The Windy City

Monday, August 05, 2013
Chicago, Illinois, United States
This morning we had breakfast at our hotel. It was not good but it worked. We followed that with a quick stop at Starbucks and a gas station to fuel up for our drive to Chicago.

After about an hour and a half and $10 in tolls we arrived into downtown Chicago . Our first stop was to reserve a Segway tour for later in the afternoon.

We walked through Grant Park to the Field Museum. We browsed the various exhibits and took in a 3D movie. We enjoyed seeing a wide variety natural history items and displays. The highlight of the Field House is "Sue" the most complete skeleton of a T-Rex. We were recently in the Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC, they are better in our opinion. Even so it was worth the time. Next we found some lunch before heading for our 3 hour Segway tour.

The Segway tour was a lot of fun. The guide allowed the group to enjoy the ride as long as we were safe. Jack and Grace thought it was the best. Our tour took us around Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears football team, all through Grant Park, past the Shed Aquarium, the Planetarium, Lake Michigan beaches, and more. We enjoyed many great viewing spots of the Chicago skyline, public art, and unique buildings . We were fortunate that the rain held off during our Segway tour.

After the Segway tour we drove through the Loop and over the Chicago river to our hotel. During the drive it began to sprinkle just a little. After checking in we headed for dinner at a restaurant that is located right on the Chicago river. We enjoyed a good meal with a great view of the water taxies, tour boats, and private boats cruising the river.

After dinner we took a taxi to the Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower. The taxi ride was an E-Ticket ride. It felt safe and the driver was very nice, he just missed his calling as a race car driver. At the Willis Tower we boarded the elevator to the 103rd floor where there is 360 degree viewing and several skydecks that you can stand on. The skydecks have glass floors so you look straight down to the street 103 floors below. Grace loved it, Jack jumped on the skydeck, and Lauralee got on it, briefly. Back down on the street level we hailed another cab for a quick ride back to our hotel. This driver was less racy than the prior.

Chicago is a neat city. Lots of fun sights and places to see. The architecture is beautiful. We certainly feel safer in Chicago than in Detroit or even some other large cities we have been in. We are excited to see how much we can pack into tomorrow, our last day in Chicago on this trip.

Good night.

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