Well, the time has come. It's the story you've all been waiting to hear (or at least the story I've been waiting to tell.) Just as a recap, in August, the GWA Annual Conference & Expo took place on Navy Pier. Part of the fun when you throw in with the Independent Garden Communicator events are the much-anticipated garden tours.
As I mentioned in last week's blog, while working the Proven Winners ColorChoice booth at the show, I was approached by Beth Botts who said she was looking for a fill-in bus docent for the second day of the tours and that Diane Blazek had recommended me. Well, how could I say no? Diane Blazek not only remembered me (remember, I'm pretty new to this group); she thought enough of me that she entrusted one of the tours to me! Plus I was told I wouldn't be on my own - another person was also assigned to the bus and we'd do the job together. I was thrilled to say yes. After all, how hard could it be?
The first day of tours went swimmingly. We had a great time seeing all the sights and I paid special attention to the docents, in case I could get any tips along the way. I wanted to make sure that Diane and Beth felt like they had placed their trust in the right person!
So Thursday came, I found my way back down to the station where we had boarded the buses the day before and looked for Beth, or someone who would have my script for the tour. This is when I discovered I was on my own...my partner had gotten sick so I was flying solo. Um, okay, no worries, I thought...just get me that script and I'll start studying. No sooner said than done. "Hmmmm....this script doesn't seem to have any times noted on it. How do I know when to start talking, or when to tell people to get back on the bus?"
I was querying this when none other than the spectacular Kirk Brown walked up to me, script in his hand. What luck! He was a fill-in docent for the other bus and we could compare notes. He immediately started sharing all the facts he knows about the places we'd be stopping and I instantly felt bad for the people on my bus. I'd be reading from a script and he'd be acting out the history of Chicago with obvious aplumb. He probably brought costumes.
Long intro to a story short, Kirk did manage to get the times written on his script, and I was attempting to copy them over when we found out the buses were going to be a half hour late.
Apparently, the buses went to the first stop on the tour before coming to Navy Pier, opened the doors and asked where all the people were? To which the people waiting for the bus responded: "I thought they were on the bus?" Oops... Not quite sure how the buses could have thought we'd all get there to begin with, but there was no time for contemplation - Kirk and I are standing in the bowels of Navy Pier with about 200 hot and unhappy bus riders and we had to regroup!
So, we have a 3.5-hour tour and we've just lost 1/2 hour of it. It is decided somewhere along the way that the buses will now take the tour in tandem when they arrive. This is significant because my script is in a different order than Kirk's, so we reorder, and starting chopping time off each stop, so we can still see close to everything that was scheduled. It will be fine....breathe...everything will be fine.
The buses arrive and they are both filled quickly. I am pleased and relieved to discover that none other than Becky Heath has been recruited to be my seat partner and I feel like once again, I'm in good hands. Now I just need to be sure the rest of the bus feels that way.
The JC Hutchins House and Garden
Off we go to the first private home tour. I read the script..." the home was designed by architect Charles Sumner Frost for the President of the Illinois Steel Company..." We disembark at the gate of a gorgeous, large brick home that had been thoughtfully renovated after it had fallen into disrepair when it had been a school, and then a boarding house, for many years.
Mrs. K. was so gracious, with snacks and drinks set up inside and an invitation to even use the facilities if we needed! It was such a peaceful place, with the pond and stream and shade trees, it was just what we needed after a somewhat stressful start to our trip.
An interesting fact about their garden is that the side yard that now was a beautiful, colorful garden, buzzing with bees and alight with butterflies, was a blacktop playground when they bought the house. They had all the blacktop removed to restore the grounds to the lovely private garden - I imagine it looks much like it might have looked when the house was built in 1894.
By now you may be thinking...this isn't so bad! Sounds like this trip got off to a rocky start but is going pretty smoothly. Let's talk about the 56th Street Gardens...
Next on the agenda, we set off for three gardens that are situated back-to-back and dubbed "56th Street Gardens." I'm not sure why they are called that. They are NOT on 56th street, none of them. Our bus driver, Mike, (who has a splendid accent and in his defense, was doing is best with the info he was given) stops on a residential street, points up the street to the right and tells us, "the house is up that street, to the right." Um, okay... So we all disembark, take a right, and start walking down, yes, 56th street. Right away I can see this isn't going to work, there are no HOUSES, just apartment buildings. So I ask everyone to wait, run back to the bus and ask Mike for the exact address of the first house (it's not on my sheet) - he doesn't have it.
