Way Up High!!

The skyscrapers are REALLY tall in Chicago - I kind of felt like a small town country gal in this city! 

We went for a walk not long after checking into our hotel and this was the first fountain we came to - as you can tell from the sky, it was pretty cloudy out so the gray skies sure didn't do this picture justice!

There is an entire park with these silver statues - they are not gender based either - just spread out over a large area in different positions, mostly standing - kind of strange but certainly unique!

Because there was rain in the forecast the next day, we decided to go ahead and see the Sears Tower (now called the Willis Tower).  103 stories up - lots of history to read before you get on the elevator which I have promptly forgot but I do remember that it is the tallest building in the US.  It was still cloudy up there and you couldn't see as far as you should have been able to on a sunny day but it was a great view!!  The amount of steel and concrete is amazing!

Here is the absolute best thing at the top of the tower - glass ledges that you can walk out on!!  Creepy?  YES - it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would (I am scared of heights) so here's the picture looking down.........down.............down...............Those little blobs on the street are cars!

Teri didn't like standing out there at all so I quickly shot their picture!!

Another view........

Just to give you a better perspective, here's a shot of the other ledges taken from the ledge I was standing on!

I did my shopping at the Sears Tower gift shop - my Christmas ornament of Chicago and a book mark - DONE!!

Do you have jeans that don't fit any more?  This is what you do with them!!  I LOVE it!!

I was amazed amidst all the concrete that the city really does make an effort in the greenery department - there were loads of flowers and bushes and many parks!!  Hooray for bringing a little bit of the country into the big city!

It's kind of strange that when you're deep into these tall, tall buildings that the sun doesn't reach you - not that there was any sun that day anyway but other days we really noticed it!

A photo shot at a neat fountain!

After walking quite a while, we decided to eat deep dish pizza since that's just what you do when you come to Chicago!!  Teri had picked out a great place to eat and we relaxed with some wine and beer before eating some delicious pizza!!

Our waiter was great - he even brought us a fantastic dessert, even though we were stuffed!!  And to think we ate the WHOLE THING!!!

We took our time walking back to the hotel that night and walked by these tall structures that not only were waterfalls but had pictures of peoples' faces on the one side at times!!  They were beautiful to watch but of course the camera didn't capture the beauty!

Did I sleep well that first night??  Unfortunately no - I am used to total silence and it seemed the sirens were going all night long.............I know they weren't!!  Since Patty had shoulder surgery recently, she got her own bed and Teri and I shared a bed - I even think it was a double as it was pretty small but no matter, we did just fine!!  To Be Cont'd..............................