Thursday, May 3, 2012

Oz, Lincoln and Rachel


Yesterday, I had a day of such wonderful Chicago exploration that, at one point, I was so happy I almost cried.  Call me lame if you must, but this is the truth.

First, I took a bus to Oz park.  Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz's author, was from Chicago and so, naturally, there has been an entire park erected for his literary achievement.  In the park is a play area for children with a yellow brick road, a lovely garden, and statues of all the characters, such as this:


This:

And these:

Then I walked briefly through the neighborhood of Lincoln Park.  And let me just tell ya: I thought I lived in a nice place, until I saw Lincoln Park.  I want to go to there ... and never leave.  Walking down any little street, you see such adorable things such as this:

I would have much better things to show you about Lincoln Park, but I forgot my camera and had only my phone to take pictures with.  Guess you'll all just have to come and see for yourselves.

Soon, I arrived at the Lincoln Park, which is an incredible park for many reasons.  Some of these said reasons would include Formal Garden, which is Chicago's first public garden, dating back to the 1700s and styled after the French gardens of the time.  Another amazing thing is the Lincoln Park Conservatory!! 

Oh my gosh, it's like nothing I'd ever seen before.  Walking in and around, it felt more like a weird obsession made possible by a crazy old billionaire than something that would be so openly available to the public.  If it wasn't for the heat, I guarantee that my mother would find a way to live in there.  Room after room was filled with the deep scent of wet soil and exotic ferns and flowers and fish and even a display of carnivorous plants.  How freaking cool is that, right??  There were grand pops of color like this:

And things I thought could only have been thought up by the great Dr. Suess, himself:


And, just in case you need yet another reason to be in love with Lincoln Park, they have a free zoo.  Oh yeah, you heard me right.  We're talking lions, tigers, and bears (bringing it back to Oz Park, now). Incredible buildings and animals and a carousel.  All on the house.  I'll tell you, after spending one day in Lincoln Park and getting to see so much without spending any more than my $2 bus fare, I'm not minding the higher taxes so much anymore.

You know what else is great about Lincoln Park?  It has a giant statue of Grant.  And Grant Park has a giant Statue of Lincoln, because they were delivered to the wrong parks long, long ago and just never got switched.  Fantastic.
Lost Grant!
Misplaced Abe!
                                      
Then I went to the beach, and walked around the park more, got lunch and ended up across the street from Second City.  Well, look how that all worked out.

I mentioned earlier that I was so happy that it almost made me cry, and I'd like to try explaining that a bit better.  We grow up hearing fairy tales and the closest we ever get to experiencing them in reality is maybe a trip to Disneyland, which can be great.  But yesterday, it was sort of like I had been given proof that all those tales I loved as a child really exist.  Growing up in Idaho, I would see these beautiful old buildings in films and television, but only there.  I had romanticized them without ever really getting to witness them.  I'm no Ted Mosby, but it would turn out that I am a bit of an architecture nerd.  I just cannot get enough of these beautiful buildings.  Buildings that were individually designed and hand-crafted, long before the days of suburbs and posh uniformity.  Even the simplest of apartments, mine included, hold such unique and beautiful traits and it kind of gives me chills to think about the history that these brick walls and stone-carved gargoyles have seen.  And I am just so thankful that this city had the common sense to rewire and update the plumbing and install air conditioning in order to allow these structures to remain useful.  And I'm not at all talking about the Willis Tower, because I'm still annoyed with their ridicules pricing.  Especially after I got to enjoy a beautiful conservatory and amazing zoo for free.  Rude, Willis.  Rude.

Oh, and I met Rachel Dratch the other night at The Second City.  Here's a blurry snap shot of me being all kinds of creeper all up on her.


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