My trip to Chicago.

              Blue-Tongued Skink                 

Well, we had to battle sore feet, an un-tooth ache, sleep deprivation, and schizophrenic hobos. But I got to pet a blue-tongued skink------>

Bunch of scared college kids

  
    
and watch a bunch of college kids run away from a skunk.

Cute skunk

Oh, not to mention the WILD PIG ROADKILL!  Not kidding. It had tusks and everything. Sorry, no pic of that. Really though, we went to the Shedd aquarium and had a good time, minus the foot problem and un-tooth ache. We got pretty lost driving around the 14 museum-like looking buildings next to the aquarium. Luckily, thanks to the time zone difference, we had plenty of time to find it since we arrived in Chicago just at the beginning of rush hour...4am their time. Once the parking garages opened we parked, and walked/limped to the navy pier. 

Navy pier was very cool, you can see the spot we watched the sunrise from in this pic.

At that point I was having some serious first world problems, lacking in some American comforts, including food and a restroom. Finally, at the end of the pier, we found a public restroom and some vending machines! I'm pretty sure we weren't breaking and entering...it was unlocked? Anywho everything worked out perfectly for us to watch the sunrise from the very end of the pier (which was off limits depending on which route you took). Me, Don, animal crackers and a scaredy seagull. Believe it or not they won't all swoop down and snatch a French fry from your greasy grip. Where was I? Oh yes, the sunrise. Well it rose, as expected, then we dodged a multitude of joggers as we made our way back to...not on the pier anymore.
Then we found a snazzy little breakfast place where we shared out breakfast (literally) with a presumably homeless guy and a schizophrenic. Except the latter didn't eat any of our potatos. Maybe because the hobo didn't finish them he figured they weren't all that tasty. Or maybe he was just too involved in the heated political conversation he was having. With himself. Guess we'll never know, huh?
So after our cozy communal breakfast we made our way to the Shedd aquarium, which was quite a walk. A fact that we unfortunately didn't realize until the hurting left foot turned into a hurting left body. I just thought of baby monkey riding on a pig, and it gave me the strength to keep on keepin' on! If you have no idea what i'm talking about, refer to the link on the comments section. Not now though, read the rest of my post first.
Sure enough we eventually got there. It was a pretty big ordeal, we spent the better portion of the day there so I'll just summarize:

Whales, fish, and dolphins too

Goldfish eat eachothers poo

Blue tongued skink, a running sink

Poison frogs and turtles on logs. 

Jelly fish, well worth the mention

A theater with 4 dimensions

Some penguins and tropical birds

And a parrot that said no words.

      Sooooo.....that about sums it up. On the way back to our car we decided against the 4 mile walk or so walk, and opted to ride the water taxi! Amazing the car didn't give out in the water. No, no, no, silly! It was a boat taxi! Very fun.We didn't eat anywhere else in Chicago, although I'm told we drove past a famous building. 
      From there we hit the highway, took more pain killers, and bought a new pair of shoes. We decided to stay at a hotel that didn't appear to have any drug dealers checking in (which is more than I can say for the first place we stopped at) and prepared for the next days adventures at Wolf Park in Indiana!

I've recently become a biker.

I have an appointment next week to get "mom" with a heart behind it tattooed on my arm.

No no no, not that kind of biker. A bicycler. The more humanly powered device of the two wheeled variety. And from day one of riding, it was like I aquired some membership card without the flat rectangular part to put in my wallet. I suddenly had a kinship with other bikers. Together we fight rude groups of sidewalk hoggers, obnoxious automobiels zipping by in their 4 wheels of speed, old ladies that don't know how to back out of their driveway, and right turners on red. We have carved a path on those busy roads not paved with sidewalk. We nod knowingly to eachother when passing one another accros the road. We happily veer off the beaten path to let the other cyclist through when entering a narrow path. We bikers must stick together, for we are all we have. We are too slow for the cars yet too fast for the pedestrians. If we don't look out for one another, who will?

Here are some ways to be positive in the face of negativity...

A.k.a what do you do when a big meanie takes a poop on your rainbow? Personally I think it depends on if he got any in the pot of gold that was at the end of your rainbow or not. (If your confused because you don't have a pot of gold at the end of your rainbow, we need to talk about that at a later date) Anyways, if there's no poop in the gold I would probably just buy a new rainbow. Then I'd hire a hitman to take out the goon that's been pooping on peoples rainbows. What a jerk. Now, if your gold is unaccessible due to previously mentioned circumstances, you have to resort to a much more archaic coping mechanism. Inner reflection, contemplation, and some other word ending in "tion". Personally I've been having issues in this area, so I decided to go to the infinitely wise and limitless source:

 

For the most part all of the recommended ways to stay positive were a bunch of mumbo jumbo. However, one article that had nothing much worth repeating had this in it:
"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living."
Actually it should be said that this is a quote by Dale Carnegie, whoever that is, not the person who wrote the rest of the article. And maybe Daley's quote isn't really that deep, but it got me thinking, about that old saying...
"When life gives you dire circumstance that you can't do anything about... make lemonade."

Here is another quote about lemons that says it a little better:

If life gives you lemons, grow a lemon tree. 

When that tree gives you more lemons, make a lemon orchard. 

When that orchard gives you more lemons, sell them and become rich. 

Then next time you see life, you can say, “Thanks for the lemons!”

                                         Life hates people who are grateful for its lemons.                                              

So basically, when you act negatively in the face of negativity, you're only doing yourself harm. Two wrongs don't make a right (for the record though, 3 lefts do). The person that pooped on your rainbow? They are slimy you-know-whats no matter how bad you may feel. And even if the poopetrator is still at large, don't let them bring you down! Can you do this on your own? Maybe, I'm not sure how stubborn and strong willed you are. Me? I plan on seeking the aid of someone even more infinitely wise and limitless than Google. And that guy requires a capital 'G' too...

To make yourself feel better for now, you can listen to this song...aptly titled, "Waiting for a rainbow" [without poop!] Click this link for a not pooey rainbow song