field trip
this week i traveled back in time to the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition, for the 2nd time!!!
a few years back Erik Larsen wrote a page-turner called The Devil and the White City. if you didn't read it you should. it was a wonderfully researched account of the EXPO and tells of Daniel Burnham and his dream of the making and building this type of exposition, that was unheard of at that time. and a tale of H.H. Holmes who's last name should have been Horrors as he uses this opportunity to lure the many visiting women to their death.
well, this 2nd visit was amazing! i live in the south suburbs of chicago so we boarded a lovely tour bus for our trip. first let me say that as a jr high teacher words like "buses" and "field trips" make me take 3 extra strength Tylenol before i even leave the house in the morning, and that doesn't usually help!
we had bottled water, South Beach snacks, sugary snacks, salty snacks, huge windows with a view, footrests, armrests, and raffle prizes on the way home, i even brought my knitting!
we made many stops throughout the day such as: The Chicago Cultural Society to meet up with our tour guide (who, by-the-way is sooo in demand), we saw a great slide presentation, THEN we travel the paths in the bus, with maps in hand to see what the area looked like at that time and of course noticing the only 2 remaining areas, the Japanese Gardens and The Museum of Science. around lunchtime we stopped at a Hyde Park Bar for lunch and then back on the bus to continue our tour through the area that is now Chicago University Campus but in 1893 it was the Grand Midway for the exposition. and the last stop of the day, a quick, drive-by of the area where Holmes was recorded to have lived.
what a wonderful day and of course we not only re-lived a book that we had all enjoyed reading we learned so much about Chicago and History!!!!
