A Day Full O'Chicago

We awoke a little more groggy that we would have hoped, and declined the enticing offer to breakfast with MyAdoringPublic and her SigOther. I had determined to go to Wicker Park to partake of the lemon pancakes with raspberry sauce at the Bongo Room. Sure, it sounded like I would be a sugar coma for the day, but I was on vacation!

Hopping into the waiting cab, we arrived effortlessly at our destination, and noticed workmen setting up scaffolding across the entrance - seems like the Bongo Room was getting a fresh coat of exterior paint. Not to fear, they were open. When we were seated, however, we encountered the first problem of the day - no lemon pancakes! They changed their menu. So we went six miles out of the way for a mediocre breakfast. I was not amused, but I figured that if we hadn't made the trip, I would have been annoyed at that - it was clearly a "no win" situation.

As we were leaving the restaurant, a patron in a wheelchair was entering, so I held the door open. BC, in a effort to get out of the way did a CLASSIC BC - she walked right into the scaffolding, making a resounding, major league baseballbat smack sound with her head and the wood planks. Luckily, it appeared to be only a minor concussion, something she is all too familiar with, so we traveled on to our destination: THE FIELD MUSEUM!

We were going to see Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs , but arrived early so that we could explore the rest of the museum - in particular, paying homage to Sue. It was especially cool to do that with BC, because she bought me the book Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought over T-Rex Ever Found when it came out in 2000.

Tucked in corner near Sue is the amazing plasticine bust by forensic anthropologist Elisabeth Daynes of King Tut. Again, I had seen the pictures, but the real sculpture is incredible and eerie. It went a long way to making all of those objects real. Here was the real young man, a king....pretty incredible.

I was really impressed by the huge man eating Lion of Mfuwe. The diorama shows the enormous lion AND a bag of clothes that it was said to have carried around, earning itself the reputation as a sorcerer.

The Museum is also home to the man eating Lions of Tsavo. AND the taxidermied remains of Bushman, the Lincoln Park Zoo's granddaddy gorilla.

Oh, before I forget - I added FOUR squished pennies to my collection: The Field Museum, Tut at the Field, Sue and The Lions. Who was happier than me?

Finally, our appointed hour arrived and we were ushered into the exhibit. It was an incredible experience to see these familiar objects with my own eyes, after seeing them reproduced so often in books. No photograph can do justice to these works. The grandeur and beauty and sense of time of the entire exhibit is overwhelming. If I had to pick a few standouts, one would be the small calcite unguent container with a crouching lion as the lid, which symbolizes order over chaos. I love the sentiment, but was one of those objects that is in EVERY Tut book...and to see the delicacy and loveliness of it for real is very powerful.

Well, after several hours of gazing, I wanted to go out, get some fresh air and something cool. Conveniently, there is an ice cream stand right outside and I got a chocolate and vanilla swirled cone. It was an absolutely perfect day, and we decided it would be fun to take the water taxi over to Navy Pier and find lunch. It was very appropriate because BC and I spent a considerable amount of time of ferries in Seattle, so it was just like old times. The water had a pretty good chop to it, but I have never been on a boat long enough to get bored. As we made our way to the Pier, we spied a huge four masted sailboat out on the horizon and were overcome with jealousy - we wanted to be out there !

We decided to go to the Riva Cafe. BC had in mind seafood and beer for lunch - she got a whole lobster and a Bass (beer, not fish) and I had fish and chips. And I really wanted a Corona. I was glad BC let me stay at the table after I had ordered that. We ate outside and it was glorious. Then we saw that the aforementioned sailboat (The Tall Ship Windy) was docking right in front of us. So....we finished eating and got tickets to go out on the next trip. An hour and a half sailboat cruise along the coastline can't be beat. There were about eight other folks taking the cruise, so it was like having the boat to ourselves. As we left the harbor, BC even helped raise the sails! We then went up to the prow, and I laid down and looked up at the sky and the sails, and felt the sun and the breeze and listened to the quiet of the lapping water and creaking timbers. That had to be one the best afternoons I've had in a LONG time...On our way back, two cool things happened...we saw this huge fountain on the shore, and BC said Hey - That's the Married With Children fountain! Damn, if she wasn't right! And then, as we approached the harbor, the sailboat captain spotted pirates, so the crew had to load up and fire the cannon. Cheesy, sure - but pretty fun!

After disembarking, we went in search of a restroom, and found the Smith Museum of Stained Glass, which houses a huge collection of windows and lamps from old Chicago homes and churches, as well as works by John LaFarge and Tiffany. It was a terrific hidden treasure! Unexpected and beautiful.

We decided to attempt to find our hotel on foot, and began wandering in what we thought was the general direction. We soon came upon the greatest sculpture - it is a bronze sofa and chair...of Bob Newhart! Perfect for those afternoons when you need a little therapy...

As we got closer to the Sofitel, we stopped into Border's for refreshment (pomegranate green iced tea) and to sit down and browse through the history section. BC should have been a history professor. There are very few people who, when standing before a taxidermied elephant can revel you with a tale about elephants from Ptolemy, as she did at the Field Museum earlier. That's my BC, folks.

Well, we decided to just get dinner while we were out, and now BC desired steak...we settled on Dublin's because it satisfied our mutual needs - steak for BC and eating outside for me. I had a mediocre Caesar salad, but sitting on the patio was great. And, the hostess was gorgeous.

We strolled back to the hotel on bustling evening streets, tired, happy and full.