We were in Stu's little car and started the trip at about 9 am via Gary, Indiana and through three states (Michigan, Indiana and Illinois) before getting to downtown Chicago at about 11.30 am.
We hit the Sears Tower first which was truly an amazing architectural achievement. Now this was the tallest building in the world up to the completion of the KLCC, but I can help noticing that in the into video that the let you watch, they emphasized the fact that the Sears had 110 storeys vs KLCC which has 80+ and that KLCC won due to the length of its antenna.. Yeah.
The view from the top floor was really magnificent to say the least. You are able to see the other tall buildings that make up the skyline of Chicago very well, and we were fortunate that it was a clear day as well.
I bought all sorts of souvenirs and we later headed to our boat tour.
Now this is one experience I'll never forget. Not only did the tour showcase the best of the downtown great buildings, but near the end of the boat ride, the skies completely poured on us, and if not due to some fancy footwork getting down to the lower cabin, I would probably have been soaking wet.
The tour had a very knowledgeable guide from the Architect Institute, and she really educated us on the history of some of the more famous buildings which I now can hardly remember : P..
Anyway, we did have a splendid time and we then hit some really cool places like the United Centre (home of the Chicago Bulls) and the Union Train Station.
The next stop was the theatrical performance by the Blueman Group (a.k.a The Mirinda Guys) which was interesting, humourous as well as intelligent very well thought of. Location - Briar Street Theatre which directions you have to Google up.
Then, we just had to stop at the Wrigley's Field, home of one of two Chicago's biggest baseball teams - The Chicago Cubs (the other being White Sox).
I am not sure whether that actually was a good idcea as they actually HAD a game on that day, and the traffic crawl was just terrible. We managed to get there eventually and it was worth it as I got to see first hand what the atmosphere was like, and given they WERE playing the White Sox, it made it extra special.
The stadium was huge and the noise level was tremendous as the build up to the game grew every second. As it was right smack in the middle of some shop lots, you could see some fans on top of leased roof of these shophouses, trying to catch a home run ball.
Unforgettable!My last stop was Hard Rock Cafe, just so I could get a souvenir T-shirt.
Stu drove all the way home as I dozed off in the car and reached back at the hotel at 11.30 pm!What an experience!
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