Day 25--Chicago, Il.: A view and a taste of Chicago

Another fun day in the windy city...

...but first, after breakfast I sat down for a minute or two to check on some things on the computer, and Daren grabbed the camera and took a picture of me to show the place where I usually am in a hotel room. That got me to thinking about what we do when we aren't driving in the car or playing around town, and admittedly, yes, this is where you will find me most times; that is if Daren hasn't beaten me to it!

Many times this is what you will find Daren doing in his down time (or driving time, or playing time, etc.). He always has his finger on the pulse of what's going on where. And to think he didn't even own his own cell phone until just a couple years ago!!

And whether it's the car or the hotel room, if we need to calm the boys down so they aren't driving the people next to, above or below us (OR US) crazy, inevitably the TV gets turned on. (Can you tell we have a great room here in Chicago--it's a suite with a separate room for Daren and I. Nice!) The boys love playing dominoes or with their cars, or making up whatever else they want, but when they get out of control this is how they calm down.

So for our first outing today, we took the recommendation of one of Daren's friends and went to the John Hancock observation deck (instead of the Sears Tower) to get a look at Chicago from above. It worked out well since that was only 2 blocks from our hotel instead of clear across town like everything else. This is just outside the John Hancock building looking up.

The observation deck is on the 94th floor of the building, and because we had a super speedy elevator which traveled around 20mph, it only took us about 40 seconds to get up there. Ben, especially, was so amazed to be up there and find things that he already knows. He kept asking me all day, "Do you think Bella came here much?" at each new place we went. On a clear day you are able to view four states from up here: Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana--it wasn't that clear today.

Will posed so cute for this picture I couldn't resist putting it in! It's amazing how many skyscrapers are in this city, which seems to go on for miles and miles!! At one point as I was looking out over the densely populated city, it made me think what a stark contrast it was to most of the places we have been to for the past few weeks. Some towns we have visited relied on the one local gas station for food, and then on the other hand, here is Chicago with its thousands of restaurants, eateries, etc. Not that it's bad, just different; but it was nice to visit all the places we have. Anyway, Ben was tempted, after we were done looking around, to take the stairs down. We voted, he lost!

After the observation deck, we went to a nearby "double park," as Ben calls it, for the boys to play. There are two separate playing areas with a common walkway in between, which Ben thought was very cool. This old fire station was right next door to the double park. It has been in use for over 100 years, so I had to get a picture of it.

After lunch we went to Millenium Park; we were taking our chances as we saw the dark clouds a brewing. It made for very nice temperatures though. This was the north/west enterance we took to get in--the traffic was miserable getting around in today, so we got let off as soon as we could--this is the north/west entrance we took to get in. The idea for Millenium Park was concerived by the Mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley; planning began in 1997, construction began in 1998, and was completed in 2004. It is a beautiful park, with a little something for everyone.

Our first stop was at the Cloud Gate, a three-story, 110-ton steel sculpture, which residents call "The Bean." The reflection off the polished steel is incredible, especially with the amazing Chicago skyline, and sky, which can clearly be seen. The shape of it offers some unique photo shots; for instance:

I was standing in the middle of the underbelly of the sculpture, looking straight up to get this picture. Pretty funky!!

I caught Ben checking out his reflection in this picture. I could have stayed there all day taking pictures!!

Another famous attraction at the park is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, where concerts are regularly held. This is the back of the lawn area looking forward to the stage at the front. The speakers are located in the arching steel trellis above the lawn. Jake is seen at the front of the picture taking a little break on the lawn .

We managed to hit Chicago at a great time for another big event--the Taste of Chicago, where 65 restaurants participate to show off what foods they offer. Apparently it is a very popular event which some people travel hundreds of miles to attend. Today was opening day, and we stayed for a short time until it started to drizzle, so we will be heading back tomorrow to finish sampling what there is.

By the way, I have been meaning to write about this for days, perhaps weeks, but it started somewhere a few states ago, maybe Texas or New Mexico, I can't remember, but what is up with Pepsi products being the only beverage everywhere you go?! It seems close to impossible to find a nice cold Diet Coke when you need one!! Maybe this is how others feel when they come out west (because Coke products are definitely the dominator in the west) and they have a hard time finding their Pepsi's. It's very annoying!

Anyway, at this point in the day we were getting tired, and tried to go see WALL.E, but it was sold out. There is something to be said for reserved seating at all of Larry H. Miller's movie theaters...the extra .75 cents is worth it!! We went back to the hotel, rented a movie and ordered in pizza.

Chicago Sign Times

Not too creative today...the Hancock Observatory where we looked over Chicago, and although this technically isn't a sign, it's a handy piece of information, or help if you needed it.

Welcome to the Taste of Chicago.


This was the first sign we saw as we walked into the festival from our entrance, so immediately this told me we were in for some interesting food. I had to take a picture of this one because it immediately took me back to my missionary days in the England London South Mission. We taught a lot of Africans, and I'll never forget that the first African meal I ever ate was oxtail and cow's hoof (I had only been in the country a couple of weeks I think). It could only get better from there, and it did. They do make some very good food. Fu-fu and peanut soup, mmm-mmm good!

Total mileage to date: same as yesterday, whatever that was--we take taxi's everywhere here.

Weather: beautiful most of the day, until the clouds came late afternoon with a light drizzle, low 80's

Premium gas price--haven't see any all day; how's that for a change