Chicago and a Day at the Museum

I made the drive down to Chicago and picked up Rachel from the Naval Base along the way this weekend. We decided we would check out the Field Museum and walk through downtown. We were particularly interested in checking out the Ghiradelli and Hershey stores. We spent several hours at the museum - they had some really neat exhibits on Africa as well as man eating lions. I also enjoyed their mineral and gem exhibits - they brought back memories from organic chemistry. When we arrived we asked if there was an increase in visitors since the movie "Night at the Museum". The guy responded yes, even though only a few scenes had been filmed there. Rachel and I were totally surprised - we didn't know that museum had been involved at all. However, after walking a few feet into the main hall we recognized one of the characters from the movie: Rex.

The T-rex skeleton is actually named Sue in honor of the woman who found it. It's a recent find from the early nineties. The actual sex of the dinosaur is unknown. It was cool to find out different facts on the skeleton. For example - I didn't know that dinosaurs had teeth like sharks - continually replacing missing teeth. (Of course I would be interested in that right?) Additionally this is only one of (I think) four skeletons to this completeness. By the way, the skull alone weighs 600 pounds. It was so heavy they created a duplicate for the main display and then put the actual one upstairs on its own. A CT scan was used to evaluate the skull cavities and determine the size of the brain - the olfactory bulbs are gigantic in comparison to the rest of the brain!



The pictures you notice on the slide show with the mannequins are from downtown Chicago. There is a stretch along Michigan avenue called the Magnificent Mile. I think it's similar to the Fashion street in New York. In honor of the hip shops there; a local design school created these mannequins to be placed along the way. The ones pictured were a few of our favorites.

Following our perusal of the shops we ate dinner at Chipotle - a very good burrito place. Unfortunately, everything went downhill from there. I suspect that I got hit with the worst case of food poisoning I have ever experienced. It's hard to say what caused it but I got to know several of the gas attendants in the Chicago area and also did some porcelain bowl worshiping. I also made Rachel think she was going to miss her curfew and have to explain where she was - fortunately we got her back on time. Good news is 24 hours later all is well. I'm so glad we live somewhere where such experiences are an exception rather than the rule.

I wanted to include some other fun pictures - they aren't very good but it's what I have. I woke up last Sunday and found a praying mantis on my window screen. This was odd for two reasons - I didn't realize they were present in the area. Secondly, what in the world was it doing on my third story window?

The other picture is of my new garden. I'm pretty excited to see it coming along. Left to right is basil, chives and cilantro. The mint is a couple of days behind in development but should be coming along.

Tomorrow I have another working interview to fill some of the time I am not working at the periodontal office. I'm really hoping it will go well. The office is beautiful: digital x-rays and charting as well as spacious room s with a view. Instruments seem to be good and the team pleasant. It's also within a mile from my home. I'll be sure to update as I learn more.