You must remember here, we have not just one, but TWO tours buses unloading at this point...I'm like a salmon swimming upstream to get back to the bus before everyone gets around the corner only to discover we don't have a clue where we're going. And some point in my racing back and forth, someone says, "that's Caroline Ulrich's house" pointing back to a house that is right in front of where the second tour bus is parked - it's supposed to be the LAST house we tour, but we tell everyone to start there, and we'll go backward through the tour of the three houses. So what I have now is about 200 people filing into one small garden and heading toward the back gate, where they are supposed to be able to walk across the alley to the next garden.
So I race through the yard to the alley to open the next gate. What was I thinking? It's like Lady or the Tiger back there! All these gates, you can't see a thing through them...who knows if I open one what lies behind it? (Besides the whole trespassing thing...) A few people are now exiting Carolyn's backyard into the alley, it's hot and not very pleasant there. All I can think about is 200 people filling up the alley like a sardine can...so I make a break for it. I figure if I sprint around the block to the fronts of the houses on the next block, I'll see that right one and can proceed to open the correct gate.
Bingo. As I round the corner, just a few houses in, there's Kirk on the porch of one of the houses trying to explain our extreme tardiness to a very unhappy Caroline Ulrich - that must be it! He's definitely the man for the job, and there's no time for pleasantries, I dash by them, through the yard, to the back gate and pop it open!
Just like it was meant to be, the tours stroll through the open gate as I welcome them to Ron G.'s garden which features over 137 varieties of vegetables, all cataloged by name and number. Carolyn and Kirk guide them through the garden, and all I have to do now is figure out which is the third garden.
Back through the gate into the alley, I peer at the gardens on either side of Carolyn's house. Which looks most like the description? Honestly, they're both lovely, but I use my detective skills. The two houses were built by the same architect, but the neighboring garden is described as carefully designed and "more shaded." Plus, there's a high-rise apartment building next door. I choose a house and try the gate, it's unlocked.
It's time now to usher people back through Ron's vegetable garden, through the alley, to the bus. I've managed to ID the house (or at least I hope I did) and the tour can stroll through Kris. B's open gate and see that final garden on the way back to the bus.
Whew! Crisis (mostly) averted! Smooth sailing from here, right?
Hold my beer...
Out in front of the two buses, an informal gathering of guides (at this point there's nothing remotely formal about what we're doing here) decides we need to go to the Garden of the Phoenix, a Japanese Garden on Wooded Island; created for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, AKA, the Chicago World's Fair. We were going to skip it because we weren't sure if there'd be time, but we know there's a park district guide waiting for us, so we set off.
We head toward the Museum of Science and Industry and I read the portions of the script pertaining to the World's Fair, and that it is the only original remaining building from the exhibition. We circle the general area of where we thought the garden entrance would be but we can't find it, so our bus driver pulls into the back parking lot of the museum to regroup. At that, the other bus pulls into the lot, and as quick as you please passes us and pulls back out again, taking the lead. Mike the bus driver wasn't super-pleased, but we followed, thinking we must have missed something.
I will say, we did drive by the statue of The Republic, which is quite a sight. And where did we end up? Right back in the rear lot of the Museum of Science and Industry. I immediately tell my bus they can disembark, because there are a few cool things to see over the bridge in the back. While they snap photos, Kirk asks what appears to be a grounds crew worker, or security worker how we get to the island. The worker proceeds to tell us the bridges are closed and you can't get on the island at all. Hm.
Back on the bus.
We proceed to the last stop, the Burnham Wildlife Corridor. I flip on the bus PA and ask my fellow riders to bow their heads and join me in a short moment of silence as we pray that we reach the wildlife corridor safely. And we do.
A park district guide meets us there...she's a little distressed that we never made it to the Garden of the Phoenix because there's has indeed been a park guide waiting for us there for half the day (apparently we were misinformed during our short visit to the museum parking lot). We explain to her that we really did try - but she could never know the full extent of the complexities of our day.
Dubbed "the largest stretch of natural area along Chicago’s lakefront." the Wildlife Center is a native prairie, savanna, and woodland ecosystems that provides healthy, diverse habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife.
