More Walking

Sunday started out with an amazing breakfast at Grand Lux Cafe. We arrived just before they opened and were the first party seated...which meant sitting and looking out the window at Michigan Avenue during our meal. What a fun way to start the day!!

After breakfast we headed south down The Magnificent Mile...stopping at the Tribune building...crossing the river and stopping at Millennium Park.

We stopped off at the fountain...

Then we walked to the bean...

Then we found the coolest water-play area/artistic display called "crown fountain"...

After Millennium Park we headed to the Art Institute. We mainly went for the bathrooms, but stayed and meandered around for a short time. My sisters & Sydney don't share my love of art, so we left and continued walking.

We were headed to Buckingham Fountain at Grant Park. I was SHOCKED I hadn't been to the stupid fountain before...considering the Hilton I stayed at the first time I was in Chicago was literally across the street. I must have walked right past it when we walked to Lake Michigan...stupid tall, pretty trees.

After the fountain...which is really just a fountain...Richelle and I wanted to catch a cab and head to Navy Pier. Robyn wouldn't let us...even though we were all DONE walking. Robyn and Sydney kept telling us it was SO close...but let me tell you- It was NOT close at all. It would have been the best $10 cab ride I had EVER paid for.

After we finally FINALLY made it to Navy Pier, Sydney and I rode the swings and we treated ourselves to a beverage. (side note: I have almost completely given up my beloved Pepsi. I cheated a few times on the trip, but never even finished one entire soda. I've done this before...and I am hoping to drop some of this hormone weight before it makes me even crazier than I already am.) Navy Pier is sponsored by Pepsi...so we were all pleased with our refreshments.

Our excitement for Navy Pier ended and we headed to Portillo's so everyone could taste a Chicago Dog. The only problem- we weren't really hungry...we just knew it was now, next time or never. The four of us split two Chicago dogs and water...cheapest meal our entire trip.

[side note: Mr. Portillo took my Commander and his family (his son, his wife & his father a WWII vet) to Iwo Jima last year. My Commander grew up in IL and somehow when Mr. Portillo decided he wanted to stand on the beaches of Iwo Jima with a hero who fought there and his son and his grandson...my Commander's father was invited. My Commander is the one who gave me the black sand from the beaches there for my dad...since his father wasn't lucky enough to return home.]

After Portillo's, we made our way to the "el" so we could take the train to Sear's Tower...now Willis Tower. I had never been up to the skydeck at Sear's Tower, so I was excited to see the view.

I absolutely love the train systems in other cities, but the "el" is the most confusing train system I have ever ridden. We figured it out after a couple wrong turns...which ended up being a good thing because it accidentally helped us cross a few things off our to-do list.

We finally made it to Sear's Tower and rode up to the 103 floor in 60 seconds. The elevator on the way up had a TV that showed which floor we were passing, how tall we were at that point and which other building in the world was also that tall. Pretty cool.

After we meandered around the 103rd floor for a while, we hitched a ride back to the hotel. We were all exhausted. We relaxed for a bit and then Sydney couldn't handle it anymore. We found a pizza place nearby and started walking that way...luckily we did.

When we got to the elevator, Richelle realized her wallet was missing. Long story short- we ended up having the most honest taxi driver on the planet...and after a couple phone calls, Richelle had her wallet back with everything still inside. Whew.

We grabbed a Chicago style pizza and Gino's East and took it back to the hotel room to enjoy in our pj's. Robyn and Syd's flight left at dawn the next morning, so bedtime came earlier than usual.