Category Archives: Chicago

Leaving…

…our room with a view.

Our room at the Westin on Michigan Ave. was directly North of the Hancock Tower. These views are looking Southeast.

The 4th Presbyterian Church was kitty corner from the hotel. I took photos there and will show them later with some history.

All in all this was a very convenient spot for touring Chicago. There was a hop-on/hop-off trolley/bus stop right outside our hotel.

We’re going to take an airport shuttle back to O’Hare because we don’t want to come anywhere near duplicating our experience in the cab coming from O’Hare to the hotel.

See you all when we get back to home sweet home, Seattle.

These Shoes Were Made…

…for Walking!

And that’s a good thing because I have been doing a lot of walking here in Chicago.

Today I took a city bus North past Wrigley field to visit Graceland Cemetery. This cemetery met all my expectations with lots of great old monuments above ground to see. When I was done at the cemetery I walked South to Wrigley Field to hop on the trolley to get a ride back to Millennium Park to get on a different trolley to visit Chinatown, Little Italy, and Greektown. When I finally got back to the hotel I was a wee bit tired but my feet don’t hurt!’

We haven’t decided where we will have dinner tonight when Dear is all done with his booth time at the convention center. Tomorrow we both have the morning free and then we head to the airport to fly back home.

Snapshots of Chicago…

…from Saturday and Sunday.

Warning! The full deal is yet to come. There is so much to see and do in this windy city. I’m resigned to be content with what I actually am able to do.

On Saturday I bought a ticket for the hop on/hop off trolley-double-decker bus tours offered here in Chicago. I saw a lot. I got a feel for the routes. After a full day in the sun I headed up to the 96th floor of the Hancock tower to cool off and see the sights from way up high.

On Sunday I walked several blocks to the Chicago River to see about getting a ticket for the Architectural Tour.

There was lots of room on the 9:00 tour and I took lots of photos on this great boat ride on the Chicago River. More to come. After the river cruise I hopped back on a double-decker bus and took the advice of the tour guide and stopped for a quick lunch snack here.

I had my first ever Chicago dog and it did not disappoint. After my snack I hopped back on the bus and headed to the Art Museum.

 

Such amazing things to see at the Chicago Art Museum. That’s definitely a post in itself. After I was done at the museum I walked several blocks to the river again and jumped on the double-decker to head back to the hotel. On the way I made reservations for Dear and me at this restaurant for dinner tonight.

Dear is working hard at the convention center and I’m working hard touring about the city. It’s nice to end our days together over dinner…

Chicago Walk #1

Friday morning was still overcast, windy, and misty. We decided to trek over to a restaurant I saw online called Yolk for breakfast. We got some faulty directions but when we figured that out we turned around and found Yolk. It’s good to walk a few extra miles if you are going to eat like this…

There was a lot to see on our walk to and from the restaurant. We stopped at a couple beautiful churches and were able to take photos. Lots to share in the days to come. Tonight we’re going out to dinner with Dear’s boss. Tomorrow I’m on my own for most of the day and the weather is improving. I’m thinking about the Trolley tour…

One last shot of something we saw when we got back to the hotel.

Oops! This van plowed into the store window.

The Heron…

Because of the rain and wind here in Chicago I don’t have photos to share today from Chicago but here are some shots of the Heron we enjoyed at the Riverside National Cemetery last Saturday.

When we arrived in Chicago yesterday we had one of those weird taxi experiences in getting to the hotel.  There were 5 car fresheners in the back seat with us but that really didn’t help. The good news is that we made it to our downtown hotel and after we got settled into our nice room that doesn’t need air fresheners we had a lovely meal with some great friends from Seattle who are living in a suburb north of Chicago.

Friday morning we are going to choose an indoor venue to explore while we wait for the rain to move on.

Happy June to you all!