Team Thriller Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 How many times I've driven through Gurnee, but never went in. DANG! And looking at this made me want to go there even more. Great job and keep it up! --James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraken613 Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Nice trip reports! Really entertaining! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 WARNING!!! -- Many many pictures, so this page may take a little while to load.... Having arrived on the Monday and hit SFGAm on the Tuesday, Cameron and I in our many scheduling conversations had dedicated Wednesday to being tourists. My dad spent a lot of time working in Chicago when I was little, and I had once visited friends in the outskirts when I was pretty young, but I remembered nothing of my visit (only the airport from various layovers) and only had my Dad's many stories to go off. Basically, Cameron being the awesomeness that he is (he's gonna get so much praise in this report), I sent him a massive list of things I was interested in doing, and he figured out what we had time to do, what was worth doing, added bits, scrapped bits, and generally figured it all out for me. I'd pay for service like that! So, after breakfast, Matt and Paul drove over, and the four of us headed over to the El train, which I was extremely excited about a) because I love trains, and b) because I'm a *huge* ER fan. By the end of the day I was cursing the speed (or rather lack thereof) of the damn things, but it was still a fun experience. Whoo, Wrigley Field! Didn't get to see a game, but maybe next time. Random road shot from the train. We got off the train, coming out from underground, right onto a busy street, which I *loved*. None of this knowing-what's-coming crap. Walked a few blocks with the two locals pointing out buildings and sights to Paul and I. Paul took some touristy pictures but for the most part I was too busy chilling out and taking in the city (I love cities) to bother, until we reached... The Sears Tower!! I was so pleased to be here, I love skyscrapers, love cities, love observation towers, love impressive views... Not such a fan of the educational pre-show, but okay, I'll deal with it. We walked past a little way before actually heading inside... This would have been a much better shot except that the human race was irritating me, and it was too hot, and I have the patience of a bear with a migraine. No idea what this building is, but I really like this picture for some reason. In the "elevator" on the way up to the ticket office in the Sears Tower. This picture makes me laugh because I always wonder "how did I take the photo?!", and then realise that one of those hands isn't mine! I have literally like fifty pictures taken from the observation floor, but I'll try not to post too many. General overview from one side... I love coastlines from a great height. Ginormous roads and buildings look so teeny from up here! Awwww, the other skyscrapers are so little!! You can see miles into the distance, would be even further if the air was clearer. The John Hancock building stands well above most of the others, but still far beneath the Sears. LOL at how much I'm being to sound like the informational video pre-show which REALLY struggled with the fact that the Tower is no longer a record-breaker. I thought this building was really amazingly gorgeous looking.... The triangular one I mean. Turns out it's a prison! Check out the inmates playing football or something on the roof. Cool sculpture I would've liked to have seen but we weren't walking that direction. Cameron's finger was pointing out.... I don't know what. Mmmmmmm, Harrison Ford. In the elevator going back down... Our reflections, plus some of our bird guides. The boys made me re-take this in the street (the first one had fellow pedestrians in the frame) right before the cars started moving... I was scared!! It isn't dead centre but I like it anyway. In the blinding heat, we headed over to Grant Park. More city views on the way. Paul was hot too. And half-blinded, apparently. Buckingham Fountain... "in full spurt". Me and Cameron striking a pose. This is a useless angle for a picture, but I loved the details on the fountain. Matt's all "I'm a local and can't even deal with the heat! Yeah, I'm pretty much a p*ssy". I love the sight of cityscape behind park. No idea what Paul is doing.... Landing, I think. I think it was around this point that I decided I wanted to live in Chicago. It's seriously one of only a couple of cities I've been to where I've felt like that. Sooooo pretty!! I'm a giant aquarium enthusiast so we just HAD to head over to the Shedd Aquarium, seeing as it is (or at least was) the biggest indoor aquarium in the world. The turtles on the lobby ceiling made me think of Derek! And here's the real version!! I dragged the boys into a 4D movie because it sounded like it was gonna be good... We were a dolphin!!!! Unfortunately, not only was it crap, but it also came as a double feature with Spongebob Squarepants, which I think all four of us despised. I felt bad for making other human beings sit through that.... On the plus side, there were bubbles! And they weren't poisoned Six Flags bubbles either, they were clean and safe bubbles!! Considering they were about to watch a Spongebob Movie and some crappy dolphin show, they look pretty upbeat!! Haha, slurp chomp and gulp. From an educational video. Finding Nemo was a great movie, but has a lot to answer for. My camera has some weird modes which make me seem to get lucky with great shots sometimes. This one is rather funky. This one didn't come out so well, but still a cool creature. Waiting for the dolphin show. "Is it a myth that this show runs about ten minutes too long?" Cool glowing jellyfish. *bounce* I found Nemo! He's blurry, but it's *definitely* him! I have no caption for this. Shortly before we left the aquarium, Matt had to leave us as he was heading off on a business trip the next day. Thank you so much for hanging out with us Matt, it was so great to finally meet you!! After leaving the aquarium, we grabbed an ice cream (after spending several hours in air-conditioned heaven, going outside was torturous!) and walked along the water to Millennium Park. Bunnies!!! All the art and sculpture and architecture is VERY f*cking cool, I loved this place. Everywhere you turned there was something cool with an awesome backdrop. More coolness. I sooooo wanted to go and jump on this stage! Further along in the park we found these incredible sculptures/fountains. They're made out of glass bricks, with giant video screens behind them. Water pours down the glass bricks, and every once in a while the face behind the glass will smile and then pout and pour vast amounts of water out of their mouth all over the waiting kids. It's really cool, and not only is it a brilliant thing for tourists and locals to look at, but acts as a free waterpark for the kids in the area. For me, I didn't want to get soaked and then have to eat in a restaurant and get on a train, but even dipping my feet in it felt pretty good. Next time I'll wear a bikini. From a different angle it's easier to see the structure of the sculpture and the wall of water pouring down the side. At this point, my camera battery died. Paul has kindly donated his pictures to me, all photos hereafter are therefore credit to him!! Thanks Paul!! Another of the cool faces. This one looks like one of my old university lecturers. Looking back towards Grant Park. THE BEAN!!! Probably my favourite piece of art from the whole trip, this thing was so awesome!! Hi there!! Cool view of the city (and us) in the Bean. One of my favourite pictures, I think it's great. Paul, you got some GREAT shots, I love this one too. Everywhere you go in Chicago there are nice-looking buildings, many of them unusual. One of the things on the original list of ideas I sent to Cameron was Navy Pier. The attractions are expensive, and it's a lot more touristy that many places, but I still wanted to go down and see what it was like, mingle in with the other tourists, and be by the water, which I love. So we walked down there... I don't know how far it is, in a more friendly climate it probably wouldn't have seemed a long walk, but Paul and I were really flagging by the time we got there! I'm telling you, the huge glass of Coke with ice I got in the bar/restaurant on the Pier was the best drink I've ever had. This place had a really nice atmosphere to it, all quite chilled out and everybody happy. I liked it very much. Still so in love with this city... After dinner, we walked around to the side of the Pier and sat on the wall for half an hour or so, just chatting, taking pictures, and enjoying the breeze. Watching the sun set over the city was another thing to add to my list of highlights. I'm so glad Paul was there, his photos are so much prettier than mine would have been. Walking back to the train station we walked along part of the Magnificent Mile. Almost everything was closed, but I loved walking along drooling in the windows of so many stores. Probably a good thing most places were shut or a huge chunk of my spending money would have disappeared in this one evening. We passed this water tower (which I believe has a lot of history surrounding it) somewhere along the way. The train ride back to Cameron's is one of the few bad memories I have of my whole trip. At some point in the last hour or so I'd developed a horrendous headache which was making me feel sick to my stomach. And of course, right near us on the train were some of the loudest most obnoxious people you could ever hope to sit with on public transport. Thankfully, a cold shower and a double dose of painkillers back at Cameron's dulled it enough that we could still stick with our evening plans to go to this AMAZING little jazz bar called the Green Mill. The band, Alfonso Ponticelli & the Swing Gitan, were really cool, and I fell in love with the bar. I love places with history, and hell, Al Capone used to drink there! It was really nice to get to go somewhere that for the most part is locals only, with just the odd tourist arriving here and there. So this ended up being a loooong report, but it was a long day!! Thanks Paul for filling in the gaps!! Up next is Indiana Beach!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFreak Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Sounds like an awesome time! I'm also a huge fan of the sky scrappers (and major city architecture in general) and those pics from the top of the Sears Tower were awesome. I really need to get to more major US cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 I love the sight of cityscape behind park. No idea what Paul is doing.... Landing, I think. Yeah, I think I was jumping into the picture but didn't time it right. This one gave me a flash back to high school sex ed. This part brings back quite fond memories. I loved Chicago as well. Probably is my 2nd favorite city behind London. It was so awesome just hanging out and seeing the sights. Although by the end of the day my feet were so sore. I was dieing on the walk over to Navy Pier. A couple cold pints refreshed me though. Oh and that Sponge Bob 3D movie is the one that plays in the theme parks. I've lost track of how many time's I've seen it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65skylark Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 I think it was around this point that I decided I wanted to live in Chicago. It's seriously one of only a couple of cities I've been to where I've felt like that. That's because you haven't been to Portland yet! I have no caption for this Yes you do . Great pics Lou! (and Paul) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitzmorrism Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Great city- you get time to go by the Billy Goat tavern? