NOVICE URBANITES

By Rohit (March 31, 2004)

I have always wanted to travel alone and explore alone. Alone as in independent, so friends are a definite plus. I got my chance yesterday when Jon, Dave H., Anu, and I went on a voyage across small cities to reach Chicago. Initially, we were going without Dave H., but in the end, he convinced us enough that we allowed him to come along (and it was good that we did). With 10 minutes till the train came, we scampered in the little hut that people call the train station and bought tickets to Chicago. At 10:33 sharp, the train came into view and at top speed hugged the side of the platform. It was almost empty since the time of day was the late morning of a weekday. The conversation was quiet in the train and sometimes thoughtful.

The expanse and cold air of Chicago greeted us (I've been to Chicago downtown plenty of times, just that this was sort of like an adventure with friends). Initially, we had decided to go to the Field Museum to get extra credit in Humanities class, but the trip turned out to be much more than that. We changed our plans in the train and decided instead to go to the Museum of Science and Industry. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) served us well as by the end of our trip, we considered ourselves experts with getting around in Chicago. So, bus 28 took us right by the museum. I had never been to the museum itself and it turned out to be fun. With Jon's comic comments and Dave's gregarious persona (and of course Anu's gorilla-like aura), it was enjoyable. As we walked down the steps in a large hall, we could see large airplanes and helicopters hung from the ceiling, and also trains (old and new) set firm on the ground. The smaller things were amusing too, the best exhibit - and we all agreed - was of garbage disposal and recycling of material, where they showed videos of how recycling takes place. The general science area was interesting, but we didn't have the time to play every game and read every explanation. In the beginning, the train exhibit captures most peoples' attention and rightly so. It's painstakingly built models of Chicago and Seattle connected by a network of numerous trains and roads. A visit to the space exhibit and models of large ships ended our experience of the museum (yes, 10 points extra credit!).

Some lady guided us to CTA bus 55 and then to the red line to Cermac (we were going to China town). By now, most of us hadn't eaten for eight hours and were starving. After surveying a few Chinese restaurants, we made ourselves comfortable at the Triple Crown. Anu's fried rice was really good and Kung Pao chicken was good too. After stuffing ourselves to the limit, we got back on to the red line and stopped at Roosevelt, ran a flight of stairs (well for some, it was the escalators) to the Orange Line to Quincy. All this time, we were using CTA transfer passes, and transit cards and by the end, we'd become 'experts' (yeah, my ass). Well anyway, a short but exciting walk through downtown led us back to the Union Station and we quickly got back onboard the Metra. What a day it had been! We got back home, I was short of tired, but I could've used some sleep.

Here are some pictures:

Dave, Anu, and Jon alongside an antique train

The fascinating model of Chicago with trains running throughout the city.

Me holding the handle of a space pod door, actually, its encased in glass and my hand grabbing is an illusion (oooh!)