Chicago

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Friday, May 18th.

We had fun today. We had a relatively short drive from Port Washington to downtown Chicago. Once again we altered our plans and decided to explore downtown before driving out to the suburbs to meet our friends.

We drove along the coast and entered the Millennium Park Garage. It was below the Harris Theatre and adjacent to the Millennium Amphitheater. From there it is a short walk to the river. We took a 1.5 hour "Architecture Tour" on the Chicago River. It was very informative and relaxing. That is until the rain started. The city has seen a lot of development over the last 100 years and the architectural trends are apparent. Plus, it is not over. New projects along the river are still underway. One issue of note was the "river walk" requirement of permitting along the river. Several buildings had odd designs to meet this regulation.

After the tour we drove out to Oak Brook to meet our friends. I use the Waze GPS system on my iPhone. It is good about discovering oncoming problems on the route and will reroute often. Sometimes it is a modern wonder. Other times, not so much. This time my wise GPS rerouted us off I-88 to jammed city streets through Oak Park, Forest Park and Maywood. We felt a little out of place but were able to make it to our hotel in about an hour.

Our hotel, Le Meridien, was awesome and reasonably priced. We had a corner room with nice views. Across the road was the Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse. We met our neighbors there and had a wonderful dinner (best on our entire route). Thanks Brad and Susan for meeting us and dinner.

We are happy now that we did not blow off a visit to the city. Driving downtown is just like in NYC. Not easy but impressive.

Tomorrow we plan to drive to St. Louis.

Take care,

Tom

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Photos

Illinois
Do you have good eyes? Check if you can spot the state sign for Illinois. Jackie was pleased that she got the lottery prize payoffs. But where is my sign??

Chicago
Jackie took this photo as we approached the city. Quite the view coming in.

Millennium Park
This is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. A very large amphitheater. Very nice setting. Just above the garage where we parked.

Chicago River Architecture Tour
This is a tall building along the river. The guide stated all the names, when built and the architect. I don't remember any.

Chicago River Architecture Tour
This is the only exception to the fact that I can't remember any names. This one is TRUMP.

Chicago River Architecture Tour
Another tall building. Shiny and tall.