Soldier on into Outer Space

Inside the famous columns at Solider Field.

This is a rare time that I didn't write my blog on the day I walked. The reason for that could be several issues but needless to say yesterday was the longest single walk of my time up in Chicago. I started out by going with Cheryl to her work and then I began my walk to go to Soldier Field. On the way there I stopped by the Chicago Public Library to get a pass to one of the sights and I ended up with the Art Institute but I actually wanted the Adler Planetarium but they were out of them. SO off I went down the road. I walked past Roosevelt and Columbus streets and saw the statue of Christopher Columbus or Christabal Colón as he was called in Spanish.

Near the library I saw a little protest/parade going on. There were children and parents of charter schools parading around about the benefits of charter schools and that they didn't want to see them closed down. Or whatever the cause “de jour” was. There were about 100 people in the total group and they had a police escort and were walking on the sidewalks. Again I saw several live trucks near city hall.

Exercising their constitutional rights in the cold!

When I got to Soldier Field I was surprised to see that it was open. But they have the memorial around the stadium. I found out that the field is for the military members that have earned the Medal of Honor. I saw the names of the people and it only went to the Vietnam War. I am know that more have won the award since then. I am not sure what the classification is for them to be placed upon the memorial.

Bigger than I thought.

After that I walked down to the Adler Planetarium and since it was Wednesday there was not a charge. To think I almost walked on by because I didn't have the free pass from the library. I was glad I did however I have been to much better science museums in much smaller cities. I did find the replica of the Mars rovers very informative because I thought they were much smaller. The truth is they are about as tall as a person is where the camera structures are at. On display there were the fragments of rock that had been discovered from Mars that are claimed to have ancient microscopic life in them. There was also a flight simulator for flying over Mars. With the three video screens and as dark as it was it could really seem like you were piloting a craft over the Martian surface.

I nice shot of the Windy City on a cloudy day.

Since I took so much extra time on my walk I stopped by Arby's and got a Market Fresh Turkey and Swiss sandwich. I figure this would be a decent meal after all the walk and it was after 2:00pm by that time. It was very good but when I got home to look up the data for the sandwich the sandwich was 780 calories and 1880mg of sodium. On the Arby's website they let you remove items to see what the remaining calories are. I removed the bread and the bread alone was 380 calories and had 680mg of sodium. That is almost as much as their Bacon and Cheddar Roast burger. I couldn't believe it. It was almost all the walking I did was wiped out in one meal. I knew the fries would be high but I figured the sandwich would balance it out. Actually the fries were the small or of the two items I ate calorie-wise. If I ever eat at Arby's again I am going to not eat the bun because that adds anywhere from 200 to 400 calories and a lot more sodium to your meal.

Some of the issue I am dealing with now is the slow rate at weight loss. It is moving along but it is taking forever in my estimation. But it is at least moving in the right direction. It is just so sad that I have let myself get so fat without trying to lose weight more vigorously. But this is only the fist month now and this marks nearly 200 miles of the 1750 miles I am planning to do to reach my goal. It would be nice to have the results I am shooting for by the time I get there. But that is still about 10 to 13 months away.