Adventures in Chicago

Today very much felt like a weekend. I took my time in the morning, with a leisurely run, shower and breakfast. It was clear that today was going to be a warm day, with predicted temperatures in the 90s. After breakfast I worked on my paper a little more, and then went to the University of Chicago info session. Even though I've now been here for more than a week, I hadn't been to a formal information session so it was a valuable experience, though very crowded. Unfortunately many of us had to leave the tour early in order to return in time for the Magnificent Mile trip, which was inconvenient planning.

Popcorn at Water Tower Place

To get into downtown Chicago, we took the bus, and then the Red Line. We were deposited in the middle of the city. I got a lot done in the afternoon, starting a brief trip to the significant shopping mall Water Tower Place, where Tiffany and I purchased some popcorn. It actually started to rain really hard mid afternoon, so we got drenched as we dashed from Water Tower Place to the Hancock Center. After a brief visit to the Hancock Center we decided to attempt to go to SkyDeck at Willis Tower, because we thought the view there would be better. We hopped on a bus and made a stop at Millenium Park, which had been my number one priority for the outing today. It was fabulous to finally see the Bean, Crown Fountain, and the giant stage with steel ribbons that I’d seen so many pictures of!

Crown Fountain!

The Bean!!

Chinatown from the Red Line Station

Sadly, our ambitions to experience SkyDeck were crushed, because when we got to the building we learned that it was going take 2 hours before we could get to the top! This seemed like too long a wait, so instead we decided to start heading back to campus and stop in Chinatown for dinner on the way. I’m very pleased with this decision as I thoroughly enjoyed my meal in Chinatown and appreciated seeing a different part of Chicago. Attempting to return to campus from Chinatown presented us with a few public transportation difficulties, but we made it back well before curfew. It was a very fun but very exhausting day, and I’m looking forward to getting some rest tonight.