Day 3 was one of the best days. We left our hotel after a great night sleep and headed towards the Science and Industry Museum. And this, my friends, is why it was a great day:
THE HARRY POTTER EXHIBIT!!!! It was in Chicago until the end of September and we were lucky enough to be there when it was there. We went in and bought our tickets and waited for our time to enter the wonderful world of magic. Before we entered the exhibit, there was a lady (with a British accent) who quizzed the group on Harry Potter knowledge. She asked great questions such as: names of the House ghosts, people who have played seeker in all the books, and names of the founders of Hogwarts. Then once we were allowed to go into the exhibit we stopped around a guy (also with a British accent) with robes and people were picked from the group to have the sorting hat placed on their heads and sorted into a house. After that, we entered the large exhibit area. It had so many props, costumes, and little facts about the makings of the movies. It was amazing. We stopped at the gift shop on the way out and I bought a coffee mug that shows the maurader's map when you have a hot drink in it and then disappears as you drink it. I know - be jealous. I wasn't allowed to take pictures in there but there was a prop in the entrance of the museum that I took a picture of.
The car from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!!
We looked around the Science and Industry Museum afterwards. They had a really interesting exhibit of the U-Boat 505 and about the people who captured it during World War II. They even had the real U- Boat 505 in the museum ( I kid you not)
Jason and I played on a fake trolley and we went to an exhibit about DNA. Oh the double helix - you had me at cytosine. Is it sad that I love genetics? Nevermind, don't answer that.
Clang Clang went the trolley Ding Ding went the bell - name the movie!!!
After the museum, we headed to the Art Institute of Chicago. It was so awesome. They had artists such as Georgia O' Keefe (love!) Picasso (love!), Monet (love!) and Van Gogh. I was allowed to take pictures of the various paintings but for fear that I might get in trouble for posting them publicly, I will keep them for my own eyes.
We stopped at Caribou Coffee for something to drink and then walked across the street to Milennium Park. They have great sculptures, a garden, and an area for concerts. We need more parks like this here.
This is a sculpture called the Cloud Gate but all the locals call it "the bean".
The view underneath "the bean"
Our self portrait in the reflection
I was inspired by all the wonderful art we had seen at the Art Institute and decided to take a picture of the wonderful coffee that is Caribou. Sadly there are no franchises here in Dallas. Isn't it pretty =) In the background is the area that they have outdoor concerts.
There was a fountain area in the front of the park that every 5 minutes or so would become a face that spouted water from its mouth. There were tons of little kids running around in the water and some even sat underneath the waterfall of the mouth. I tried to stick my feet in the water and it was COLD!! I don't know how they were doing it.
The kids playing in the water
We then headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for some food. It was fun to walk around and see all the memorabilia at the restaurant and the food was good too.
Johnny Cash's suit
Madonna outfit
After dinner, we headed over to Grant Park to see Buckingham fountain. Every hour on the hour the fountain spouts water from its top and at night it is lit up with different color nights. And its huge.
Buckingham Fountain
The 2o foot spout of water that goes on the hour
Pretty lights...
As we were leaving the fountain area, we came across some people gathered around some musicians playing some music. They were really good. We stayed and watched them a bit and then after they played a song, a guy came up and started talking. He started talking about Jesus and sharing the gospel with the people standing around listening to the music. It was really awesome. After he talked, there were also people in the audience that were there with the group talking to people about what they guy had just said. We actually got to talk to some of the members of the group (after they realized we were already believers). It was really neat to see people sharing the gospel especially in a place like Chicago. It gave me great encouragement.
We headed back to the hotel after the fountain and went and spent some time in the hot tub. My aching feet and body appreciated that so much!!! It was great ending to a great day!
