Saturday, July 6, 2013

Chicago: Part One



Chicago skyline as seen from Lake Michigan
          


Skydeck ledges on 103rd floor of the Willis Tower

            A couple of weeks ago my mom and I visited Chicago.  It was a great trip.  We arrived in Chicago at eight o’clock Friday morning, which means we left Birmingham at six o’clock.  It was soooo early; but it turned out to be a good thing because apparently over two hundred flights were canceled that day due to a computer glitch and the earliest ones were not affected.  We went straight to the hotel expecting to just check our bags since it was so early, but they had a room ready so we were able to go up and get settled.  After that we headed out for some Chicago style pizza.  Some friends of mine recommended that we go get pizza for lunch instead of dinner to avoid a long wait.  We went to Gino’s East.  It was quite tasty.   Next we caught the tour bus.  We had tickets to a double-decker bus tour of the city.  It was a hop on-hop off tour, with tickets good for three days, so we got on at the closest stop.  The next stop was at the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower).  We went up to the SkyDeck on the 103rd floor and went out on one of the ledges.  It was rainy Friday afternoon so the view was not as good as usual, but it was still really impressive.  After that we headed back to catch the double-decker tour bus.  It was delayed due to traffic so we got to wait on it in the rain.  Once we got on the bus we had to sit inside in the lower level because of the rain.  We were only a few stops from Navy Pier, so we got off there.  I had told myself while planning the trip that I didn’t want to go to any chain restaurants that I had been to before.  We were going to do all new, Chicago-y things.  But after getting up so early, and spending a good bit of the day in the rain, I wanted to go to Margaritaville.  My mom agreed, so that’s where we went.  This was not the first time we’ve gone to Margaritaville after a bad weather day during a vacation.  Last Spring during our frigid trip to Niagara Falls we also visited Margaritaville.  After dinner we went back to the hotel go to bed.  We were beat!  And had a lot to pack into the next two days.

Tour boat from architectural tour
            The next morning we went back to Navy Pier to catch an architectural boat tour.  We really enjoyed this tour.  It went a piece down Lake Michigan and then up the Chicago River; pointing out all of the historical buildings.  After the boat tour we rode the ferris wheel at Navy Pier then headed to lunch.  For lunch we went to the original Billy Goat Tavern.  Yes, that Billy goat.  See, the guy that opened the Billy Goat Tavern in 1934 is the same guy that tried to take his Billy goat to Wrigley Field in 1945 which is where the curse of the Billy goat comes from.  I will not rehash that story here, but it’s pretty interesting if you’re looking for something to read about, after reading this blog.  After lunch we got back on the double-decker bus tour, but this time to actually take the tour and not just for transportation.  That tour was great too.  This time we got to sit up top and actually see the tour.  We got off at Millennium Park and saw the bean.  Then we got back on and rode the bus to the John Hancock Observatory.  After that stop we had seen the entire double-decker bus tour.  We were going to eat in the restaurant at the John Hancock Observatory, but there was quite a wait.  So we ended up at The Grill in The Westin across the street.  It was really good and I had a War Eagle moment.  We overheard one of the men at the table next to us talking about SEC football, and then we heard him say that he had gone to Auburn and was there at the same time as Pat Sullivan.  So I went over to say “hello” and “War Eagle!”  After dinner it was almost time for the fireworks at Navy Pier so we went back there. 
 
Ferris wheel at Navy Pier
Cloud Gate aka The Bean at Millennium Park

            One of the most exciting things I noticed from the boat tour and the bus tour was that Chicago was ready for the Stanley Cup Finals!  Game five was that night in Chicago.  Chicago and Boston were tied 2-2 in the series.  We saw well wishes for the Blackhawks all over the city.  The lions outside of the Art Institute had on Blackhawks helmets, the brachiosaurus outside of the Field Museum had on a Blackhawks jersey and there were several signs, banners and flags.  The Blackhawks won 3-1 that night and went on to score two late goals Monday night in Boston to win 3-2 and to win the Stanley Cup.


One of the lions outside of the Art Institute
 

            I am doing my post about this trip in two parts, since it is somewhat lengthy.  Check back soon for our trip to Wrigley Field!

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