I'm going to venture away from my standard one location at a time posts and just go a little Virginia Woolf on y'all for my Chicago experience: night one through day one.
We departed Cleveland and began the ride through most of Ohio, Indiana, and then suddenly we were on the Sky Way on the way to Chicago. If there was any doubt that we were going to exclusively use the metro system, it was shot as the final 5 miles of our drive took the better part of an hour.
After settling in and freshening up, we had found a dive bar recommended online close to a metro stop on the convenient line, so we figured it was a match made in heaven. It was cheap and decent, and was very standard Chicago. I say standard Chicago because I imagine replacing Bears signs for Eagles signs and we would have found this bar in Philadelphia. There was kareoke, fried goods and cheap beer so it was a great start to two road-weary people.
We woke up the next morning and we had done some research to find that a Chicago Go-Card is a $70 investment for one day for admission and line hopping for the most famous Chicago tourism stops. We took the El from O'Hare to Palmer House to purchase out Go Cards (you can buy them online as well as at a lot of other places). Guidance was unclear (and my brain was unclear from a beer or three too many) but after a trenta from Starbucks I was good to go, purchased the Go Card and went on our merry way to the Willis Tower.
Much to our surprise, we got to skip the line to go to the top of the Willis Tower. Willis is better known as the Sears Tower if some of you are confused. There was a small display leading up to the elevators to the top, probably mostly designed as time wasters when the lines are longer. There were screens on the ground you can stand on, such as the pitching mound at Wrigley, and in 60 seconds (the time of the elevator ride) you would go the 103 floors up.
A stuffed and shakey elevator ride let us out at the top of the Willis Tower. The view was spectacular, and you could see amazingly far in every direction. The rolling fog of Lake Michigan make this a precarious spot. If we would have gone the second day our views would have been horrible. No visit to the top of Willis Tower is complete without a stop at the Sky Walk, newly installed in 2009 where you can stand four feet outside of the building over Chicago traffic. Its crazy. That is all.
While on line to get the elevator down, we discussed our plans for the remainder of the day to take advantage of the Go Card for all it was worth. We decided to do the Architectural Tour by Cruise, Lunch at Navy Pier, and the Field Museum before heading to Wrigley for game one of two of that week.
We arrived at Navy Pier, got our timed tickets for the cruise, and ate lunch at Harry Caray's. Lunch was reasonably priced, delicious and a trip inside to go to the bathroom revealed a small sized sports history of Chicago museum.
The architectural cruise was a can't miss. So many details can go unnoticed and it tells such a deeper history of the city by going on this tour.
After the cruise we attempted to go to the Field Museum. We walked in with a few minutes to go before last admittance but were turned away. It baffled both of us because in theory we were pre-paid, so we didn't need to do anything to get in (since the only stipulation on the Go Card is one admission per site per day). We angrily walked out and went to the Shedd Aquarium to kill time. I'm sure with the right mindset the Shedd is worth it, but we've been to the Baltimore Aquarium several times so this was just what we could (and have) seen at home.
The moral of the story is if you are able to hustle around to the hottest spots in one day, the Go-Card is worth it. Individually, each of the places we went would have cost us $103 and time in line that we didn't have to deal with. If we had started earlier it would have been even more worth it. However, I don't think the two day pass is worth it. At $129, I suppose there's more you could do, or do a similar amount as we did slower.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (Cleveland, Ohio)
About three weeks ago, I got a text from a friend:
"Random: You want to go to Chicago July 17-20?"
Two weeks later and straight after a work travel to Florida, I was picked up from the airport and we began our drive to Chicago. Seeing as this was a rather insane travel day, we decided to break up the trip by stopping overnight in Cleveland. It was just about halfway and we'd get to go to this little gem in the city.
I'll start by saying this: this museum is about it in the city of Cleveland. Okay, so you have the Indians and the Browns, and the NFL Hall of Fame, but according to my travel buddy, that wasn't much worth visiting.
Nevertheless, we woke up in the hotel by the Cleveland Airport and drove into the city for the museum. Classic rock blares through outdoor stereos as you approach the doors of this curious architecture. Iconic, the triangle building resembles a giant guitar hero screen running to the sky. Going in, the atrium created by the Guitar Hero of Giants merely created the space for the gift shop and ticket purchasing area. It's a shame such a beautiful shape is used for such limited purposes.
The directions led us to the basement, where there was an easy-to-follow history of rock and roll. It started with a quick movie (that you're herded into), and moves on to the real meat and potatoes historical aspect of rock and roll. What struck my travel buddy and I were the protests over music that occurred; and the fact that some protests that were quoted on the wall were but a mere 10 years old. Funny to think that we think we've gotten so far, but we really haven't. How we just got out a short film filled with the racism America was filled with in the 20th century and we haven't improved our freedom of speech. How far have we really gotten?
