Chicago

July 10

After barreling through heavy rain through most of the morning and early afternoon, I finally picked Jason up at the Indianapolis Airport. While we rolled through the cornfields of Indiana it became apparent we were becoming restless for the streets of Chicago. Jason has never been to the Windy City and I have relatives who call live in the city so it’s almost a second home for me. We checked into our hotel and drove into the jungle of downtown right as the sun went down. We went to visit a friend of Jason’s and then we went to a local pizzeria for some deep dish pizza. After walking down Michigan Avenue and on the riverfront we headed back south to our hotel to rest before the long day ahead of us.


July 11

As soon as we thought the morning traffic passed, the Museum Campus Park on the shores of Lake Michigan became our destination. We parked under Soldier Field and came out of the parking lot to an amazing view of the Museum of Natural History, Shedd Aquarium, Lake Michigan and the “Loop” Skyline including the two tallest buildings in Chicago (Sears Tower and Aon Center). There were families, tourists, runners and even a wild pack of Segway riders. We then headed north along Lake Shore Dr. to the north side of the city to check our Uprise Skate Shop. The guys there were real cool and told us some places to check out in the city. We then headed toward Downtown for lunch in Washington Square. A quick change of clothes and a drive around the city to drop the car off were the only things between us and the Hancock Center. The CTA’s Orange Line and a short cab ride later we were standing in line to go up to the Hancock tower observatory. We walked around the with crowd and saw the tail end of the sunset and the beginning of the warm summer evening. Air-conditioning kept us in the tower for a little longer than expected but we then made our way to Wrigleyville. Chicago’s subway and overhead rail system is an oven on July nights, which along with the filled to capacity train-cars made for an epic trip to the Northside. Celebrations were in mass across, and in a few cases into, the street from the famed Wrigley Field. With only a few hours as the buffer from our arrival and a victory over the rival Saint Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs fans gave us a nice welcome to Chicago nightlife.