It's a Zoo

Another beautiful, sunny day in Chicago. After having coffee with Ron, he left on his bike for work and I rode buses to the Lincoln Park Zoo.  First, I coated myself with spray SPF 50 so that the dirt in the air would leave me feeling grimy.  

Apparently children in Chicago learn faster than elsewhere because thousands of them spent their day at the zoo banging on windows, cages and doors instead of the 3Rs- or are the 3Rs- running, ranting and rap.  I tend to think that taking middle school aged kids to the zoo is a free day for them and the educators.  No- no clipboards with work in sight.

At any rate, the zoo was great- free, great displays and small enough to be able to see everything.  A highlight was seeing an empty wild dog display and then later seeing a sign that asks visitors to report any sightings of wild dogs in the community.  That made me grin.  The most active animals were the giraffes and the Colobus monkeys.  The least active were the Siberian tiger and the reptiles.  I have mixed feelings about zoos- while I love seeing the animals and listening to little kids enjoying them, I also wish they were not caged for our enjoyment.  

After the zoo, I went downtown to enjoy an America's Dogs Chicago dog.  It's all about the toppings.  I was told to never put ketchup on a hot dog.  A Chicago dog has tomatoes, a slice of dill pickle, relish, mustard, onion, and peppers are optional.  It was great with the sweet potato fries.

I'm at Erin's and Ron's getting out of the heat and calling answer machines since my friends in Fairbanks are out having fun without me.  Wait!  I'll be home soon.

Yesterday, Ron and I went to the free opening week of the new wing of the Art Institute.  The modern stuff was really fun- originals by Warhol, Kandinsky, Klee, Picasso, and many, many more.  The place was busy (because it was free and opening now) but there was still lots of time for browsing.  I must say that some modern art is not very inspiring- a blank, white canvas does nothing for me.  Also, the wallpapered room and sculpture of kitty litter wasn't worth the space, in my book.

It is always great to visit (but not live in) the city because of the rich opportunity to people-watch.  The current trend of wearing cell phone receivers and transmitters in the ear makes it seem like a high rate of schizophrenia, but that's only part of it.  I like watching the parenting styles, teens trying to fit into a group, businessmen riding the bus, visitors to the city, diverse languages being spoken, clothing choices, body art and listening to city sounds.  They make a really rich, patterned mosaic on my senses.  The contrast to the woods on the AT make it almost a sensory overload.  Topics that I've heard here out and about every day:  Obama, high taxes, Cubs, job loss, bicycling, and weather.