Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Chi-Town

TUESDAY, JULY 24TH:
My colleague Rob and I flew to Chicago
last week for the 20th Annual APRA Conference.
APRA stands for the Association of
Professional Researchers for Advancement.
We left Columbus at 9:30 and
arrived at Chicago Midway at 9:35.
We stayed at the Chicago Sheraton
pictured below...
Only 24 room per floor were part of
the curved portions shown below.
Both Rob and I each had one of those rooms.
Yes, I know I'm a redneck. Here
are photos of the interior of my room...




These next three photos were shot
from the windows in Room 1118.
We were at the corner of
Columbus Drive and the
Chicago River.



I rushed from my hotel, walking
two miles to Union Station, which is
off Jackson in the shadow of the
Sears Tower. What I failed to
do was remember to take cash
for the train fare...So I missed
the 11:30 train and had to find
an ATM to catch the 12:30.
Why the rush?
I wanted to travel to the
northwestern suburb of Elgin
to meet my cousin Joey and
Daddy's sister Jimmy.
It took an hour and ten minutes
to get to Elgin.

Once there Joey took me to her
lovely new home and showed me
around. Then we decided to travel
another hour to Aunt Jimmy's new
home in Poplar Grove near the
Wisconsin state line.
Pictured below are
Jasmine, Elizabeth's best friend;
Elizabeth (Liz), Grace's daughter;
Grace, my first cousin and Aunt
Jimmy's middle daughter;
Aunt Jimmy;
and Joey, another first cousin and
Aunt Jimmy's oldest daughter.

The day ended with a train ride
back to Union Station, arriving about 10:30.


-------------------------------

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25TH:

Below are some scenes from
outside the hotel...






After the conference ended, I went back
to my room before leaving for Navy Pier.
I heard sirens and counted four
fire trucks, an ambulance,
a police boat, and a US Coast
Guard boat. Don't know why...

I headed to Navy Pier Wednesday night
for the bi-weekly free fireworks show.
I loved all of the city's fountains.
Below is one with dancing shafts
of water: I LOVED it!!!


The entrance to Navy Pier...



A shot of downtown from the pier
using my night vision on the camera...

And finally the fireworks!



This little lady stood near me.
We oohed and ahhed together...



On my way back to the hotel,
the water arc was gushing.
It's supposedly a memorial
to the Great Chicago Fire.
The arc stretches the entire width
of the Chicago River near
where it empties into
Lake Michigan.

THURSDAY, JULY 26TH:
I had lunch at the Chicago Burger Co.
YUM!
I had a salmon burger with guacamole
sauce and gorganzola cheese!



The next photo is for you, Ione!



A little different view of the arc...

Behind the arc is this fountain.
It recognizes Chicago's goal of
keeping its water pure.
Too bad all the beaches were
shut down this year because
of the high concentrations
of e. coli in Lake Michigan!!!











Liz was so kind to buy me a ticket
to Blue Man Group on Thursday night.
I'd been wanting to see the show for
years now. It was a lot of fun!


FRIDAY, JULY 27TH:
Rob and I took a stroll through
Grant Park. From here we could
have walked to the bean,
but I wanted to see Buckingham
Fountain first...

The gardens leading to Buckingham...









Rob was hot and sweaty (and
pretty rancid) so he went back to
the hotel to clean up before our
last session of the day.
(I'm kidding about the rancid part.)
I went on to Millennium Park.




I know the pavilion looks tiny in
this photo, but it's actually gigantic!

The BEAN!



The walk home...Look familiar?




On Friday night, APRA attendees
were given the option of taking a
dinner cruise around Lake Michigan.
Here are some shots of Downtown
from the boat...



This lone skyscraper is said to be
Oprah's abode...




Goodbye, Chicago! It was nice to meet you!!!


No comments: