After Badlands South Dakota we didn’t have any firm plans for the days heading home. As we entered the east, the weather became much more humid and rainy so we started looking for other kinds of attractions. We decided to hit a couple of museums in downtown Chicago and grab some Chicago style pizza. Parking an RV in a busy city can be daunting, however, we found the McCormick Convention Center bus lot that offered all day parking near the museum district. This was perfect! We could pull the pop up right into downtown and walk to the museums.
As we walked along the Lake Michigan waterfront, our kids marveled at the tall buildings, trains, fancy boats and sports arenas. It reminded us that we have been living in a very small pop up in remote places for several weeks. Our first stop was Chicago’s famous Field Museum, which has a very large dinosaur collection. Eli ran to the first large skeleton he could see the Patagonian Titanosaur, the largest land animal to walk the earth. He didn’t stop there, searching frantically for his favorite dinosaur, the Mosasaurus. There was also a special exhibit for Antarctic dinosaurs which showed how scientists travel to Antarctica and dig for these fossils. We ended our visit to the Field Museum with a 3D movie telling the story of the most famous dinosaur Sue, a T-Rex. She is a nearly complete skeleton that was found in The Badlands.
Our next stop was the American Writers Museum, which opened in 2017. This museum celebrates American words and writers. We spent a lot of time reading excerpts written by Flannery O’Connor, Mark Twain, Mary Louise Alcott, Emily Dickinson, John Muir and Abraham Lincoln. There were many hands on activities including typing on old typewriters, word waterfalls, and touchscreens with word games. They had a whole interesting section devoted to Frederick Douglas. Sam loved the museum and the word waterfall that went with it.
After the museums we ducked out of the rain into Giordano’s to try some authentic Chicago pizza. Our waiter explained that our pizza would take a minimum of 1 hour to bake but it did not disappoint! While Eli ate a footlong subway sandwich, the rest of us indulged in deep-dish deliciousness. It was a fabulous way to finish a fabulous day in the Windy City!
