Lee and I are back from a great trip to the Windy City. We left Wednesday, May 28 and came home Saturday, May 31. I had a seminar in town for work, so we decided to take a few extra days and have ourselves a mini-vacation. I have been to Chicago a few times in the past, but Lee had never been there before.
We stayed at the Club Quarters members-only hotel at Wacker and Michigan in the Mather Tower. IU is a member, so we got a great rate in downtown Chicago. The room was a bit small, but it really didn't matter because we weren't in it that much. They also had an interesting bottled water dispenser. Bizarre!
When we arrived on Wednesday, we settled in the hotel and then put on our walking shoes. Since we were steps from Michigan Avenue, we walked the famed Magnificent Mile. After a quick change, we also went to see Wicked the Musical. It was the most amazing musical production I have ever seen (and I have seen a lot!). For those of you who don't know, it is the story of the Witches of Oz before Dorothy's arrival. Things aren't what the movie makes it out to seem. In the musical you find out why the Wicked Witch is "wicked", why Glinda is "good", the story behind the ruby slippers, why the Cowardly Lion is a coward, why the Tin Man has no heart, and why the Scarecrow is a scarecrow. The sets were amazing, and the songs chilled you to the bones. Great performance!
On Thursday we had quite a busy day. We took a boat tour of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River. We also visited Millenium Park. The Cloud Gate (AKA Bean) sculpture is very cool, and the picture above is our reflection in it. We also saw Buckingham Fountain, went to the John Hancock center observatory, and went to Navy Pier and rode the Ferris Wheel. We walked everywhere, so we were pretty tired by the end.
While we were there, we also toured the Art Institute of Chicago, and I got to see "my painting" up close again. I love Seurat! We also got to see a lot of works from Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, and Picasso as well as the American Gothic painting.
Lee and I also had a very nice dinner at an Italian bistro named Bella Bacino, which was conveniently located in our hotel. It was a much needed break for both of us.
Well, our next trip is to visit the family in Oklahoma over the 4th of July. That should be an interesting trip because Richard and Taylor are going with us. Taylor is back in Indiana now, and we are going to resume our normal visitation schedule. We are thrilled!!!!!
