First time, Second City

I'm headed to Chicago this weekend for a wedding. It's embarassing to say, but this will be my first trip to Chi-town, in spite of numerous opportunities. My dear friend The Doctor even lived there for a while and I still never ventured northwestward. The midwest might scare me a little; I'm not sure.

The dilemma is this: what to do for the three days when we're not doing wedding biz? I honestly am just excited to see what the city is like. Maybe hit the lake for some sun, maybe do a Ferris Bueller tour. . .the usual. But, to speak truly, my deep and burning desire is to see the King Tut exhibition at the Field Museum.

In my own geeky defense, I've been obsessed with Tutankhamun since I was little--the time of the last exhibition, really, since it was the catalog that fed my passion--but I obviously missed the late 1970s tour. My first response to "what do you want to be when you grow up" was "an archaeologist." I wanted to go dig up tombs. Later, when I got interested in Greek and Roman things as well, I expanded my career path to something called an "e-ro-gologist," which meant I studied the myths and archaeology of Rome, Greece, and Egypt. I was a weird kid, ok?

I do worry that I should go alone to this show rather than dragging my friend along. I feel certain that I will go into Very Excited Megarita Mode and be talking the whole time and sharing my outdated yet extensive array of knowledge about the Boy King. This might be a time when I get the headset and keep things to myself lest I get taken down by a tranquilizer dart. I'm not sure.

The other upsetting factor is that this exhibition will likely cost an arm and a leg. Like $30 each. I hate that. We're so spoiled in DC, and I used to waltz into any museum in the world for free with my Smithsonian ID. Those days are over!!

But in the spirit of openmindedness, I'm happy to take into consideration other Chicago sights that must not be missed. As long as I can have some time with Tut. . .