Chicago, part 2.

We arrived in Chicago for the next phase of the trip. Cassie had never been to Chicago before so we had to do the usual. We started out at Alder Planetarium, which we breezed through and then made our way to the Shedd Aquarium.

Cassie was really interested in the architectural details of the Shedd Aquarium, like the octopus light and this door, as a few examples.

From there we went to the Field Museum. I think that we could have spent all day there, and still not seen everything.

Next, we made our way to the Sears Tower. How can you go to Chicago without going up the Sears Tower? I almost forgot to mention the serenade that we got while on Chicago public transit. American Idol tryouts were in Chicago that weekend. So, just about every bus near Soldier Field, including the ones we took to/from the Field Museum, Alder Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, and the Sears Tower were full of wannabes and AI hopefuls. They all had to show off their skills on the public transit. I am not sure what was more annoying, all of the singing everywhere or the ridiculously full busses of people heading to/from Soldier Field. Anyhoo, we made it to the Sears Tower and the observatory. Here is the skyline and Lake Michigan looking northeast and southeast. We weren’t able to see across the lake into Michigan.

From there we went to the Art Institute of Chicago. Cassie was really excited about this because they had an exhibit of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Cassie is a big fan of art nouveau and seeing his work was fascinating. Unfortunately, they didn’t allow flash photography.

As if this day wasn’t full enough, we went to see a ComedySportz show. This is an improvisational comedy sketch show where two teams compete to show off their improv skills. I am easily amused so I really enjoyed the show. We ate dinner at a little steak house across the street from the ComedySportz Theater.

The next day we started out at the Navy Pier and enjoyed a ride on the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel. We also took a picture of the skyline from the Ferris Wheel.
I got a Chicago style hot dog at the Navy Pier. I wouldn’t eat them often, but they are really good for a change. There was an exhibition of stained glass windows at the Navy Pier so we looked at that too. Here is one of the pictures from that.
From there we hit the miracle mile. Cassie enjoyed window shopping but didn’t buy much. While we were on that side of town we went to the Hancock Observatory. We also walked down to the famed Water Tower.

For dinner we ate at the Grand Lux Café. This is a restaurant that is owned by the same people who own the Cheesecake Factory, and the Grand Lux Café has a menu that outshines the Cheesecake Factory’s. I try to go there when I am in Chicago.

The most important thing we did was go to Gino’s East for some Chicago style pizza. We rounded out our trip with a trip to the Millennium Park and Buckingham Fountain. The "bean" as we called it was pretty cool. It made an interesting view of the skyline.