Dan had already departed for a workshop and a rehearsal) we took a bit of time to get acclimated (read: I stood and breathed at the window while the girls watched television) and then set out to find food.

 

I am enthralled with the lines of this city.

The Cloud Gate

We ended up at Millenium park, which is BEAUTIFUL! I love watching people, and this is the place to do it. So much goofiness and joy. I heard someone say that all the world leaders should come here to play and let off some steam.  Great idea.

Ani made a friend, of course.

Crown Fountain. Love love love this.

The faces - videos of Chicago residents - change every few minutes, but meanwhile you are watching them blink, twitch, and eventually close their eyes and blow, which is when a stream of water comes cascading down. The girls danced and played and found a couple of little boys who were already soaking wet to splash around with.  What a magical place.

Dinner? Oh yeah, we did find food. Fancy sandwiches to eat on the floor of our hotel room, clothes drying in the bathroom, three happy happy campers loving Chicago.  Today we'll head to the Museum of Science and Industry with my dad and his wife who are driving down to spend the day with us. It's already off to a good start; we had breakfast at the window counter of Einstein's bagels, watching people, counting how many were listening to something on their headphones, how many were wearing something other than black, noticing what body part they were leading with, and wondering what species they'd be if they were dogs...yeah, it doesn't take much to entertain us.  We're having a great time!