King Hutch aka John H.

Me and my girlfriends!

Yes here I am, my picture gracing (some might say staring) in my own blog again. And why? Because it’s ok with me. You know, there was once a famous book called I’m OK, You’re Ok. Apparently that has become my theme for these trips.  :)

Today was another busy, yet engaging and useful day. We began with a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright House and Studio as well as a walking tour of the Oak Park neighborhood. Wright was an American architect who lived in Oak Park from 1889 – 1909. He is credited with designing at least 25 buildings as well as redesigning many more here. Along with the Wright designed buildings, there are many other architecturally noteworthy homes throughout this historic area ranging from Victorian to Prairie styles. One type of home that stood out with many of our group from Colorado was the number of adobe homes. It is obvious that there is a great and diverse mixture of cultures, races, ethnicities, professions, lifestyles, religions, and income levels in Oak Park.

Next we headed for the Museum of Science and Industry. This museum is located in the Palace of Fine Arts building that was built in 1893 for the Columbian Exposition or World’s Fair. The building was constructed in a Greek Ionic style and consists of about 350,000 square feet of space.

The 1893 World’s Fair was meant as a 400 year celebration of Columbus’ 1492 discovery of America. In reality it became a reflection and celebration of American culture and society. It was for people to have fun, Americas to feel good about themselves and the country, and to make profit. It became a blueprint for life in a postmodern America. During its run, over 27 million people from around the world visited the 1893 World’s Fair. Many of the buildings were constructed in a Beauxart or mixture of classical Roman and Greek styles. As the fair worked to redefine America and its place in the world, it introduced Americans to brands, technology, and culture such as Juicy Fruit Gum, ragtime music, and Quaker Oats, electric lights, and the electric sewing machines.  

Today there are over 800 exhibits and interactive displays in the museum. I was drawn to the Pioneer Zephyr as we walked in through the doors. This is a restored 1934 stainless steel Burlington locomotive that people can walk into. Another interesting exhibit was the mechanized “Top” making factory. You pay for the product and watch the entire manufacture process. There was a very nice miniature train setup. I actually own a decent collection of older cast iron trains so of course I was drawn to this exhibit! There were exhibits on flight, inventing the future, and a U-505 captured sub.

After a quick visit to the souvenir shop we (group of 5) were surprised to discover that the Colorado Teacher group couldn’t wait for us to join them at a White Sox game. We showed up at 5:30 (the appointed time) only to watch as they piling into a van and left without us. OK, Scott did call me but still we showed up at the correct time and felt “dissed” by a large portion of our group. We did finally find the stadium, sat in the “nosebleed” section, and watch an entirely boring and cold game. Good Times…Good Times.