II - chicago baby love

We were so lucky to have a minute (really, this trip was short) to connect with Dan's theater partner and his family.  I feel like we grew up into adult-hood with J, and it is so nice to get a glimpse into this new chapter for both of us.  The girls were enthralled with 8-month old Hattie...

Also lucky for us, my cousin and his beautiful family live in Chicago!!  It is what clinched the plan for the girls and I to join him this trip.  For the girls, Rowan is their first baby love, and love it was...

the Papa - who I remember being a baby when I was about E's age!

Eliza has been primed for baby-loving for a long time. She wants to babysit, draws up posters offering her services for baby care, talks about babies.  Ani not so long ago still thought of herself as a baby, so it is really sweet to see her so smitten with a real-live little one.

 (huge sigh.)

I - chicago love

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

these photos are by Eliza

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Chicago Cultural Center/Historic Chicago Public Library

Tiffany window

Chicago: The Adventure Continues...

While waiting for my dad to come and pick us up yesterday morning, the Nigerian doorman came to see how his "small town friends" were liking Chicago? We are loving it. Part of that has to do with the fact that I've not had to drive at all (I am beyond grateful for this) and that we've had such good company! My dad and his wife, Liz, live a few hours north along the lake and came down to spend yesterday with us and see Dan's show.  They were good sports to accompany us to the craziness that was the Museum of Science and Industry. As Liz said, "you've got to go there once!" The girls loved it.

One of the highlights - amidst the lazers, the circus, the fairy castle, the chemical explosions, the wind tunnels, the gears, the ants, the giant prisms, the cross-sections of the human body and the water blasters - was a trip aboard the German U-505 submarine.  Verrrrry tight quarters in there. Imagine, 60 men at sea for 3 months with only enough water for three things: drinking, cooking food, and washing the batteries. Not bathing or cleaning their one uniform per man. Ew.

The last part of our day was to travel to the Adler Planetarium to see Dan's show.  My folks had tickets, but we, the backstage (underage) roadies, had to sneak in, incognito. We were met at a bus stop by a shady character and ushered in through a tunnel to the planetarium. 

Our orders were strict - look only ahead, speak to no one.  We arrived safely and in time to see a spectacular show (which you can't really see here, but I attempted something of a picture).  I was so glad that we got to see the show; it makes such a huge difference when the girls get to see some result of not seeing their dad very much! He'd been there since dropping us off at the hotel on Wednesday, leading a workshop and trying to get enough time in the space to tech, so we'd only glimpsed him again in the morning as he was leaving.  It was a fantastic ending to a wonderful day, and we made it back to the hotel in time to talk it all out over some leftover car snacks and wine (for me) before crawling into our fancy beds to sleep...

fuzzy Starball boys in action

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!