Splashing in the city

Downtown Chicago in the summer is not just the place where Chicagoans in business attire ascend tall buildings to their office jobs, or the place where sweaty tourists oggle the skyscrapers and lug around large cameras. Or even the place where a sweaty Jenna oggles the skyscrapers and lugs around her large camera, though that’s been known to happen every few weeks.

It also hosts a summertime tidal wave of kids who come to this fountain to cool off. Set at the base of Millenium Park, it may be called ‘Crown Fountain’ . . . but I choose to call it Freako Fountain. Those tower-tall faces are just a little freako.

Every so often, the (blinking and breathing) larger-than-life faces purse their lips into a big ‘O’ and water spouts out from the wall. Stampedes of children run towards the waterfall with squeals and shouts, and chaos reigns until the face resumes its normal benign expression and the water is cut off.

Last year I snapped some pictures of a seriously cute cutie-pie right about this time.

Cutie-pies, you’ll be pleased to know, are in no shortage this year either. Like this little crawling one.

Or this gleeful little runner.

Oh my! There are two!

The matching shorts! The rounded bellies! The diapers peeking out! The springy halos of brown curls! These two just kill me.

There was a small blond one that made me feel those baby-snatching impulses . . . again. You’re going to get tired of hearing about that real soon. I’m just sayin.’

Happy summer, everyone! And please make a water angel if you get the chance!

19 thoughts on “Splashing in the city

  1. Chris Wheeler

    Those fountains are just plain weird… Although what’s better in the summer than standing under a giant image of a person’s face and bathing in their “spit”! I think a better place to get a a shower is over at the Buckingham fountain thing – do they allow that???

    1. Jenna

      I doubt Buckingham fountain is swimmer-friendly–but if you decide to test that theory, I expect a full report! You’d probably get your picture taken by a good number of tourists, I’d wager. =)

  2. Simon Says

    These are great captures. As if I did not daydream of the city before, I certainly am now! (While sitting behind a desk, in a far too air conditioned office, nowhere near Chicago.) This is one of my favorite parts of Chicago!

  3. Angie

    I truly love Chicago, but haven’t made it up there in about two years. I’m stuck in Bloomington, IN, which is quite the nice little town, but there’s no excitement here. Not like Chicago. Your beautiful pictures made me long for a visit to that fantastic city. I will be discussing this with my husband shortly, haha.

    1. Jenna

      I love Bloomington! I went to college there and met the man of my dreams, so I’m partial . . . I especially miss all the great restaurants on 4th St (Siam House = awesome) and the beautiful, green campus.

  4. Heidi

    I love, love, love your pictures!!! And I love, love, love your baby snatching itch… I feel it every time I look at James… and then I just snatch him right up into my arms. It’s a good thing he’s my son, or I would be in trouble.

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