Trip to the Windy City

I spent the week last week in Chicago for work (my company is based there) and got to sneak in a few "tourist" sites while I was there. I stayed at a super cute hotel that was very modern and trendy and the complete opposite of anything Duke and I would ever stay in when we travel together so that was fun. I ate WAY too much pizza although it was quite good and I have to say I will think twice before ordering Pizza Hut or Domino's again. :)

Speaking of food...we ate at a wonderful steak restaurant called Gibson's and if you ever get to visit Chicago...you MUST eat here. It was SO good and so was the people watching! Fun times! All of the walls were lined with signatures from famous people that visit there often so that was fun to look at as well. Unfortunately, Brad Pitt choose not to eat there that night. :(

I made it down to Michigan Avenue (dangerous since Duke wasn't with me to be my voice of reason) a few times and it was nice to have time to walk around and see things. Downtown Chicago has some beautiful buildings and the weather was great. They were filming Transformers 3 outside one of the nearby hotels so I walked over there but wasn't able to see much. They had the concrete all torn up and were obviously shooting a scene that involved guns and police cars but other than that...I couldn't tell much. Sorry I'm not able to provide any "spoilers" for you guys. :)

Speaking of "spoilers," I feel certain that I saw at least a dozen of the future American Idol contestants preforming on the sidewalks. I can't promise if they will make it into the show or simply make the preview show where they show all of the "good" hopefuls...but I feel certain I will see at least 3 of them this year. Just call me Chicago's newest "talent scout." :)

The first night in town, some of us went up to the top of The Sears Tower (now called the Willis Tower) and it was beautiful.

We rode an elevator up to the top (103 stories) and this was the view at the top...

Pretty impressive, huh?

Recently they added this "sky deck" to one side of the building and it is literally a piece of super thick glass (I'm sure there is a more technical term for it, but you get the point) that allows you to walk out a few feet and look down with a clear view (since all you are standing on is glass). I was feeling adventurous so I ventured out onto it and this was the view, some 1,300 feet in the air.....

It really is breathtaking and just might cure anyone's fear of heights...

This photo was taken from another window of the tower...I was hoping Duke and Addison would be able to see how it truly is a ledge. Can you see the bottom??

This is what it looks like if you were able to see the top of the building from the ground...

We were up there while the sun was going down and it was absolutely gorgeous...



The view was so pretty once the sun went down...

It was crazy to me that you can not see the top of this building from the street...


Overall it was a great trip and it was fun to be a "tourist" for a week. Thanks Chicago for a fun trip!