Chicago-day 3

First stop in the BIG city: Willis tower (formerly known as sears tower.) 

The above picture was the view from the ground and then a zoomed in view of the little retractable glass rooms we would be standing on/in on later.  Yep, those things that look like ants inside of the glass box are actually people.

“WOW, everything is so small!”

The view from the top of the world.

Here we are waiting to get into the little retractable glass room. While we were standing in line you could feel the floor beneath us moving.  Kyle actually moved from the line to go stand between the retractable rooms (where the floor felt more sturdy.)  I’m not really afraid of heights, but I have to admit it was a bit nerve wracking.

Kyle was nervous as heck, but finally took a step out onto it.

Here are some total strangers in the little glass room next to ours, I just thought it was cool for some perspective on the room.

Overall, sky deck was very cool and worth the money to visit.  The elevator ride was fun and fast but we were also there bright and early.  I can only imagine how bad the lines are later in the day. EEK!

Elliot and Lauren looked like they were on a date.

Next stop was Buckingham fountain.  It was pretty!

Next up was a cool water feature in Millenium Park.  There were two tall towers that the water came out from and the pictures changed behind the glass blocks.  It was very fun to watch.  I think it was called “faces” and I think you can tell why. The smart parents brought swim suits for the kids.  I wasn’t one of the aforementioned (but I did bring a change of clothes for afterward.)  Lauren was by far the most excited to explore the water and it showed.

I’m not even sure which building this is.  I just though it looked so pretty with the reflection of the thin white clouds showing all along its face. Next up on our marathon tour of downtown was “The bean.”  This was a very cool sculpture that has the same nickname as Lauren, so it was a no brainer when we were planning out our day trip.

It was incredibly sunny, and while I did a great job packing (very light!!) I forgot those essentials for Lauren. She just borrowed mine, very chic, huh?

Then, it was time for a bus ride down to the restaurant where we planned to eat lunch.

Yeaaaaah Baby!  Lunch was at Gino’s East for the original deep dish Chicago pizza.  It was TO DIE FOR!  They also had this cool vibe going on in there.  I didn’t realize it was a graffiti loving place or I would have brought a sharpie.  I finally found a gold sharpie as we were leaving so we could leave our mark (the crayons didn’t really do the trick.)

After a walk down the magnificent mile (no time for shopping, but boy did I want to!!) and a chocolate shake stop, it was time for a water taxi ride back to where we parked.

If you can believe it or not, we stopped at a mall and did a little shopping on the way home.  Here is Lauren, my energizer bunny stealing my tea and being hyper.

WHAT. A. DAY.

Thanks so much Good Family for taking us into the big city!!