05-Jun-2005
It was an early start for us. Jan picked us up at 4am and dropped us off at the airport (thank you!). The flight to Chicago was full - they had to leave some seats open due to weight restrictions on the plane and some folks on standby had to wait for the next flight.
We checked in at the Admiral's Club and were pleased to find out that we could leave our bags while we headed in to town to visit the Field Museum.
We caught the Blue Line from O'Hare and switched to the Orange Line to get to the stop nearest the museum. At that point we walked about 1/2 mile through the museum grounds (nice flowers) and got there just before they opened.
Various scenes from the grounds of the Field Museum, including some nice ones overlooking Lake Michigan.
It turned out that today was one of their discount days so we only had to pay for the special exhibits!
The most famouse attraction at the Field Museum is "Sue", a T-Rex fossil named for the person who discovered it (watch our Rob, she looks hungry!) We also went through an exhibit that featured many dinosaurs found in China, including one showing a T-Rex attacking a Stegosaurus!
Next was a visit to the "Underground World" where everyone was shrunk to 1% their normal size in order to view the creatures that live in the soil at a comparable size. Not for those scared of bugs and creepy crawlies!
Editors Footnote: Our plane from Chicago to Madrid was delayed by two hours due to traffic at O'Hare. Unfortunately we had left the gate already. Despite the delay, the flight out was great (excellent food and service)! The plane was an Airbus A340 and we could follow the progress of the plane on the screen (live maps showing the position, altitude, air speed, etc).
We also went through the Ancient Egypt exhibit, including a replica of an ancient tomb. For those who watch the Sci-Fi series "Stargate SG-1", it reminded me of some of the shows.
Part of the exhibit included various "scenes" from a marketplace in Memphis (taken from actual drawings, but with the flavor text added). The one on the top has the gentlemen asking for more of the great beer. The one below it shows a scribe getting a pedicure (I hope he got a manicure, too!)
Lastly we visited the "Jade" and "Gem" halls, where they had replicas of a lot of the famous diamonds (such as the Hope Diamond) as well as the usual collection of gems and stones. The "Jade" hall was cool because it had hundreds of objects made from jade, from vases to combs.
We had a nice lunch at the museum cafe and retraced our steps back to the "L" station where we caught our train back to the airport.
I'm currently sitting in the Admiral's Club waiting for our plane to Madrid. Unfortunately the wireless network is not cooperating with our computer so this chapter will have to wait until later.
Kathy: I was interested in seeing Sue because it was the subject of a song by Dr. Jane ("Who Owns the Bones"). The controversy surrounding Sue that was the focus of the song was not mentioned in the museum outside of some books on the subject.