Elvis was enshrined in the next couple of exhibits. I love me some Elvis but I'll get to Graceland when I'm in the mood for a dose of Elvis.
The next part was interesting in that it started with Gospel Music and moved through the ages of music to show how it progressed. As you move one display to another (which had typical music examples playing, artifacts and ephemera, and multi-media displays) you don't notice a difference. But all of the sudden you've gotten to Janis Joplin about 6 displays from Johnny Cash, and you think that rebellion merely has it's own definition, and it is truly in the eye of the beholder.
There was a combination of a lot of music, ephemera, and quotes on the wall in one of the last parts of this first portion of the museum. It was overwhelming for lack of a better word and I couldn't wait to move on. That said, this is a museum of music which is a strange concept because you don't observe music, you live it. You can attempt to put it on a shelf but it will just fling itself at you and force you to live it. This part had many stage costumes and how they changed through the ages, but like I mentioned, I was so overwhelmed by the whole section I just wanted to move on.
Newly installed over the elevator on the ground floor is the original C.B.G.B awning, stained and all. Hanging from the Atrium are different pieces of music history. The atrium is entertaining, but still borderline useless for such a unique construction (see: USMC Museum).
The second level had architects of Rock and Roll, and a part on the development of music videos. Architects of Rock and Roll include Les Paul and the development of easier ways to listen to music. Going through the Les Paul exhibit shows true dedication to an art. Understanding that he made it his life to make a better sound makes you better appreciate the guitar.
The third floor had the actual Hall of Fame. As we approached the door, we noticed movie times, but since this was just a stop over, we didn't want to sit back and watch a movie so we decided to just get to the hall of fame. As we walked up a ramp, there were pieces of glass with signatures of those inducted. Then we reached the newly inducted, and that was it. I suppose the signatures were the Hall of Fame (?) but we were a little disappointed, especially after experiencing the grandeur of Cooperstown last year.
"Random: You want to go to Chicago July 17-20?"
Two weeks later and straight after a work travel to Florida, I was picked up from the airport and we began our drive to Chicago. Seeing as this was a rather insane travel day, we decided to break up the trip by stopping overnight in Cleveland. It was just about halfway and we'd get to go to this little gem in the city.
I'll start by saying this: this museum is about it in the city of Cleveland. Okay, so you have the Indians and the Browns, and the NFL Hall of Fame, but according to my travel buddy, that wasn't much worth visiting.
Nevertheless, we woke up in the hotel by the Cleveland Airport and drove into the city for the museum. Classic rock blares through outdoor stereos as you approach the doors of this curious architecture. Iconic, the triangle building resembles a giant guitar hero screen running to the sky. Going in, the atrium created by the Guitar Hero of Giants merely created the space for the gift shop and ticket purchasing area. It's a shame such a beautiful shape is used for such limited purposes.
The directions led us to the basement, where there was an easy-to-follow history of rock and roll. It started with a quick movie (that you're herded into), and moves on to the real meat and potatoes historical aspect of rock and roll. What struck my travel buddy and I were the protests over music that occurred; and the fact that some protests that were quoted on the wall were but a mere 10 years old. Funny to think that we think we've gotten so far, but we really haven't. How we just got out a short film filled with the racism America was filled with in the 20th century and we haven't improved our freedom of speech. How far have we really gotten?
Elvis was enshrined in the next couple of exhibits. I love me some Elvis but I'll get to Graceland when I'm in the mood for a dose of Elvis.
The next part was interesting in that it started with Gospel Music and moved through the ages of music to show how it progressed. As you move one display to another (which had typical music examples playing, artifacts and ephemera, and multi-media displays) you don't notice a difference. But all of the sudden you've gotten to Janis Joplin about 6 displays from Johnny Cash, and you think that rebellion merely has it's own definition, and it is truly in the eye of the beholder.
There was a combination of a lot of music, ephemera, and quotes on the wall in one of the last parts of this first portion of the museum. It was overwhelming for lack of a better word and I couldn't wait to move on. That said, this is a museum of music which is a strange concept because you don't observe music, you live it. You can attempt to put it on a shelf but it will just fling itself at you and force you to live it. This part had many stage costumes and how they changed through the ages, but like I mentioned, I was so overwhelmed by the whole section I just wanted to move on.
Newly installed over the elevator on the ground floor is the original C.B.G.B awning, stained and all. Hanging from the Atrium are different pieces of music history. The atrium is entertaining, but still borderline useless for such a unique construction (see: USMC Museum).
The second level had architects of Rock and Roll, and a part on the development of music videos. Architects of Rock and Roll include Les Paul and the development of easier ways to listen to music. Going through the Les Paul exhibit shows true dedication to an art. Understanding that he made it his life to make a better sound makes you better appreciate the guitar.
The third floor had the actual Hall of Fame. As we approached the door, we noticed movie times, but since this was just a stop over, we didn't want to sit back and watch a movie so we decided to just get to the hall of fame. As we walked up a ramp, there were pieces of glass with signatures of those inducted. Then we reached the newly inducted, and that was it. I suppose the signatures were the Hall of Fame (?) but we were a little disappointed, especially after experiencing the grandeur of Cooperstown last year.
Friday, July 8, 2011
University of Alaska at Fairbanks Museum (Toured December 2009)
So it's 10 o'clock on a Friday (and I open up with works reminiscent of a Billy Joel song) and I'm in my apartment ready to go to bed. Before I give in to this true test of adulthood, I figured I'd pound out another overdue posting.
Back in November and December of 2009, I found the opportunity to go to Fairbanks, Alaska. When's the next time this is going to happen, I thought to myself, and I signed up to head to the northern frontier for about a month. I was there for work and did not have much time to do things outside of the Army base, but there were a couple of days (read: the four to six hours of sunlight the Alaskans called "days") that were to ourselves. One day, since it was the holidays, we went to North Pole, Alaska. Cute, Christmas, and Charming, it was a great thing to do.
Another day one travel straggler and I hit up the University of Alaska at Fairbanks Museum after much tantalizing of long rides after work to unwind. I mean look at the place. How could anyone NOT want to go in?
The first level was a history of Alaska, natural goodness in the Northern Lights, and basically a taxidermist creme de la creme. There were several large minerals leading in to the exhibit area, and a giant (stuffed) brown bear greeting us. Arms outstretched not out of love but rather out of hunger. The museum beautifully arranged scenes of Alaska settlers and gold rushers using mannequins (I hope given the extreme taxidermy that seems to go on up there) and animals. There were a few hands on/interactive exhibits, but they were a little complex for little kids.
So it's been 18 months since I've been there and I'm a little rusty on the details, but it was a good way to spend a -10 Fahrenheit afternoon.
Upstairs was an art exhibit. To put things in perspective, I recommend to any traveler heading to Fairbanks in the winter read Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. It makes you appreciate the power of nature, the beauty of nature, and what brings many people up that way. I think having that book in mind helped the art exhibit make more sense. Everything was very modern, and I don't generally appreciate modern art, but the interweaving of natural products into the art was truly magnificent. I'm sure the art has changed in the past months, but the curators do an excellent job of choosing what goes into the exhibit.
Bottom line: Go. I don't care how old/young, liberal/conservative, rich/poor you are. It's less than $10 and in the middle of nowhere so what else are you going to do.
Back in November and December of 2009, I found the opportunity to go to Fairbanks, Alaska. When's the next time this is going to happen, I thought to myself, and I signed up to head to the northern frontier for about a month. I was there for work and did not have much time to do things outside of the Army base, but there were a couple of days (read: the four to six hours of sunlight the Alaskans called "days") that were to ourselves. One day, since it was the holidays, we went to North Pole, Alaska. Cute, Christmas, and Charming, it was a great thing to do.
Another day one travel straggler and I hit up the University of Alaska at Fairbanks Museum after much tantalizing of long rides after work to unwind. I mean look at the place. How could anyone NOT want to go in?
The first level was a history of Alaska, natural goodness in the Northern Lights, and basically a taxidermist creme de la creme. There were several large minerals leading in to the exhibit area, and a giant (stuffed) brown bear greeting us. Arms outstretched not out of love but rather out of hunger. The museum beautifully arranged scenes of Alaska settlers and gold rushers using mannequins (I hope given the extreme taxidermy that seems to go on up there) and animals. There were a few hands on/interactive exhibits, but they were a little complex for little kids.
So it's been 18 months since I've been there and I'm a little rusty on the details, but it was a good way to spend a -10 Fahrenheit afternoon.
Upstairs was an art exhibit. To put things in perspective, I recommend to any traveler heading to Fairbanks in the winter read Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. It makes you appreciate the power of nature, the beauty of nature, and what brings many people up that way. I think having that book in mind helped the art exhibit make more sense. Everything was very modern, and I don't generally appreciate modern art, but the interweaving of natural products into the art was truly magnificent. I'm sure the art has changed in the past months, but the curators do an excellent job of choosing what goes into the exhibit.
Bottom line: Go. I don't care how old/young, liberal/conservative, rich/poor you are. It's less than $10 and in the middle of nowhere so what else are you going to do.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)