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRapidsNerd Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Dude! Having only passe briefly through O'Hare airport, I'm just in awe of Chicago! Had no idea how much cool stuff was about. The Bean rocks. Awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotdane Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Hey Lou! Awesome TR so far...And you're almost to the best part! When you met me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 I don't know why, but for some reason, Chicago has always intrigued me. I've never been there, but for some strange reason I have this yearning to take a trip and see the city. One day... Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalMAN123 Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Glad you had fun in Chicago Lou! One of my plans was to hit up Chicago and the whole Midwest this year, but stupid money got in the way. Oh well, in the near future I'll get myself out there. Great captions, can't wait to see the pics from Socal! ---Brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Thriller Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Amazing pictures! Chicago is truly one of the greatest cities in the world! The sights, sounds, and wonder. Your pictures made it look even better --James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Addison Drive, Wrigley Field, and the road under the el train remind me of the Blues Brothers movie. The Fountain that was first posted reminds me of the show Married with Children. Nice pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moose Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Great pictures, thanks for the tour of Chicago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IggyACE Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Lou you have been to more places in the city then I have and I only live 30 miles south of Chicago! You do not look like a wet mop! And just curious, what do you have with you boobs? Is Cameron just trying to help you out? And thanks for the comments on my kids. I try my best! Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Just wanted to say how much I'm loving this TR Lou! I was also in Chicago in August but I was having camera issues at the time so seeing your photos brought back some nice memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 LOL Lou! You saw pretty much the same stuff i did when I was in Chicago a few years ago... except I didn't have Cameron, Paul, and Matt. I had the same reaction to the prison too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 God dang it was hot that day. Next time you come here, it must not be in August. That was a great way to end a week of coaster whoring with Paul. I don't typically go to any of the sights, and I hadn't been to the aquarium in about ten years. It was awesome to finally meet you Lou, you must come back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Awesome TR Lou. I'm so incredibly jealous of your jet setting life style over the past year! Looking forward to seeing more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 Thanks for the comments as always guys. Anybody who hasn't been to Chicago must go immediately, it's seriously one of my favourite cities. I was lucky enough to go to a bunch of amazing places this year, a few of which stand out more than others, each for a different reason. Chicago is definitely near the top of the list, I just adored the atmosphere and the culture and architecture. Craig, in one picture I'm obviously, erm, readjusting my bra (and why do you look so emo and serious in that shot?!?!), and in another shot I'm in pain! I have no idea why Cameron is "helping", LOL! Divv, glad my pictures brought back some memories! Did you go to Chicago before/after the Midwest trip?? Nicole, glad somebody else noticed the prison, that cracked me up! Matt, it was ridiculously hot... But after a day in Palmdale and several weeks in ridiculous heat and humidity in Asia... Seriously, it pales in comparison. I'm still amazed that I never passed out on this trip, and that I was only ill once! I don't deal well with heat, generally speaking. Chrissie, you have no reason to be jealous, you spent three months working at Walt Disney World this year!! I'm jealous of *you*! I can't sleep, so Indy Beach is probably coming up pretty shortly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 The heat mostly got to me as Matt and I had just returned from Minnesota where it was cold and rainy. I spent 3 weekends in August in the midwest, and I thought I was going to melt every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Midwest heat isn't that bad. I bared it for the past 25 1/2 years of my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 ^Well, when you live in it all your life, you get used to it. Just like I think the snow in Buffalo isn't that bad. Anyway, great pics Lou, keep them coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Yay! Turtles!!!!! Now I have another reason to go back to Chicago other than for the hot dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 ^^ Nicole beat me to it, but yeah, if you live with it it's easy. When I was in California there was a night when it dropped to like 50 or something and I was still happily walking around in a tank top enjoying the warmth while Jahan was sitting there shivering in a hoodie!! People are natural adaptors, we acclimatise to our environment. ^ Dude, the turtles at the aquarium were awesome!! I think I actually have turtle video somewhere... I KNOW I have otter video! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts