Midwest Trip: Day 4

CHICAGO!
Pics from day 4


I arrived here via car from Wisconsin earrrrly in the morning. I was dropped off at O'Hare and rode the "L" into town. Man, its an overwhelming feeling when you exit the subway station and are surrounded by massively tall buildings where people are rushing to and fro. I was in Chicago...

My gracious friend Bruce let me stay with him at the Hyatt for a night while he attends a conference in town. I got a quick crash course on downtown Chicago as I lugged my backpack and duffle bag through the city looking for the hotel. After I arrived, I took a quick shower and was off to explore the city. The hotel was directly next to the Chicago river and very to the Magnificient Mile. First went to check out the Michigan Ave. bridge and a quick stroll on Michigan Ave. It was creeping up towards lunch time so I figured I'd have my first Chicago meal. Time for some Chicago deep dish pizza. I strolled across North River to a restaurant recommended to me called Lou Malnati's. Maybe it was just me... but it was just alright. I've actually had better Chicago style deep dish in California. Oh well...

I took another "L" train through the Loop, to really get a feel for the city. It was interesting and somewhat stalkerish to be able to look into office and apartment windows from the trains.
Next up, Millennium Park. Beautiful new park with very intriguing art. Yup, saw the giant bean, but I was really impressed by the performing arts auditorium - it was very reminiscent of Disney's Music Hall in LA.

I started to walk south, knowing that Grant Park and eventually, the Museum Campus was ahead of me. Saw Buckingham Fountain (of Married with Children fame) along the way, the fountain really is huge. I made it to the Musem Campus where I went to the Field Museum of Natural History - for free! Saw Sue, the most complete T-Rex fossil and a bunch of other things. I was so tired by this point because I was up since the crack of dawn, I started falling asleep in some of the video exhibits at the Field. For those who know about my European backpacking trip, this is nothing new.
I walked right back up Michigan Ave. after the Field Museum and stopped by a nice lil cafe in Millennium Park. Took a lil' rest and headed back to the hotel room.

My buddy Bruce was awesome and got me into the coorporate party his company was throwing that night. It was great! Yummy food, BMX/Skateboard riders, Richard Cheese performed, Arcade/Video games, Segway rides and more! What a way to end my first day in Chicago!