Yesterday began with a family trip to Shedd Aquarium. It was surprisingly uncrowded for the free day. Three adults on three kids - and all hands were needed. But we all enjoyed it. I paid the extra amount to go to the Oceanarium after the fam left. I don't know if it was worth it entirely, but I still enjoyed myself. The Beluga whales were cool. But the St. Louis Zoo's penguins are WAY cooler. They didn't have puffins. And they were all behind glass. The dolphins were beautiful, but the show wasn't much of a show.
Next I headed to the Field Museum. I spent an hour and a half in the special Pompeii exhibit, which was actually more about Herculaneum, the resort city across the way from Pompeii. Here's a couple interesting facts. The day before Vesuvius erupted was August 23, 79 A.D. The people of Pompeii were in the streets celebrating the god of fire. Dumb. On the 24th, most of them choked to death on the ash that filled the air. Across the way, the people of Herculaneum thought they would be okay, but were gathering their things to flee anyway. At 1 a.m. on on the 25th, a pyroclastic surge overtook the city. This is essentially a 1000-degree cloud of gas and rock fragments that incinerated the people instantly leaving perfectly perserved skeletons. Over 300 bodies have been discovered since 1980. I found it interesting seeing this glimpse of Roman life, just 9 years after the Temple was destroyed. Just to link it to another historical event. That'd be the one in Jerusalem, for those who don't know how my brain works.
I meandered through the "stuffed animals." The man-eating lions that inspired the movie Ghost in the Darkness weren't as big and scarey as I expected. The gem room was pretty. I'm such a snob about the Egyptian stuff. After seeing Karnak, Abul Simbel and the Valley of the Kings - after descending into the depths of the small pyramid, and seeing the mummy of Ramses II at the museum in Cairo. Shoot, even the Egyptian display at the history museum in London. I'm a snob. Wish I had gotten through more of the American Indian stuff before the place closed though.
After that I drove up to the Lush on Armitage and walked around the area. I treated myself to dinner at an Irish pub. Cider and Shepherd's Pie. Mm. Reminded me of Dublin.
I might head into the city again tomorrow. Sadly though, I think I will have to come back if I want to see Wicked.
Posted by kristen at November 16, 2005 06:05 PMMost likely. I heard that all the shows being performed here are sold out.
Can you believe I STILL haven't seen the puffins and the penguins at the St. Louis Zoo????
Ooh, I heard another history factoid about your birthday.. and mine, too. Not a very happy one, but anyways... William Wallace was captured on August 3 and executed on August 23rd. Anyways I thought that was strange.
Posted by: Kristi at November 16, 2005 09:50 PMDarn, I thought you were going to write about Herculaneum, Mo. LOL
Posted by: Roger at November 16, 2005 11:37 PM