Neither of us have a childhood surrounded by a busy city life. Philip, loving to run wild on the hundreds of acres his parents built their home on for his sisters and him to have a childhood with plenty to do outside, horses and for Philip, hunting. Philip loved not having a neighbor in site. Despite the fact that Carla was surrounded by both Washington DC and Baltimore her childhood was spent soaking up the coastal Navy love of Annapolis. Cobblestone streets, lacrosse fields, stickers and players everywhere, she was raised in the neighborhood charm of a casual-preppy, leisurely city.
While we still do not live in the grand city of Chicago, we have about a 30 minute drive into what you would call the hussle-and-bussle of city life. False, people are always on the move here, even here in the "suburbs"! If you get in your car, you better know where your gas pedal is and how quickly your vehicle can get off of 0-MPH. There are speed limit signs, but sometimes you have to just "Go" or else you are the traffic jam! So in other words, if you are new and lost you better build up some confidence and get your "smart phone" ready to navigate!
Something so small but noticeable has been in comparison to the South, you do not see the same amount of smiles. It has almost become entertaining because the people are quite nice and friendly, much more than NYC. However, I think the ridiculous winter has something to do with the lack of smiling.
The Summer weather has its variety. We can go from a thunderstorm that looks like a coastal hurricane knocking down power lines and trees in every yard to 96 degrees with horrid humidity to 76 with a light cool breeze. Oh, and "Windy City" - it is windy! Car alarms go off - so it is not just about the politicians, it really is windy!
We have been downtown twice at this point. We have soaked up the tourist opportunities with an hour boat tour, which was wonderful, and if you are to ever visit, spend the money and enjoy!! That same day we visited the Navy Pier, Lakeshore Drive, the original Chicago deep dish pizza for lunch, the miles of beach/lake front along gigantic Lake Michigan, then the Lincoln Park Zoo - 11 miles of walking.
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| Cityscape Getting Ready to Board the Boat |
Our second day in the city was a bit less ambitious. We found ourselves on the Skydeck of the Sears (Willis) Tower overlooking the entire city and Lake Michigan. We enjoyed the walk back on Michigan Ave (great shopping) with a stop in Grant and Millennium Park. We are enjoying these months of being newly weds and tourists! We have been blessed with adventurous hearts, safety and fun. We know there is still so much to see, do and learn, but for now - this is Chicago for us!
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| Originally the Sears Tower, today the Willis Tower |
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| On the Skydeck of the Willis Tower |
 Skydeck on the Willis Tower, Floor 103 |
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| The low and huge building on the right was a Post Office but was used in "The Dark Knight" movie as the Gotham City Bank - from the boat tour you can see it up-close! |
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| Millennium Park |
