Chicago!

Last weekend we were in Chicago.  A lovely friend of mine from Bryn Mawr was getting married and there was no place better I would have been than in Chicago to celebrate the special day with her.  The wedding happened to fall the day before Mr. J's birthday so we decided to make quite the weekend.

We were able to stay at the Drake Hotel.  The place where Princess Diana stayed when she visited Chicago. Marylin Monroe and Joe DiMaggio also frequented the hotel and bar.  It was a very neat building that overlooked Lake Michigan on one side and was the beginning of the famed Magnificent Mile on the other.  Our room ended up being a gigantic corner room.  No, we are not super rich or famous.  We just travel a ton for work.  When I am cursing to myself about a canceled or delayed flight, I think of these perks and my negative thoughts diminish somewhat.

Regardless of the room and location, any hotel that offers Peter Roth Thomas products is a grand in my book.  I made Mr. J store all of the extras in his toiletry bag.

I haven't been to Chicago for at least 10 years.  Mr. J works with Northwestern but stays north of the city when he visits.  One of our favorite things to do in a new city is simply walk around and enjoy the atmosphere. I was in awe of all of the buildings.  We got a three day Chicago Go Pass.  It was on sale for $102 per person which allowed General Admission to basically every tourist attraction for 3 days.  The first thing did was the Architecture Boat Ride on the river.  The only things I know about architecture is from what I read in "Devil in the White City".  It was interesting to learn about the different styles and history of each building.  The views were amazing.

Our passes also got us onto any ride at the Navy Pier.  I was very excited to ride the Ferris wheel.  Although this on is smaller than the first one at the world exposition way back when I was still a bit fearful.  I am not scared of heights but I kept thinking that it was stopping. 

Mr. J may look innocent but he tried to sway the seat a few times.  He was mad because I wouldn't let him sit next to me.  Our little bucket was leaning way too much for my comfort.

The ride was almost 8 minutes.  It was a long 8 minutes in my mind but again the views of the city were amazing!

Millennium Park had this thing we affectionately called "the Bean".  It was a very reflective work of art that you could walk around and underneath.

 This was the only picture we have together but you can see us in the bean.

Among the various activities in the city, we managed to walk north to Wrigley Field.  It was so small. I am used to Fenway which is by no means big but Wrigley was small even compared to Fenway.

More highlights to come, including yummy yummy food sites.   We could not have asked for a better weekend.