Dad Pops By Chicago to Visit Selena

October 1 was a special day because Dad got to visit Selena.  Part of the reason was to take her shopping for things that are too heavy or big to carry on normal walking trips.  The other was to do some sight seeing in Sel's new town.

First stop - Target for vitals like bottle water, tissues, juices, and ... Christmas lights!

Next we dropped off the loot in her dorm.  Note: the bunk beds are gone.  Now she has her own ground level bed.

First stop, Grant Park to see the skyline and Buckingham Fountain.

Next its off to her favorite breakfast place, Yolk, which also has a pretty good lunch.

Then a walk up Michigan Avenue to see the lions at the Art Institute and the famous Bean.



Then off to see the Marilyn Monroe Statue.

Finally it was time to finish off with some shopping for snow boots.  But with still time for another tourist pose.

With snow boots in hand it was time to drop off at the dorm.

Remember the holiday lights purchased at Target mentioned at the beginning.  Here they are after being strung up that evening. 

What a day. Can't wait for Thanksgiving when everyone heads home for a few days.

Corn Ears Have Arrived

Good news and bad news.  The corn patch is doing really well.  The bamboo supports are doing their job.  The stalks are now way taller than me. 

I guess my trick of shaking the tassles (top of the stalk) so that pollen falls onto the junction where the leaves join the plant worked to pollinate and generate fruit.  

So next I tried another trick I learned of cutting the tassles from the top and rubbing them on the silks to stimulate growth.  

Here's a closer look at the emerging ears.

So what about the bad news? Well, it was not a good week for the goldfish in the outdoor patio pond.  It was very hot and it stimulated an algae bloom that reduced the oxygen in the water.  Several fish died.  But there were about 16 that survived.  They are fine now that the water has been recycled. 

With a half dozen dead fish, I decided to employ a method used by native americans before the settlers. They used to place a minnow in the ground when they planted seeds to provide nutrients.  And that's what I did with the fish using the corn as their final resting place.  

First poke a whole in the ground, then drop a fish, and cover it up.  Easy.

What if Twinkie Came in a Different Color?

While trying out some of the color swap features on the Canon camera, thought it would be fun to see what Twinkie might look like in different colors of the rainbow.  Orange, Magenta, Lime?  You decide ...

[No animals were harmed in the making of this sequence.  The Management]

After all that posing, all he wanted to do at the end was go to sleep.

View of Chicago on October 1

Had a chance to spend an extra day on a layover from Philly to LA in Chicago to see Selena. 

This post just has photos I took of some of the more unusual sites I came across.  Click on any of them to see a larger version.

I stumbled on this after I landed while looking for someplace to eat driving through Des Plaines.  This is McDonald's #1 Store Museum.  It's a recreation of the first McDonald's Restaurant opened there in 1955.  There's even a mannequein dressed like a worker inside. 

In Grant Park, I found this stone arch entrance to the old Chicago Stock Exchange. Designed in 1894, the Exchange was torn down in 1972, but they salvaged some portions of the building.

Buckingham Fountain is a landmark in the center of Grant Park. Dedicated in 1927, it is one of the largest fountains in the world.

Standing at 1,450 feet and 110 stories high, Willis Tower is the tallest building in the western hemisphere (formerly known as the Sears Tower.)

The real name of this newer landmark is called Cloud Gate, but everybody just calls it The Bean. Finished in 2006.   It's made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together.  But there are no visible seams!

A New Jersey artist made a 26-foot tall sculpture of Marilyn Monroe's iconic pose from the movie "Seven Year Itch".  No one knows why it's here. She and the movie had nothing to do with Chicago.  But's it's a very popular stop now.

The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark built in 1921.  It seats 3,800 people.  The marquis is only a few years old.  They gave the original to the Smithsonian.  But the look mimics the original sign. 

Chicagoan's love to take photos in front of the landmarks.  All day long we ran into wedding and teenage debut parties (quinceanera's) walking from site to site with their photographer.

Wrigley Field has been the home ballpark of the Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League team called the Chicago Whales.  It was called Cubs Park between 1920 and 1926.  Then they renamed it for then Cubs team owner William Wrigley.  Between 1921 and 1970, they also played football here as the home of the Chicago Bears. Here's a front and back view.

The biggest surprise sight was on the way to the airport on the road cutting through Niles, Ill. near Skokie.  The Leaning Tower is a replica of Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is roughly half-sized -- 94 feet, vs. the authentic's 177 feet, and leans about 7'4" off plum (vs. Pisa's 15 foot tilt).

This was built in 1934 (600 years after the original).  It was a utility tower designed to store water at first.  Now it's just another photo stop in the Windy City.

Philadelphia Soccer Night

While in Philly this week, had a chance to catch the Philadelphia Union vs DC United match.

Great seats just past the box about 8 rows up.  The Philly Union earlier this year signed Freddy Adu who used to be with DC United.  Freddy was very famous when he became the youngest pro in the world at 14 years old. 


Here's Freddy on video showing some moves.

Now here's Le Toux trying a corner kick.



And some final action shots.