jdmcowan
07-08-2010, 12:29 PM
We've had some discussion in the Pre-Gatherin-Gatheing thread, but I was thinking about it and decided that the Post-Gathering-Gathering deserved its own thread.
Many of the attendees from the Gathering in Southwest MI July will be coming to Chicago after we leave the retreat center on Sunday, July 25th. Some are coming because they live in the Chicago area, others will be flying out of O'Hare airport, and yet others will be coming because they want to squeeze in every last minute with other Jedi even though Chicago is out of their way. Of course, anyone, whether they were at the MI Gathering or not, is welcome to join us for some Post-Gathering activities in the Chicago area on the afternoon and evening of Sunday, July 25th.
Since Angelus is the leader of our Chicago Chapter and also heading up the MI Gathering, I will defer to him with regard to the Post-Gathering-Gathering. However, I also know he is very busy right now, so I am taking it upon myself to get some discussion and planning rolling.
If you are thinking of joining us in Chicago on Sunday, July 25th, please let us know and join in the discussion of what we might do with our time. I am listing a number of ideas below. None of these require reservations so we don't have to commit to anything. However they are far spread and have associated costs, so some discussion about what we want to try to do or not, might be appropriate.
SWORDS of the Eastern Hemisphere 1500 b.c.–1990 a.d. - $5 per person, closes at 4pm. This is a temporary exhibit at a museum about 1 hour north of Chicago, so if there's traffic it could take us as much as 3 hours to get there from the retreat center.
Chicago Botanic Gardens - $20 per car, closes at 9pm. This is just down the street from the Sword Exhibit and has a Japanese Garden amongst many other interesting things. They also have a large cafeteria which includes organic and vegetarian dishes, so they might be a good choice for dinner after the sword show.
Summer Dance Waltz lessons - ~$20 per car?, 4-7pm. This is downtown in a park between the skyscrapers and the lake front. It's a one hour lesson followed by 2 hours of live music to practice to. It's free, but we might have to pay for parking.
Willis Tower Skydeck and the Ledge - $16 per person plus parking, closes at 10pm. The new owners of the former Sears Tower have built a glass ledge sticking out over the street 103 floors below. Even if you are not specifically afraid of heights, stepping out there when you can see all the way straight down to the passing cars can take a little extra courage.
Mat Training at Sensei Ross' Dojo - FREE. Ross will be joining us at the Gathering, but I haven't checked with him yet to see if his Dojo would be available Sunday afternoon. If it is, we could go do some extra martial arts training. Maybe we could pick specific techniques that are a little easier to practice with a mat (like learning how to roll, doing full force throws, or practicing kneeling techniques).
If you have any other ideas or requests for particular sights you'd like to see, please share them.
Jeremy
Many of the attendees from the Gathering in Southwest MI July will be coming to Chicago after we leave the retreat center on Sunday, July 25th. Some are coming because they live in the Chicago area, others will be flying out of O'Hare airport, and yet others will be coming because they want to squeeze in every last minute with other Jedi even though Chicago is out of their way. Of course, anyone, whether they were at the MI Gathering or not, is welcome to join us for some Post-Gathering activities in the Chicago area on the afternoon and evening of Sunday, July 25th.
Since Angelus is the leader of our Chicago Chapter and also heading up the MI Gathering, I will defer to him with regard to the Post-Gathering-Gathering. However, I also know he is very busy right now, so I am taking it upon myself to get some discussion and planning rolling.
If you are thinking of joining us in Chicago on Sunday, July 25th, please let us know and join in the discussion of what we might do with our time. I am listing a number of ideas below. None of these require reservations so we don't have to commit to anything. However they are far spread and have associated costs, so some discussion about what we want to try to do or not, might be appropriate.
SWORDS of the Eastern Hemisphere 1500 b.c.–1990 a.d. - $5 per person, closes at 4pm. This is a temporary exhibit at a museum about 1 hour north of Chicago, so if there's traffic it could take us as much as 3 hours to get there from the retreat center.
Chicago Botanic Gardens - $20 per car, closes at 9pm. This is just down the street from the Sword Exhibit and has a Japanese Garden amongst many other interesting things. They also have a large cafeteria which includes organic and vegetarian dishes, so they might be a good choice for dinner after the sword show.
Summer Dance Waltz lessons - ~$20 per car?, 4-7pm. This is downtown in a park between the skyscrapers and the lake front. It's a one hour lesson followed by 2 hours of live music to practice to. It's free, but we might have to pay for parking.
Willis Tower Skydeck and the Ledge - $16 per person plus parking, closes at 10pm. The new owners of the former Sears Tower have built a glass ledge sticking out over the street 103 floors below. Even if you are not specifically afraid of heights, stepping out there when you can see all the way straight down to the passing cars can take a little extra courage.
Mat Training at Sensei Ross' Dojo - FREE. Ross will be joining us at the Gathering, but I haven't checked with him yet to see if his Dojo would be available Sunday afternoon. If it is, we could go do some extra martial arts training. Maybe we could pick specific techniques that are a little easier to practice with a mat (like learning how to roll, doing full force throws, or practicing kneeling techniques).
If you have any other ideas or requests for particular sights you'd like to see, please share them.
Jeremy