Girls Weekend

Dave already mentioned that I had a "girls weekend" in Chicago. My friends from college, Barb & Laura, flew in to spend a couple of days with me in the Windy City. We had a great time sight-seeing and not having any responsibilities.

 On Friday we took in a Cubs game. It was PACKED! It was the largest crowd since opening day 1978. The Cubs beat the Cardinals and their manager was fired. The weather was great & we watched the airplanes practice for the air show the next day.

Our seats were all the way at the top. If you look VERY close at the top of the buildings on the right & just to the left of the upper deck roof, you can see 2 planes flying by.

Since we live so close to Chicago, I've only gone on day trips. It was interesting to see all the lights. Here's the "bean" at night.

We had supper at Harry Carry's at the Navy Pier. It was great walking around watching the ships. I really enjoyed the stain glass on display inside.

Saturday we spent walking around the Magnificent Mile taking in the sights. Here Barb is checking out the new Marilyn Monroe statue.

 Remember this picture of the Buckingham Fountain, you'll see it from a different view later.

There was a chance for storms, and they came. We spent the majority of it 94 floors up at the Hancock Observatory. I've been there once before (with Laura actually) but it was fun to see the air show and the storm.

There's an area that you can walk "outside" and hear the noise from the city. We went out just before the storm hit.

Navy Pier from above.

 

It was difficult to take a picture of the air show. You can see the smoke from the 3 planes in this picture. We were able to see a few stunts & watch the parachuters. After that, they had to postpone the show due to lightening.

We primarily walked while in Chicago. I took the South Shore while Barb & Laura flew. We did take the "L" to the Cubs game.

We briefly stopped in the mall since it was still storming so bad and didn't want to walk in it. At the Water Tower Place was Lego Land. I really liked their display of Chicago in Legos. Below, Laura's got a friend in Woody.

 

 

No trip to Chicago would be complete without a few staple foods. I had a Chicago dog at the Cubs game. We had some Chicago-style deep dish pizza from Giordanos at lunch. It was well worth the wait.

Saturday evening we took a boat tour of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. It was so much fun! I loved seeing Chicago from a different perspective.

We went through the locks to go out to Lake Michigan. This was my first time ever experiencing going through locks.

 

Our boat took us out as far as the lighthouse. We were out for 90 minutes at sunset.

What a different way of life living in downtown Chicago. The top floors are apartments, ground floors are parking, and there's even parking for your boat!

A view of the skyline and the Illinois flag from our boat.

A view of Buckingham Fountain from Lake Michigan.

What can I say...I really like lighthouses.

Here are some panoramic pictures of the skyline. I'm not sure if they're completely accurate. The water was pretty choppy when we were out on the lake so it was difficult trying to get the pictures to match up.

Trump tower.

I had a great time hanging out with old friends. I didn't take too many pictures since Laura is the expert photographer. I'm very thankful that Dave took such great care of Ben while I was gone. I did see Ben walk across the dining room and most of the living room on Sunday. He is starting to get a hang of walking and becoming more comfortable doing it. I'm sure we will be chasing after him while he's running here shortly.