Windy City One and Two

*Excuse spelling and grammar for now, until I proofread. Very tired right now, too much so to do this.

I didn't have time to post anything last night because I was busy and fatigued, but after day two I'm reasonably well rested and ready to type. The Greyhound ride from Pittsburgh to Chicago was about what you would expect, with your average assortment of shady characters and confused-looking foreigners. With the exception of a 3 AM layover in Cleveland, my friend and I were able to sleep for most of the ten hour trip, and we got to Chicago at about 10 AM yesterday. 

With a packed itinerary, we headed out into the city right away and made for the Sears Tower (It is actually now called the Willis Tower, as you may or may not have heard, but I mean come on, its still the Sears Tower). I will actually be posting a link to the custom google map that we have made to organize our attractions, but I won't be doing this until after we leave Chicago to avoid meeting up with any stalkers. Anyway, thankfully it was a clear day, and we were able to see the promised four states from the top. I have to say that this may have been the most breathtaking view I have ever witnessed, and certainly the highest, at 103 stories up. The wait to get to the top was ridiculously long for this being so far from peak touring season, but I must grudgingly admit that is was worth it. 

From there, we hit most of the remaining downtown attractions (things that you have never heard of), such as the Rookery, the Marquette Building, the Reliance Building, the Oriental Theatre, the Chicago Theatre, the R.R. Donnelley Building, the James R. Thompson Center, and 333 West Wacker Drive. These places may seem obscure, but if you have an appreciation for history, and the Eyewitness travel guide to Chicago is your bible, like it is mine right now, you get pretty excited as you look at the little pictures in the book and then look up at the real thing. By that time, we had a pretty good feel for the city, and had figured out the CTA train network enough to get around, so we headed home before nightfall to get some sleep and strike out again the next day. 

The next day, today, it was supposed to rain, so we planned on visiting some museums. When we got out however, although very windy, it wasn't raining, so we took a walk along Wacker Drive, seeing the stunning Marina City in the process, as well as the Wrigley Building and the Chicago Tribune Tower. From the River Walk, we cut through Millennium Park on our way to the Art Institute of Chicago. Now, you may not know this, but in the park there is a giant jelly-bean like sculpture with a mirror finish. I have seen many picture of it, but in person it is just enormous, and to shun my usual writing voice for a second, this thing was freaking sick. Anyway, the art museum was a good stop, especially considering that we were able to pass for college students and thus get a nice discount on the tickets. After seeing such famous masterpieces as American Gothic, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, and Van Gogh's Self Portrait, we proceeded to the Adler Planetarium, braving fifteen minutes of brutal wind only to arrive five minutes before closing. It was worth the walk however, as the planetarium, jutting out into Lake Michigan as it does, provided the perfect spot to look upon the entire chicago skyline and get so priceless pictures. 

The sun was beginning to set, so we finally decided to call it a day after seeing the largest public library building in the world, and the oldest surviving passenger railroad station in the city. Now I'm getting really tired, and need to get some sleep, so I will wrap this post up. I haven't put up any pictures because they are all still on my camera, and I have nothing to transfer them with, but I will when I get home or maybe sooner. As for tomorrow's itinerary, I think we are going to check out some historic districts and churches, so I'll probably give some background info on the city in my next post. I'm not sure, but until then, cheers.