Her first view of the city was out the
After landing and getting settled into her hotel, she made arrangements with a fellow conference attendee to travel into Chicago the following day.Bright and early the next day (well, okay, 8:30 or so, which is not all that early as far as the Bag Lady is concerned, but....) she and her traveling companion made their way by taxi to the nearest train station.
After an hour or so on the train, they arrived at Union Station.
They made their way on foot across the canal...
And the 
They then proceeded to stroll (at a rapid pace) to Michigan Avenue, known also as the Magnificent Mile. The Bag Lady snapped a few photos along the way, including this one of the Chicago Board of Trade building....
The woman the Bag Lady was traveling with (tagging along after?) had an agenda, and the next stop was the Art Institute of Chicago.
They spent a lovely hour perusing the art displayed therein (and enjoying the air conditioning) before they continued along the Magnificent Mile.It was an incredibly hot day (101F, the hottest day of their visit), and the travelers stopped several times along the way to cool off in some of the shops they passed. But the Bag Lady's traveling companion had an agenda and was not to be deterred (American Girl - MUST have doll! Coach - MUST have purse! Another Coach outlet to pick up matching wallet! Must NOT stop and rest, or eat, or chat with the locals! Although the Bag Lady did insist on finding a souvenir shop in order to buy the Rancher a ball cap. She promised! And she is an equal-opportunity tourist - she bought him one of each from both the Cubs and the Sox.)
The Bag Lady was wearing an extremely comfortable pair of sandals, but still developed blisters on the soles of her feet! She and her companion
The Drake Hotel!
From the Drake, they took a taxi back to Union Station and caught the train back to their hotel in plenty of time for the Bag Lady's traveling companion to attend a dinner that evening. (The Bag Lady, on the other hand, collapsed in her room with her feet on a bag of ice!)
14 comments:
It sounds like you had a wonderful day. Good for you for being adventurous and taking the train and doing all that exploring.
It was a fabulous day, cousin, and I am so glad I found someone who was willing to explore with me! It's always more fun with someone else.
Sounds like hard work and lots of fun all at the same time! Glad you got a chance to be tourist-y. :)
wow...sounds like you packed a lot in a short day. Glad you're having fun along with your work!
Only a hardworking dairy farmer could put so much energy into touring. I'm so glad you enjoyed my city, despite the heat. Thanks for the post and all the wonderful photos. I hope your feet have recovered by now.
JavaChick - it was a great time, and I was glad I went! (The conference was fun, too, of course.)
Geo - We did, we did! And packed more fun into the remaining days, but there will be more posts about that.... eventually.
Sara - I loved your city! And yes, my feet have recovered, but it definitely curtailed any tap-dancing I may have been tempted to attempt. :)
Wow, sounds like a great time. I wish you had mustered the courage to go up the tower, but, I'm not sure I would have been able to either. Glass floor! Yikes!
Sounds like once the blisters fully heal this will be something you will remember with fondness and possibly want to do again, but at a kinder pace. Thanks for the pics.
Oh that sounds fun. I've only been to Chicago once.. for less than a day so I never got to see too much. Thanks for remedying that for me.
Reb - it was fun! But no, there was no chance I was going to stand on a glass floor that high in the sky. Seriously!
(but wait until you hear what I actually did do in Ottawa!!)
messymimi - the blisters took awhile to heal, but I didn't let that stop me! Went to an outlet mall the next day and walked and walked!
Hilary - wish you could have been along with me! We would have had a blast (and had much better pictures, 'cause I would have made you take them!)
Wow, what an adventure! And I would have done exactly the same thing when it came to the whole Sears tower part. You went up in an airplane, that's good enough!
And glad to see Canadians visiting the U.S., it classes up the place!
Thanks, Crabby! Glad to know there are others who feel the same way about heights and airplanes! On one flight, I had a young boy sitting beside me, so had to pretend I wasn't scared!!
Glass floors, blistered feet--sounds like a match made in heaven to me. What if you'd had a blindfold?
It certainly sounds like fun. The time I was in Chicago for a library conference I didn't get out of the hotel for more than two hours, and I spent them in the Art Institute. The other time I got sick as soon as I got there. You had much better luck.
Mary Anne in Kentucky
Mary Anne - it sounds as though you need to go back to Chicago!
I know I would love to spend more time there.
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