Chicago Day 2

Waking up this morning was tough. They don't call this bed the "Sweet Dream Experience" for no reason. But up it had to be. After much anxiety and questions to the hotel staff, we decided to take the train into the city instead of spending the rest of our money on parking at all the things we wanted to see. It actually turned out to not be that bad. It was quick and efficient and both of us made it to and from the city for less than $10.00. So far, that's the best deal we've gotten all trip. The rooftop train turns into a subway the closer you get to downtown so both of us got a new experience out of it.

After making it downtown we trekked over to the Art Institute to fulfill a couple of life time goals for Devin. It was incredible to see some of the most famous paintings in the country right in front of you instead of in a text book. Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, Seurat, and on and on and on. It was amazing. Of course, being a school, there were several people sketching the famous works and lectures being given by people pretending to know more about the art than the artist. But, when you waited long enough, you could get a little alone time in front of famous pieces like American Gothic, Van Gogh's The Bedroom, Water Lilly's by Monet and my favorite; Nighthawks by Edward Hopper. Spent from getting lost in the half metropolis, have museum we found a door and realized we should have packed an umbrella.

Luckily Millenium Park was just across the street so we braved the cold blowing rain and went for it. The fountain sculpture and the bean were just too cool to pass up because of a little rain. We got some great pictures and had a blast with everybody else dodging rain drops. We stopped by the cultural center for an art-o-mat and then it was back to the train for the trip back to Skokie.

After some discussion we decided that pizza should be our last meal here in town so we hit up the local Lou Malnati's for some good stuff. Of course, we ordered to much and fearing it wouldn't make the trip back to the Ville we gave the rest to the appreciative hotel staff. All in all, it's been a great, relaxing weekend. We've decided to do this sort of thing much more often. With everything that's been going on, it was just nice to get away. Tomorrow, it's back to home with refreshed minds, bodies, and souls.