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Andersen Silva's Journal

21st July, 2006. 10:20 pm. Chi-town!

I had a delicious and pleasant breakfast at Ann Sather this morning, after reacquainting myself with the Chicago Transit Authority. And no, I don't mean the band. Considering that yesterday's weather in town kept me at Newark International, either in the terminal itself or seated on a plane, for half the day, and I didn't get to my hotel 'til almost 9:30 PM and was too wiped to even go get something to eat, I needed a hearty and relaxing meal, and I got one. I wandered westward after breakfast and picked up my new camera at Best Buy. Oh, did I forget to mention that I forgot to pack my camera? It's not a vacation unless you forget SOMETHING... I'd been meaning to replace that 2-megapixel dinosaur anyway, and this just forced my hand. The new picture box, also a Fuji FinePix, is a 5MP and smaller, and I'm likin' it a lot.

I headed out to Garfield Park and the Conservatory, and took in some nature while assembling and testing out the camera. I'd heard that there was a nice view of Chicago from the CTA station there, and there was, so I snapped a shot before heading back into town. Saw a police officer (I think she was a traffic cop, but I'm not sure) on a Segway, which was pretty cool... My next stop, after picking up some Listerine strips at CVS, was the Freedom Museum, which wasn't actually named by President Dubya. It's an interesting tribute to American democracy and in particular to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The status of civil liberties in nations around the world is discussed, as are past violations of such right here in the U.S. The room dedicated to past debates over, and attempts to ban, flag burning was especially timely. The museum itself wasn't very large, I only spent about an hour there, but for five bucks it was worth it. And the Chicago Tribune didn't promote itself too much, which was cool.

By the time I left the Freedom Museum, it had started to drizzle. I walked around for a bit as the drizzle turned into a light rain, and then broke out the umbrella I'd thought to bring along. I went to the park for a bit and walked across the Frank Gehry-designed pedestrian bridge. Watched a rabbit grazing on some grass; I was able to photograph him, though the butterflies proved more elusive. The rain alternated between a light drizzle and a mild shower, so I headed uptown a bit to Water Tower Place and wandered around the shops a bit. A pretty young thing handed me a free admission card to Sound-Bar Fridays, but I think she'd just quickly assumed I was with the two twenty-something guys I'd gotten off the escalator behind. Heh-heh... I'd actually been thinking about seeing a band tonight, but between the weather and the fact that I wasn't completely sure how late the various buses and trains I'd need to get back would run, I decided against it. I had a mighty nice dinner at the Mity Nice Grill, did some more walking around the Magnificent Mile and Near North Chicago, then retired to my room.

Current mood: tired.
Current music: "Ginni" by Ginni Hogarth.

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