A few hours in Chicago

** NOTE - I just re read the last two posts. My apologies to all for my typos. I will try to be better and hopefully go back and fix those later. There is so much to say and perhaps I am going too fast. I am not posting pictures right now either because they take so much more time.**

9:45 am Monday, August 24. So with our bags checked at the Amtrak Lounge we headed out for a walking tour of Chicago. I love this city. It is so walker friendly. It does not feel like a big city even though it really is. Our goal was the Navy Pier where we were sure to find the sweatshirts we needed to survive the lounge car on the train.

First we took a walk through Millienium Park. Last time we were here with Emma the Cloud Gate was not complete or was undergoing minor adjustments. If you don't know, the Cloud Gate is made of stainless steel and reflects the city skyline and the people on the ground around it. You can take a picture of yourself in the reflection wiht the skyline behind and around you. It's neat to see. We toured the rest of the park although the gardens were closed as it was only 9:30 a.m. We had been up for hours already but the city was still waking up.

We walked on to Navy Pier. This is like a boardwalk except it is made of concrete. It extends out into Lake Michigan and is lined with shops and amusements on one side and boat tours on the other. We found matching Chicago hoodies in one store. We had not planned on matching but these were really nice looking and we both liked them. We received many compliments on the rest of our trip about them. Dave told me this is the first hoodie he has ever owned. I didn't realize that.

"Lunch" consisted of Haagen Daz ice cream treats called Dazzlers. Mine was strawberry, pineapple and banana and Dave had mint chocolate chip cookie. They were yummy, totally bad for us and a bit pricey. But hey it's vacation! :)

We took a winding route back to the Amtrak Station which included stops to take a picture of the REALTOR building on Michigan Avenue (it looked particularly dazzling with it's windows shining in the sunlight) and the Chicago Tribune Building where there are pieces of history built into the walls. It's fun to look at. I've visited it several times. It's hard to see it all in one shot.

We arrived back at the station at 12:45. Boarding for the Empire Builder began at 1:30.