Groomed trails lead you through native flowers and grasses that are easily as tall as you are. It's a strange feeling, you can hear the cars rushing by in the distance on Lakeshore Drive, but all you see is natural area and the wildlife that calls it home. It was strangely peaceful and lovely.
At that, our tour was ended. We made it back to the hotel with no significant drama and my first time as a bus docent had ended. Would I do it again? Absolutely. How hard could it be, right?
So until next week...never stop growing.
- Natalie
P.S. Considering my day, you'll understand that there aren't as many photos from day two, but you can still click here to see them all.
As I mentioned in last week's blog, while working the Proven Winners ColorChoice booth at the show, I was approached by Beth Botts who said she was looking for a fill-in bus docent for the second day of the tours and that Diane Blazek had recommended me. Well, how could I say no? Diane Blazek not only remembered me (remember, I'm pretty new to this group); she thought enough of me that she entrusted one of the tours to me! Plus I was told I wouldn't be on my own - another person was also assigned to the bus and we'd do the job together. I was thrilled to say yes. After all, how hard could it be?
The first day of tours went swimmingly. We had a great time seeing all the sights and I paid special attention to the docents, in case I could get any tips along the way. I wanted to make sure that Diane and Beth felt like they had placed their trust in the right person!
So Thursday came, I found my way back down to the station where we had boarded the buses the day before and looked for Beth, or someone who would have my script for the tour. This is when I discovered I was on my own...my partner had gotten sick so I was flying solo. Um, okay, no worries, I thought...just get me that script and I'll start studying. No sooner said than done. "Hmmmm....this script doesn't seem to have any times noted on it. How do I know when to start talking, or when to tell people to get back on the bus?"
I was querying this when none other than the spectacular Kirk Brown walked up to me, script in his hand. What luck! He was a fill-in docent for the other bus and we could compare notes. He immediately started sharing all the facts he knows about the places we'd be stopping and I instantly felt bad for the people on my bus. I'd be reading from a script and he'd be acting out the history of Chicago with obvious aplumb. He probably brought costumes.
Long intro to a story short, Kirk did manage to get the times written on his script, and I was attempting to copy them over when we found out the buses were going to be a half hour late.
Apparently, the buses went to the first stop on the tour before coming to Navy Pier, opened the doors and asked where all the people were? To which the people waiting for the bus responded: "I thought they were on the bus?" Oops... Not quite sure how the buses could have thought we'd all get there to begin with, but there was no time for contemplation - Kirk and I are standing in the bowels of Navy Pier with about 200 hot and unhappy bus riders and we had to regroup!
So, we have a 3.5-hour tour and we've just lost 1/2 hour of it. It is decided somewhere along the way that the buses will now take the tour in tandem when they arrive. This is significant because my script is in a different order than Kirk's, so we reorder, and starting chopping time off each stop, so we can still see close to everything that was scheduled. It will be fine....breathe...everything will be fine.
The buses arrive and they are both filled quickly. I am pleased and relieved to discover that none other than Becky Heath has been recruited to be my seat partner and I feel like once again, I'm in good hands. Now I just need to be sure the rest of the bus feels that way.
The JC Hutchins House and GardenOff we go to the first private home tour. I read the script..." the home was designed by architect Charles Sumner Frost for the President of the Illinois Steel Company..." We disembark at the gate of a gorgeous, large brick home that had been thoughtfully renovated after it had fallen into disrepair when it had been a school, and then a boarding house, for many years.
 |
| Pond at Kossiakoff home |
An interesting fact about their garden is that the side yard that now was a beautiful, colorful garden, buzzing with bees and alight with butterflies, was a blacktop playground when they bought the house. They had all the blacktop removed to restore the grounds to the lovely private garden - I imagine it looks much like it might have looked when the house was built in 1894.
By now you may be thinking...this isn't so bad! Sounds like this trip got off to a rocky start but is going pretty smoothly. Let's talk about the 56th Street Gardens...
