Chicago, Kim and Ems Style: Part IV

Sunday was jam-packed despite the miserable heat. We woke up around nine, and I decided to make pancakes for breakfast before catching the bus downtown to the Chicago River. I had, unwisely, booked a noon riverboat tour with the Chicago Architecture Foundation on a 90+ degree day. Granted, we still missed the hottest part of the day, but I'm not sure why noon had seemed like a good time to me when I’d picked up the tickets.

Anyway, Kim’s even more of an architecture fan than I am, and he’s a huge urban-planning buff, so I figured we definitely needed to take my favorite Chicago tour. We enjoyed the heck out of ourselves, despite dripping with sweat, and Kim was shooting with his DSLR (and me with my point-and-shoot) the whole ride.



By the time it was over, we were (surprise!) ready to eat again. I took us to the most lackluster place of the whole weekend—the grill at Millennium Park. I’ve had good food here in the past, but they really disappointed on Sunday. Of course, maybe it’s just because they pale in comparison to the fabulous eats on which we gorged ourselves the rest of the weekend… But the drinks were good. So, even though we were still outside, we had shade, and a couple of tasty drinks, and we just sat and talked for a couple of hours. We kind of melted into our chairs and were nearly too lethargic to move at all, but the prospect of More cupcakes motivated us.

But once we got to More, and picked out our gourmet cupcakes, we were ready to throw in the towel, go home, and enjoy our treats in the A/C. So we did.

It was already dinner time when we arrived home, but we decided to eat the cupcakes first. I had opted for my absolute favorite—red velvet—and Kim went for something a little less usual—mango cilantro. I was pretty psyched watching Kim bit into his, and when he said it might just be the best thing he’s ever tasted, well, I was pretty proud of myself. I’d been talking up More since I’d visited D.C., and I had to prove that these cupcakes were better than the rest. I succeeded.

The rest of the night consisted of watching “Mad Men” with takeout from Joy’s Noodles & Rice. I went to bed fat and happy than night, and didn’t feel sad until morning. Kim joined me on my morning commute, continuing to express admiration for my fabulous city (ah, Kim, how you stroke my ego by telling me what an amazing city I live in), and then I saw him off on Lake Street at the Blueline stop. I felt rather sad on the walk to work, as you always do when one of your best and oldest friends heads out of the city. In fact, I sulked the whole way to work and then some. But then I reminded myself that it won’t be long before we indulge in Chicago or D.C. together again. And besides, it’s about time for a diet after all that food!

Chicago History Museum

The Chicago History Museum is free on Mondays, which is something I've always known, but was never never able to take advantage of. I've been wanting to check it out for ages, seeing as I adore Chicago, and cannot get enough of books like Devil in the White City and Sin in the Second City and any other literature that immerses me in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Chi-town history. Last Monday, Mom and I dropped in before she headed back to Ohio.

Honestly, I had expected the museum to be much, much larger. Along the lines of the Science and Industry museum, for instance. So, I was a tad disappointed at its size (to be fair, a large chunk of the museum is currently under construction). For a city with such a rich history, I guess I just expected more. However, they make use of the small space by rotating exhibits out fairly frequently. From their website, it seems like their exhibits are rotating every few months, which is cool, because if you go back, there will be new things to see.

I liked this picture hanging in the museum, so I took a picture of it.

Dodging all the schoolkids, we made our way up to the various dioramas. These were probably my favorite part of the museum, showing models of the city at various points in time. Additionally, I appreciated the history of Chicago's turbulent past, such as the Haymarket affair, race riots, and mobster culture. I felt the exhibits really only scratched the surface, though. I don't recall seeing anything about Cabrini Green, for instance, which surprised me, but maybe I was just missing something? All of the historical information was a bit lacking in details, not really delving into anything too deeply. And I felt as though the artifacts from major events like the World's Columbian Exhibition were quite sparse for a museum. Definitely more of a place to take young kids who are just starting to learn about the city's history.

For tourists, the museum is probably a great option. However, I think I will keep getting my Chicago history from books and the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Here are a few additional pictures from the museum: