Category Archives: Travel

Michigan Ave.

I spent a lot of time on Michigan Ave. while I was in Chicago last week. Was that just last week? We stayed on the North end of Michigan Ave.

The Water Tower and nearby pumping station were the only two buildings in downtown Chicago that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 which razed the whole city to the ground.

Constructed in 1869 using big limestone blocks, the Chicago Water Tower, with all its small neo-gothic towers resembles more a tiny European medieval castle than a water tower. It was designed by architect William W. Boyington.

Just a few buildings away is the Hancock Building which has an observatory where you can see miles east, west, north and south of downtown Chicago. On the 96th and 97th floor is a restaurant and bar where you can have a meal or a drink and enjoy the views.

Our hotel, the Westin, was also on Michigan Ave. right next door to the Hancock Building.

At the Chicago River on the N. side of Michigan Ave. are two great buildings across the street from each other. This is the Wrigley Building.

The Chicago Tribune building on the opposite side of the Ave. has a Gothic top and Art Deco bottom.

Another view of the Wrigley Building taken on a different day. The next few photos are showing more of the detail on the Chicago Tribune building.

Hall of Inscriptions..
The soaring entrance area is known as the Hall of Inscriptions. Carved into the walls are famous quotaions expressive of ideals and obligations of the press. These record the spoken words of leaders like Votaire, Benjamin Franklin, Milton.. The Nathan Hale lobby has words of Abraham Lincoln, Arthur Miller and Thurgood Marshall..

Aesop’s Stone Screen..
By Rene Paul Chambellan
The three-story arched entrance is so overlooked. Over the doorway of the main lobby is this carved stone screen. It bears symbolic imagery of Aesop’s fables. One can see cartouches surrounded by animals, acanthus leaves, scrolls and ribbons..

Nathan Hale Lobby..
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Chicago Tribune in 1997, the Tower’s Nathan Hale lobby was renovated and inscriptions were added to include words of Abraham Lincoln, playwright Arthur Miller and former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

If you ever find yourself in Chicago take advantage of the great tours that are offered on trolleys and sight seeing buses. You get information that will help you to choose what you’d like to see in depth. I’ll still be posting on the Architectural River Tour which is well worth your time, too. There are so many places to eat and so many things to see in Chicago it could be overwhelming without narrowing things down.

I’m looking forward to a full week at home to get caught up. What does your week look like?

New Taste Treats!

If you’ve followed my blog at all over the years it will come as no surprise that food is something I really enjoy. While we were in Chicago I found 2 brand new taste treats. Thank you for your suggestions to try Garrett Popcorn.

I thought you all were a little nutty when you said the Chicago mix was your favorite. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Garrett Chicago Mix it’s a mixture of sweet and salty, their Caramel crisp and Cheese corn. It was delicious. We were going to buy some at one of their shops on Ontario off Michigan Avenue but they weren’t open when we came by so when we got to the airport I went on the hunt. I walked all the way to terminal 1 from terminal 3 before I finally spotted their small shop. I bought a small bag. On my way back to terminal 3 I noticed the Garrett shop that was way closer…yep, I walked right past it. OYE! I needed the extra exercise anyway.

This is truth in advertising right here! But now to my absolute favorite cheap Chicago taste treat…drum roll please.

The famous Chicago Dog! A Chicago-style hot dog, or Chicago Dog, is a steamed or water-simmered all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun,originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard; chopped white onions; bright green sweet pickle relish; a dill pickle spear; tomato slices or wedges; pickled sport peppers; and a dash of celery salt. The complete assembly of a Chicago hot dog is said to be “dragged through the garden” due to the many toppings.

Yes folks, I am now a huge fan of this taste treat. I had my very first one at Portillo’s in Chicago when I hopped off the trolley for under $3.00.

Before we left Chicago I had another one at the airport! We had $50.00 meals in Chicago that I didn’t enjoy as much. I guess I’m more of a simple all American girl with a twist…or a little twisted.

Coach’s meat loaf stack at Ditka’s, Frog legs at Hugo’s Frog Bar (I only had one), Filet Medallions Oscar at Hugo’s Frog Bar, Bookbinder’s Soup, Chilaquiles egg dish at Eggsceteria, Mac and Cheese loaded at the Grill on the Alley. All that goodness and I’m only craving a hot dog since we came home!

Today is Saturday and Dear and I are attending a conference all day. We are still holding out for some nice weather here in the Northwest. We have dubbed this month Juneuary instead of just plain June!

Lake Michigan

Did you know that Lake Michigan is the third largest Great Lake by surface area and the sixth largest freshwater lake in the world?

Lake Michigan, by volume, is the second largest Great Lake and the only one located totally within the United States.

The word “Michigan” was originally used to refer to the lake itself, and is believed to come from the Ojibwa Indian word mishigami, meaning “great water.”

More than 10,000 ships have sunk in the Great Lakes – with 3,000 of those in Lake Michigan.

We really have had a couple dreary days here in the Seattle area. Things are brightening up right now and we’ll see how long it lasts.

Tomorrow and Saturday Dear and I are headed to the West Coast Conference ~ Standing Firm at Overlake Christian Church. Steve Lawson, John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul are the keynote speakers. I’m excited to be able to hear these 3 great defenders of our Faith right here in the Seattle area. When Dear and I were first married and living in the L.A. area we attended the church where John MacArthur is pastor. It will be good to hear John again in person after all these years. I’ll be scarce on the internet the next couple days.

Hope all is well where you find yourself the next few days.

Churches With Interesting History…

From the Great Chicago Fire to Al Capone both these Gold Coast churches have some great history.

Early Friday morning in Chicago after breakfast Dear and I visited 2 churches that were close to our hotel. The first church we visited was Holy Name Cathedral.

” Holy Name Cathedral on North State Street is both a Roman Catholic parish and the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago. After the fire of 1871 destroyed the former Holy Name Church, Bishop Thomas Foley resolved to build a spectacular replacement. Brooklyn architect Patrick Charles Keely designed the Gothic structure, and the cornerstone was laid on July 19, 1874.”

Once inside the church, the most striking feature is the suspended Resurrection Crucifix sculpted by the artist Ivo Demetz.

“Among the many striking features inside the Cathedral are the five red, broad-brimmed, cardinals’ hats, or galeros, suspended from the ceiling. Traditionally, this symbol of a cardinal is raised to the ceiling of his cathedral upon his death. The hat hangs until it turns into dust, a reminder that all earthly glory is passing.”  You’ll need to look carefully in the upper part of my photo which is almost too dark to see the galeros.

The most famous story about Holy Name Cathedral involves a mobster gunfight that happened on Oct. 11, 1926. Gunmen hired by Al Capone were positioned across from the cathedral and killed Earl “Hymie” Weiss in a hail of gunfire, leaving a bullet wedged into the cornerstone. We saw the bullet hole but I didn’t take a photo of it.

The Fourth Presbyterian Church was the 2nd church we visited. “The name “Fourth” was selected not because it was the fourth Presbyterian church to be founded in Chicago—there had been several founded before then, with North Presbyterian being one of the earliest—but because “Fourth” was the lowest number then not in use. “ The first structure at a different location was re-dedicated on October 8, 1871 and just 2 hours after it’s evening services concluded the Great Chicago Fire swept through downtown and the Northside and destroyed it. They were at another location and then in 1912 they settled at this property on Michigan Ave.

There was no “Michigan Avenue” north of the Chicago River yet in 1912; it was to be several years before a bridge was constructed over the Chicago River to extend north the Michigan Avenue that had grown in prominence south of the river.

“The church proper (the Sanctuary) was designed by architect Ralph Adams Cram, the parish buildings around the courtyard by architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, and the stained glass windows by Charles J. Connick. The interior painting and decoration of the Sanctuary was overseen by Frederick Clay Bartlett. The new church was dedicated in 1914.”

“The North Michigan Avenue “Magnificent Mile” neighborhood literally grew up around the church, particularly after the opening of the Michigan Avenue Bridge in 1920. Except for the familiar Water Tower complex two blocks to the south, which survived the Chicago Fire of 1871, Fourth Church is now the oldest surviving structure on Michigan Avenue north of the river.”

There was so much to do and see in Chicago. You’ll be seeing a lot more posts as I organize my photos and re-visit everything I was able to fit in on my 4 full days of sight seeing. We arrived home last night and it will take me a while to get a handle on what day of the week it is. We are overcast and cool again here in the Seattle area. My sunburned scalp and nose will appreciate this weather for sure.

Since this post is full of C’s I’m linking with Teacher Jenny at Alphabe-Thursday for the letter C.

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!