If you have three hours to yourself while visiting Chicago, and you are stumped for something to do, allow me the opportunity to recommend an afternoon at the Shedd Aquarium.
The Shedd was opened in 1930, and is the love child of John G. Shedd (president of Marshal Field and Company before he entered the fish business). The building itself is worth the time to stop and look. It is reminiscent of the time, and makes one want to re-read 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. Now, Gilligan-esque tour of the Shedd, did not allow me time to fully explore or see everything, but it was enough time to wander, and not feel overwhelmed while feeling undersea.
Upon entering you can diverge into three separate directions. I chose to first dive into the Amazon Rising gallery. This series of exhibits runs from adorable ducks, and polka dot freshwater rays, to piranha, monkeys and frogs. Each exhibit is an exploration in itself. I was especially drawn to the Polka-dotted stingrays, also called the Black Devil stingray. I think my fascination was more to the fashion sense it takes a stingray to evolve perfect polka-dots…what no stripes? 
Upon leaving the Amazon, I made a firm decision, to keep my blinders on while I found my way to see the whales. Yes, that’s right, whales. Beluga whales to be specific. The Beluga whales are part of the Abbott Oceanairum’s Pacific Northwest exhibit that includes; Pacific white-sided dolphins, a noisy sea lion, and otters. Any of these critters is worth the time to stop and watch, but as I hail from a land-locked state, I was driven to see the whales. Beluga whales are small white whales that hail from the Arctic. They have a slightly deflated look about them, but their faces seem drawn up into perpetual smiles. You can observe them from both above and below the waterline, and the peaceful nature of their swimming and playing with one another was magical to see. The stark ghost-white of their bodies gliding through the shadows seems ethereal. It is truly mesmerizing. I truly wanted to just sit and spend about three hours with these beautiful creatures. Alas, I was on a time crunch, so after about 45 minutes I had to keep moving.
There are so many things to see at the aquarium. My three hours was really just a dip into the waters they have to offer. But the Shedd was the perfect commando-museum ride that I needed. Perhaps it is the flowing nature of the water that allowed for the free form meandering in the aquarium, but even though I didn’t but maybe a third of what the aquarium has to offer, I didn’t leave feeling cheated. Sure, I wanted to stay. I would have brought in a sleeping bag if they’d let me. But my point is, even though I was there with limited time, and couldn’t see everything, it didn’t matter. What I did see was enough for that day. Sometimes when one is sight-seeing, and one can get tangled up in the hustle of “I gotta see it all” that one doesn’t really see anything. My short swim through the Shedd, left me feeling uplifted, as as though I was floating through the rest of my day.
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