On September 23rd, we left Missouri via I-70 east towards St Loius and then took I-55 north to Illinois. We stayed at Leisure Lake Resort, a campground in Joliet which is about an hour south of Chicago. The campground has a beautiful lake and lots of space and activities. After two rural places, it was nice to stay in a larger town where we could stock up on supplies and eat out a few times.
One of the best parts about being near Chicago was a chance to catch up with one of my best friends. Jane was maid of honor at my wedding and it has been about 20 years since I have seen her or her husband Jeff. We had a great meal at a restaurant in Joliet called Truth and it was so wonderful to see them.
We celebrated Mike’s birthday while here with a visit to Chicago. I highly recommend Big Bus Tours as an easy way to get around the city and learn some of the interesting history of the area. We were pleasantly surprised by how clean and pretty the downtown area is! I enjoyed seeing the contrast between the new and old architecture throughout the city.
You can take a water taxi along the Chicago River, which runs through the downtown area. Lakeshore Drive is a beautiful area that overlooks Lake Michigan.
Mike wanted to try authentic Chicago deep dish pizza for his birthday dinner. It was good, but really thick compared to the pizza we normally eat.
We braved the glass Skydeck on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower–the 2nd tallest building in the western hemisphere. There is a small platform called The Ledge that you walk onto and you can look down through the glass to the street over 1300 feet below. The lines can get long, so I suggest going early for this attraction. You definitely get a great and different view of the city
We also experienced the 30 degree tilting glass lookout on the 94th floor of the John Hancock building called Chicago 360. Basically we couldn’t decide which to do, so we did both this and the Skydeck. This one was much scarier to me because you go out onto the platform and hold on while it tilts 30 degrees outward from the building! Again, long lines so go early to this attraction.
I also liked the dolphin show at the Shedd Aquarium. We couldn’t leave without taking pictures by the famous Bean sculpture (real name Cloud Gate). The bean is made up of 138 highly polished stainless steel plates but has no visible seams and was inspired by liquid mercury! We did quite a bit for one day in the city.
So glad you got to see Jane and Jeff again. It looks beautiful there and so much to do but I could not stand on that glass looking down or leaning out like that!
Seeing Jane and Jeff was really great and we did survive the observation towers. Luckily they were just short periods over the glass or leaning out!
Wow that looks like y’all had a great trip. Sounds like y’all are burning up the highway. Can’t wait to see where you go next. P.S. I could have done the titled glass heights don’t bother me
We have a spot in our motorhome’s Owners University next week in Indiana, so we are making our way toward that. Later on we hope to be a little more free to just stop wherever looks interesting.
We are going to Grand Canyon soon and I hear there is a much bigger glass walkway over that too.
Wow y’all did some very exciting stuff! I have been there once and would go back. LOVE this post.
Thanks, Sandi! We did a lot in one day, but there is so much to see in Chicago–we would go back too:)
Yikes would be a big no thanks on the glass section that tilts out, actually it would be a no even if it didnt tilt. Made me feel queesy just seeing you guys there. So glad your having fun! This is a fun way to keep up with you two!
I am glad you like my blog, Cindy. I’ve heard there is a bigger glass walkway over the Grand Canyon–that’s coming up on our list of destinations!