Chicago - hot hot hot

Today in Chicago was HOT!!! It was one of the hottest days on record with a temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit (which is 40 degrees Celsius). Too hot to go out and do much so there was a lot of time spent at the pool!

The heat reminds me of another 'hot' time in Chicago...the great fire of 1871. The fire burned down most of Chicago. It started about 9pm on Sunday October 8 and didn't get under control until early Tuesday October 10. The traditional account of the origin of the fire is that it was started by a cow kicking over a lantern in the barn owned by the O'Leary family. In 1893, the  reporter who wrote the O'Leary account, admitted he had made it up. The barn was the first building to be consumed by the fire, but the official report could not determine the exact cause of it.

I never understood the meaning of the children's song until now....

"Late one night, when we were all in bed,

Old Lady Leary lit the lantern in the shed,

And when the cow kicked it over,

She winked her eye and said,

“There’ll be a hot time in the ol’ town tonight!”

FIRE!  FIRE!  FIRE!"

One of the few buildings to survive the fire was (ironically) the Chicago water tower which still stands today (in photo).

Tonight we went to the "Rainforest Cafe" for dinner. VERY kid friendly with animals and trees all over the place. Neve freaked out a bit but eventually calmed down and enjoyed it!

The girls enjoyed the photo booth at the Rainforest Cafe.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Chicago and fly to New York  -  "Start spreading the news....."