Monday, September 19, 2011

Chicago Part 4 {Lots of Stuff}

On the Saturday we were in Chicago, we took Nate to the city with us because he didn't have to work. We rode the train from Lombard, which was an adventure in itself.
 First, when we arrived at  the Lombard station we learned that the train was delayed and some nice lady told us the announcement had said it was going to be an hour late. Well bummer, that wasn't going to work for us because we had tickets for an architectural cruise that we would miss if we waited for that late train. We decided we would have to brave the traffic and drive.
As we were walking back to our car, I heard bells and whistles. 
"It's the train!" I yelled. We started running back to the station, but ended up on the wrong side of the tracks as the train pulled in. The doors only opened on the opposite side of the train, so there we stood, huffing and puffing...me with my flip flops in my hand (they're really hard to run in, you know)...sadly watching the train pull away.
That's the last time we listen to a nice "helpful" lady at the Lombard train station. :)
But lo and behold, in just a couple of minutes another train pulled in. Apparently they were sending extra trains that day because of the big Air and Water Show that was going on at Lake Michigan.
Lucky us.
We hopped on the train and made it to the architectural cruise appointment with time to spare.
Whew!
The architectural cruise was a great way to see all the city buildings, despite the torrential rains we endured for most of it. After the cruise, we ate lunch at a restaurant in the mall on the Magnificent Mile. Then we took the "L" to Wrigley Field to get a look at the stadium. We got there just as game was about to begin, but decided to go do a few other things instead of watching it.
We then headed back over to the other side of town to watch some of the Air and Water Show. Those Air Force jets are simply amazing. Wow!
Then we walked around some more, visited The Bean and then took another ride on the "L" just because I"m wild about trains. 
Our ride back on the train to Lombard was eventful, also. A group of people got on at one stop and a few minutes later, one of them passed out, so there was a big hullabaloo about that. There was a doctor sitting right in front of us, so he went up in the car where the passed out passenger was, then came back and said to his seatmate that it looked like the guy was fine. He was conscious and alert. In spite of that, we had to wait for the ambulance to come and give him a more exciting ride home.
We finally arrived back in Lombard, drove home from the train station to the hotel and went to sleep, exhausted and full of fascinating stories to tell. 
We said goodbye to Nate early Sunday (4:30 a.m.) and flew home. Nate worked his last day (Monday), then drove back to Utah, arriving on Wednesday.
Quite an adventure!!


















5 comments:

Photo's by Shan said...

Cool shots!!!

Nicki said...

Wonderful captures (gorgeous shot of the city in your 2nd image). When we visited Univ. of Chicago (it was my #1 choice for awhile) we stayed right down from The Bean. My husband thought I was insane when I insisted that freezing cold or not - I was getting a picture of that - and the sky opened, semi-windless, reasonably comfortable weather pursued and by golly, I got my pictures.

Stephanie said...

I've never been to Chicago, but I think I would make the trip if the only thing I got to do was takes pics of The Bean. That thing is awesome!

Suzy said...

Wow, such adventures you had! I'm glad you ended up catching a train despite the misguided advice you received. Crazy that a passenger passed out on your ride home. I'll bet you could ride trains all day and see so many interesting things. BTW, thought of you when I photographed those racing photos :). Wonderful captures of Chicago!!

Reds said...

I just want to hop on a plane and visit Chicago today!! Great great shots!!