Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Chicago Vacation: Part 3

Monday morning we headed back into the city to do some sight seeing! This is the skyline driving in. It was a cloudy, cold day, but thankfully it wasn't raining.


That big, black tower in the middle is the Willis Tower. It used to be the Sears Tower and for a long time,the tallest building in the world. It is 110 stories. But, now it's only the tallest building in the United States.







It is the building where you can visit the skydeck- the clear glass ledge where you are basically suspended over the city and you can see far below you.









Yeah. Um, thanks, but I. don't. think. so.










I'll just look from down here.













Here we are driving onto Michigan Avenue. The "Magnificent Mile". I would liken it to the "Rodeo Drive" of California. (I've never been to Rodeo Drive, but that's what I would liken it to.)









It has all the expensive stores, restaurants, banks and exchanges and more expensive stores.













This is Grant Park. It is the oldest section of Michigan Avenue. Most of Michigan Avenue used to be residential and was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1871.














This is the Chicago Art Institute. David took me here right after we started dating, on my first trip to Chicago in 1994. This weekend was actually the 17th anniversary of that first trip!






















This is the skyline heading back into Chicago. We took a little detour to drive along Lake Shore Drive to look at Lake Michigan and then turned around and headed back in. The black building in front is the Hancock Center.










The Drake Hotel.












This is Lake Michigan. I wanted to get better pictures, but we decided not to stop and get out because is was COLD. About 9 years ago, when Bethany was a baby, we took a trip up there and stayed with some friends closer to the Wisconsin border. Brittany, Tyler and Timothy got their feet wet in Lake Michigan, but it really was too cold to go swimming then. That was in JULY. I can only imagine in November.













This is Moody Bible Institute. David actually considered applying here to get his Masters, but decided against it.






We were teasing Timothy about his name being on that pub, since he always sings Tim Hawkin's "I don't drink beer." That light blue building in the upper right corner is Trump Tower.








Wouldn't it be kind of cool to live in one of these buildings on Lake Michigan near all the hustle and bustle of downtown Chicago and Michigan Avenue? I believe Oprah's apartment is in Water Tower Place and was on the market for over a million dollars.






Maybe for a brief while, but I still want my land out in the country.










It appears someone hijacked my camera.











2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I lived in Chicago for over 20 years after graduating from college. I used to wrk across the street from the Sears Tower. It's a great city. One of the best things is the lakefront. The entire lakefront that borders the east side of the city is all designated public park property. Small correction, Oprah's condo is near Water Tower Place, but in a different building just off the lake. Right next to Water Tower Place is the Hancock building. It is the 2nd tallest building in Chicago and the 2nd or 3rd tallest in the U.S. (I don't remember how it compares to the Empire State building). Thanks for posting the pictures.

Courtney said...

Yeah-I wasn't sure about Oprah, but that's what I had heard. I'm so glad we took the time this visit to go into the city. We had a great time!

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