While Day Two (today) was pretty much uneventful, Day One was a blast! I have to give some credit to the inspiration for this challenge. This blog inspired our first thoughts of taking on our own challenge. I found out today that Brent is a friend of my sorority sister, Mia. Small world, Huh??
Monday was the first day of the best and I was on vacation for the holiday. April was sending me text messages by 10AM about how she wanted a Pepsi so bad but wasn't going to cave on the first day. My original plan was to check out the Chicago Cultural Center (free admission) and the Chicago History Museum (free admission on Mondays).
I hopped on the bus to the Chicago Museum of History. There was a Popeye's across the street when I got off and I instantly thought about a biscuit and 3 wing combo. I shook the thoughts out of my head and started walking so I could get away.
The museum is free on Mondays and turned out to be a great trip. There is an exhibit called "Chic Chicago" that chronicles society fashion over the 1900's in Chicago. Saw some AMAZING designs. There were some other exhibits that were also very interesting including sections in the Chicago: Crossroads of America exhibit on Chicago Jazz and Blues and the Race riots and Gang Violence of the past, along with future ideas for how to take the city to the next level in terms of transportation and sustainability (Burnham 2.0 Plan). I also got a free 4-photo strip from the photo booth :-) Here are some of the pics I took (not the best, as flash photography was not allowed)...
(above) Chicago took the title from the East Coast as the leader in transportation when it developed its rail system. The second pic is part of a plan to earn the title back by 20
(above) Items that were founded in Illinois - Radio Flyer wagon, Lincoln Logs, Schwinn bikes and magazines including Ebony, Jet and Time.
(above) Chicago fashion, Jordan's jersey and shoes, a replica of the old Chrysler Motors building, a "jazz club" with photos of Chicago artists.
When the museum was shutting down, I decided to hop on the bus and head downtown. I was so busy laughing with the driver when I got on the bus, and he kindly reminded me when I got off that I never paid my fare. I gasped and laughed and offered to pay (though I had realized once I sat down that I forgot to pay) but he let me go free. Save a couple of bucks there by simply smiling :-) I hopped off the bus and excitedly skipped towards Jamba Juice, only to come to a screeching halt 10 feet from the front door, once I realized i can't spend any money. So I turned away and went to Macy's to pay my bill, wandered around for a bit and ended up buying absolutely NOTHING. Surprise, huh?
Then I walked over to the Chicago Cultural Center only to discover it was closed early for the holiday. I headed back to State Street and caught the bus to the Shedd Aquarium (Today was a FORD Free day and they were staying open later for the holiday). The guy at the entrance informed me that they were closing in 50 minutes but since I didn't pay I could only visit the first level. No problem, I saw plenty in just 30 minutes... and was reminded that my maternal urges are buried deep inside after the 3rd kid walking around screaming the word "Mommy"over and over forced me to run to the nearest exit. But I was able to get a few pics from the Aquarium...
By the time I left, I was hungry and tired tired so I caught the bus back home. I fixed myself a nice (cheap and quick) dinner of Cuban Black Bean Stew and settled in for the evening.
Day One = Success!!!
Day Two= Success!!!
Stay tuned... So far, its been a breeze, but I'm sure it gets tougher. Any bets on how long before I cave and buy my first piece of junk food???
...and since I can't spend I HAVE to post an item of the day.... Maybe if I can do "no spending" for... say... about 12 months I may be able to buy these beautiful Christian Louboutin shoes!! LOL!! (Yes, they are the pink version of the silver ones I posted a week ago!!!)
