Chicago Fun

 On the road and rolling!  This past Monday, my boyfriend, Rob, and I began our massive road-trip adventure — two months of driving around the Midwest and West Coast, followed by a month-long excursion to Hawaii (my idea, of course).  This weekend, we're in Chicago, and it's the first time that either of us have visited the Windy City.  I must say, I am much more impressed than I expected to be.  Not that I had any strong feelings against Chicago, not at all.  I just didn't really have any feelings of any kind.  My aunt and uncle lived in Lake Zurich, a suburb of Chicago, for a few years before I was born, but other than that, my knowledge of all things Chicagoan consisted of a basic recognition of deep-dish pizza, Wrigley Field, and Oprah.

I'm not new to big cities.  I lived in the mother of them all — New York — for 3 years while in graduate school.  Subsequently, my reactions to most other cities have usually been decidedly tepid.  Boston is okay.  D.C. is nice with all the historic monuments.  But nothing compares to New York.  Nothing compares to the goosebumps I get upon sight of the Manhattan skyline.  What can I say?  I'm a little biased.  I'm a born-and-bred Southern girl whose Manhattan dreams came true.  

So to have enjoyed Chicago so much, I am pleasantly pleased.  Many parts of it reminded me a lot of New York, in a good way, a cleaner/nicer way.  Rob and I went to the top of the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), which is where my uncle worked when they lived here.  The jet-powered elevators to the top were freaky, but once up there, it was a lovely observation area and a wonderful 360-view of the city.  I hadn't realized how "coastal" the entire city is, bordering Lake Michigan, and even how big Lake Michigan itself is.  From there, we roamed around the lakeshore for a few hours, Rob giddily snapping away on his new paparazzi-esque camera.  So much of the architecture in the city is just beautiful, very 'new' and modern-looking yet still refined.  There seems to be much more greenery incorporated throughout compared to New York.

 By early evening, we were starving, and after Google-ing the "best pizza in Chicago," we found ourselves at Giordano's, with a massively deep-dish stuffed pizza.  It was definitely good; I don't think I'd call it the best.  But 2.5+-inches of baked mozzarella was pretty enjoyable, I must admit.  As evening rolled around, we strolled around the Navy Pier area, a lovely outdoor mini-amusement park and festival space.  I wondered why New York doesn't have such a fun gathering spot.  Unfortunately, a weather system was moving in, so we couldn't ride the flagship ferris wheel, but it was fun just to roam around the pier as night fell and to see the city's lights come on.  We're leaning towards staying another day now.

-- Catherine :)

(In case you're interested in following Rob and I's road-trip adventures, Rob has built us a travel blog-type website to chronicle our trip.  The address is www.RoBeau.net.  And my blog is http://oncebittenthriceshy.blogspot.com.)