Following a mellow Sunday in the western suburbs of Chicago (including a stop for brunch at our favorite breakfast cafe, Blueberry Hill, in LaGrange), our last full day in the city combined some museum-going with shopping. Harry and I began our day early at the Field Museum, home of the largest, most complete T-Rex fossilized skeleton in the world, “Sue.” (Did you know that “Sue” is named for the paleontologist who found “her,’” and scientists don’t really known the gender of the specimen?) We planned only a quick stop there (I had visited before, but Harry hadn’t and he was eager to see Sue.), as we planned to meet younger daughter Jenny at the nearby Adler Planetarium at 11 a.m.

We spent an entire hour just checking out the “Ancient Americas” exhibit which included the opportunity to watch paleontologists in their labs working to free fossilized remains of prehistoric critters from their encasing stone. The Field, a natural history museum “exploring the earth and its peoples”, has such an amazing array of exhibits, both permanent and temporary, covering everything from mummies to pirates, water to DNA, that even a full day does not allow one to explore all it has to offer. We know we will have to return on future visits to delve further into its displays. We used our CityPass tickets for admission on this trip, and I would strongly urge anyone planning to visit at least two or three of its included attractions on a trip to the city to purchase one. It will certainly save you money, but just be sure to budget enough time to enjoy your options.

After meeting up with Jenny, we moved on to the Adler , part of Chicago’s “Museum Campus” sited on a peninsula of land (along with the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium) jutting out into Lake Michigan just south of the downtown skyscrapers and just north of Soldier Field and McCormick Place. We lucked out on a sunny, breezy, warmish day, and Jenny told us of seeing Robert DeNiro  filming the upcoming Little Fockers in a nearby park on her way to meet us that morning. Once again, I miss out on a celebrity sighting!

The Adler is a fantastic attraction where one could easily spend an entire day exploring its many interactive exhibits and taking in star shows and informative films in its Sky Theater and Space Theater. Alas, we only devoted a few hours here (one can get a bit museum-weary, after all, and I caught my eyes growing heavy in the darkened Sky Theater) before heading off for lunch in town and an afternoon of shopping.

Starting down in the Loop and working our way up Michigan Avenue, we managed to eat up several hours and a bunch of dollars doing our best to stimulate the local retail economy in our own small way. Late in the day, we trekked north to the neighborhood adjoining the Loyola  campus, where Jenny treated us to our first taste of Five Guys burgers and fries. Oh, my, was that a delicious way to end our sojourn in Chicago! The free-formed burgers made on order from never-frozen beef were great; and the skin-on fries, lightly salted and cooked as you wait, were light and crispy.

Each visit to the Windy City just leaves us eager to return and see more of what we only glimpsed on the last trip, and this time was no exception. Believe me, no matter your interests or inclinations, Chicago will not fail to entertain you.

-Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader