And vacations must come to an end. Today is our last day in Chicago (unless we decide to chuck it all and stay here).
After a bitterly cold Wednesday (even the local weather forecaster termed it “unseasonably cold”), today it’s seventy-five degrees. Unbelievable. I had to go to the Post Office and buy boxes to ship all our sweaters and jackets home, as we couldn’t bear to wear them and there was no room in the suitcases.
The 1910 Chicago Flower Show – not much has changed
The highlight of today was visiting the Chicago Flower Show, held annually since 1847 (although I suppose they might have skipped a few war years).
The utility company had a witty exhibit of a garden with little windows in the ground showing you what might be lying under yours and therefore why you should call 811 before digging. Over where the water pipes were shown, the garden had a fountain squirting up, over where gas pipes were shown, the garden had a burning fire pit, and so forth. Cute.
Bird and nest sculpted from old stuff found in the attic
CVH loves birds, and there was a garden that showcased bird-themed sculptures by Chicago artists.
The Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences had a garden promoting using urban spaces (rooftops, etc) for growing food so that more food could be locally sourced.
I enjoyed the butterfly garden where you could feed butterflies. Once they saw my red shirt, they flocked to me (I guess they thought I could be a flower). One landed on the side of my neck and I cried out “Oh no! The vampire butterfly!” CVH rolls her eyes. I had trouble leaving the netted area because they really liked my red shirt.
I also found the water garden entrancing.
CVH loves tulips.
Of course, there was the “Home and Garden Marketplace” where we spent too much money.
We had lunch in the Navy Pier food court. I was able to finally get me a Chicago Dog. I also had the Peanut Butter Milk Shake at the DMK Burger Bar. You are not going to find the nutritional information posted for that.
