Windy City Part II

Monday I went to the Museum of Science and Industry. It's conveniently located in Hyde Park so it was only a ten minute walk. I was most pumped about the You! exhibit, although they were also featuring an exhibit about storms and natural disasters. I thought that 4 hours would be more than enough time to go through the museum so I took my time getting ready in the morning and only planned to get there around noon.
Boy, was I wrong.
When I arrived, I decided to start at the lower floors and work my way up to the storm and You! exhibits on the top floor. I started with an exhibit about ideas and innovations for the future. Even if the ideas seemed really far-fetched or seemingly useless, it's amazing what some people can come up with; amongst them were vertical farms to cultivate food in unlikely conditions, aerodynamic cars that reduce drag and fuel usage, and flavoured inks to make food for astronauts while they're in space.
The exhibits on navy technology and German U-boats were surprisingly intriguing! They walk you through WWII history and information about the havoc that the Germans wreaked on the Allied boats, until the Allies captured a U-boat of their very own. U-505 was then donated to the museum, so it is physically kept inside the museum. For an extra fee you can take a tour on board the vessel.
One hour before the museum closing time, I went to the You! exhibit. Participating in an ER experience took 35 min - I got to play the part of a cardiologist on a team of doctors who needed to diagnose a simulation patient. In retrospect I'm not sure why I took part in this; I already know how to measure heart rates and blood pressure. It took up a precious 35 minutes and I had to speed through the rest of the exhibit, missing lots before the museum closed at 4.

I went back to Dan's apartment after to unwind before our night activity - watching the Blackhawks face the Blues at the United Center! Unfortunately Dan and I didn't have any Hawks gear, and our seats were way up high in the sky, but it was still a super fun experience! Dan brought his opera glasses in case we needed to zoom in on something on the ice, but it was hard to track the fast-moving puck through zoom lenses. The Hawks played terrible for the 5/6 of the game, but Marian Hossa saved the day and his team by tying up the game with half of a period left in the game, and then the Hawks managed to win in overtime! I was hoping the game would go to a shootout actually, but it was still an impressive comeback.

Tuesday...
Thanks to brochures and websites, I was able to find out ahead of time that Tuesday the 18th, there would be free admission to the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum (and the Contemporary Art Museum, and the Lincoln Zoo...) I chose these two attractions over the others mainly because they're close to each other, located at the Museum Campus on 11th St along with the Adler Planetarium. I also had wanted to go to the aquarium in DC but was disappointed to see how small and drab it looked, so I was pretty excited to finally see some aquatic animals.
The aquarium did not disappoint! There were lots of tanks of different fish and frogs separated in to lake species or river species, organized by countries. The oceanarium contained beluga whales, dolphins, sea otters and penguins. There was also a separate exhibit for sharks, but I didn't know ahead of time that you needed a wristband to access it.

In front of the Caribbean Reef exhibit (greenscreened)

After a couple of hours wandering at the aquarium, I made it to the Field Museum just in time for a 1pm tour of their ancient Egyptian artifacts. It was a really long tour, over an hour long, and I was glad I went because the docent was able to explain a lot of things I would never have known about Egyptian history and culture just by looking at the pieces on my own, but by the end I was exhausted. I had no energy left to read about the ancient Americans or Myan ruins. And after watching live animals all morning, it wasn't that exciting looking at stuffed animals or bones that just stood still behind glass. I quickly looked through the Precious Gems exhibit, which featured lots of sparkling jewelry; sometimes you wanted to look for a price tag beside the identification card.

Featuring Sue the T-rex

By about 4pm I'd had enough, and took a walk along the lakeshore towards the downtown Loop. I found a bookstore and sat down to have a drink and read a magazine while I waited for Dan and another old high school friend to meet up for dinner. We went to a fantastic Spanish tapas restaurant, Cafe Iberico, where we all partook in grilled octopus, grilled Spanish sausages, paella, and lots and lots of Sangria. The service was wonderful, although by the end they were very anxious for us to leave because they were getting busy and we were sitting around just chatting.
Afterward Dan and I walked towards the bus stop on State street again - my very last time. I will never forget how beautiful the city is at night, and yet a little somber, probably thanks to the Dark Knight.

When I first arrived, Dan likened Chicago to Toronto's cooler, better-looking older brother. It didn't take me long at all to understand what he meant and to wholeheartedly agree.
Could I see myself living there? In an alternate universe not too far off, perhaps. (That would require me to finish Parts II & III of the NBEO...)
Would I come back, or recommend other people to visit it? Absolutely.