Next on the agenda, we set off for three gardens that are situated back-to-back and dubbed "56th Street Gardens." I'm not sure why they are called that. They are NOT on 56th street, none of them. Our bus driver, Mike, (who has a splendid accent and in his defense, was doing is best with the info he was given) stops on a residential street, points up the street to the right and tells us, "the house is up that street, to the right." Um, okay... So we all disembark, take a right, and start walking down, yes, 56th street. Right away I can see this isn't going to work, there are no HOUSES, just apartment buildings. So I ask everyone to wait, run back to the bus and ask Mike for the exact address of the first house (it's not on my sheet) - he doesn't have it.
 |
| Ulrich garden |
So I race through the yard to the alley to open the next gate. What was I thinking? It's like Lady or the Tiger back there! All these gates, you can't see a thing through them...who knows if I open one what lies behind it? (Besides the whole trespassing thing...) A few people are now exiting Carolyn's backyard into the alley, it's hot and not very pleasant there. All I can think about is 200 people filling up the alley like a sardine can...so I make a break for it. I figure if I sprint around the block to the fronts of the houses on the next block, I'll see that right one and can proceed to open the correct gate.
Bingo. As I round the corner, just a few houses in, there's Kirk on the porch of one of the houses trying to explain our extreme tardiness to a very unhappy Caroline Ulrich - that must be it! He's definitely the man for the job, and there's no time for pleasantries, I dash by them, through the yard, to the back gate and pop it open!
 |
| Kris B.'s shady garden |
Just like it was meant to be, the tours stroll through the open gate as I welcome them to Ron G.'s garden which features over 137 varieties of vegetables, all cataloged by name and number. Carolyn and Kirk guide them through the garden, and all I have to do now is figure out which is the third garden.
Back through the gate into the alley, I peer at the gardens on either side of Carolyn's house. Which looks most like the description? Honestly, they're both lovely, but I use my detective skills. The two houses were built by the same architect, but the neighboring garden is described as carefully designed and "more shaded." Plus, there's a high-rise apartment building next door. I choose a house and try the gate, it's unlocked.
It's time now to usher people back through Ron's vegetable garden, through the alley, to the bus. I've managed to ID the house (or at least I hope I did) and the tour can stroll through Kris. B's open gate and see that final garden on the way back to the bus.
Whew! Crisis (mostly) averted! Smooth sailing from here, right?
Hold my beer...
Out in front of the two buses, an informal gathering of guides (at this point there's nothing remotely formal about what we're doing here) decides we need to go to the Garden of the Phoenix, a Japanese Garden on Wooded Island; created for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, AKA, the Chicago World's Fair. We were going to skip it because we weren't sure if there'd be time, but we know there's a park district guide waiting for us, so we set off.
We head toward the Museum of Science and Industry and I read the portions of the script pertaining to the World's Fair, and that it is the only original remaining building from the exhibition. We circle the general area of where we thought the garden entrance would be but we can't find it, so our bus driver pulls into the back parking lot of the museum to regroup. At that, the other bus pulls into the lot, and as quick as you please passes us and pulls back out again, taking the lead. Mike the bus driver wasn't super-pleased, but we followed, thinking we must have missed something.
I will say, we did drive by the statue of The Republic, which is quite a sight. And where did we end up? Right back in the rear lot of the Museum of Science and Industry. I immediately tell my bus they can disembark, because there are a few cool things to see over the bridge in the back. While they snap photos, Kirk asks what appears to be a grounds crew worker, or security worker how we get to the island. The worker proceeds to tell us the bridges are closed and you can't get on the island at all. Hm.
Back on the bus.
A park district guide meets us there...she's a little distressed that we never made it to the Garden of the Phoenix because there's has indeed been a park guide waiting for us there for half the day (apparently we were misinformed during our short visit to the museum parking lot). We explain to her that we really did try - but she could never know the full extent of the complexities of our day.
Dubbed "the largest stretch of natural area along Chicago’s lakefront." the Wildlife Center is a native prairie, savanna, and woodland ecosystems that provides healthy, diverse habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. Groomed trails lead you through native flowers and grasses that are easily as tall as you are. It's a strange feeling, you can hear the cars rushing by in the distance on Lakeshore Drive, but all you see is natural area and the wildlife that calls it home. It was strangely peaceful and lovely.
At that, our tour was ended. We made it back to the hotel with no significant drama and my first time as a bus docent had ended. Would I do it again? Absolutely. How hard could it be, right?
So until next week...never stop growing.
- Natalie
P.S. Considering my day, you'll understand that there aren't as many photos from day two, but you can still click here to see them all.
