What a Week!

Last week was quite the week! The countdown chain at my office finally reached April 12th which marked the day I flew out to Chicago! It had been about 5 years since I had stepped foot on an airplane so needless to say I was a little anxious, but more than anything excited to spend five days with friends in the Windy City! Between the four of us that were there, we figure we took over 650 pictures (Hali's camera can account for 400 of those!), but I only want to post a few to share what fun we had. (Or else this might turn into something similar to my family's three hour slide show of the Bryce Canyon...)

The plane ride from Chicago wasn't too bad. I would be lying if I said that I didn't have knots in my stomach as we were taking off. I also had my first experience with tubulence. Let me just say that using the airplane "lavatory" in the midst of turbulence isn't an experience that I ever feel the need to repeat!

As soon as we landed and found our bags, our next quest was to find a way to get to our hotel. This introduced me to another first...riding in a taxi. Our taxi driver Rashidi felt confident as he drove in and out of the highway lanes between cars. I did have just a moment of feeling like a white-knucked passenger, but we did get safely to our hotel! (You can see in the picture below that both Hali and I were enjoying our first big city, taxi experience!)

Once we checked into the Chicago Hilton Hotel, (Which might I add was the nicest hotel I had ever stayed in...two queen beds, TWO full sized bathrooms! Thank you UVU for paying for our sleeping accomadations!) we were anxious to get out on the town and get in what we could.


First stop, Millenium Park! Home of the famous Bean Statue (that is the metallic object picutred below).
There was contemporary art through out the park that was fun to see. Who would think that a giant wall picturing real people spitting out water would be considered art...someone a lot more creative than me!
One of the things I LOVED about Chicago was the bridges and gorgeous architecture of the buildings.
We did a lot of just walking around the city. The map of the city became my best friend as we attempted to navigate our way around the bus and subway system! There is a lot of culture and fun things to see. There were musicians playing their "bucket-drums", the guitar or saxophone. I even saw a lady walking down the street preaching something in spanish...Chicago is a diverse place!

We definitely made it a point to get some famous Chicago-style deep dish stuffed pizza! It was probably my favorite meals we ate during the whole visit!

I did experience the infamous wind of Chicago. Monday morning found us bundled up with our umbrella's fighting against the rain and the wind!
We spent some time at the Shedd Aqurium with the fish! I saw some real life sharks that were pretty intimidating. I was glad that there was 2 1/2 inches of glass between me and them.


We of course made time for shopping on the magnificent mile. I discovered the store H&M, and decided it would be a great place to spend some of my well-saved money!

This is a panoramic shot I took of the Buckingham Fountain with the city skyline in the back ground. It was such a gorgeous fountain that was in the park right across the street from our hotel.

Tuesday morning and afternoon, Caytee and I spent exploring the Museum of Science and Industry. This was one of the most amazing places I have ever been in. All in this museum there were life-sized airplanes, trains, submarines, coalmines, and of course John Deer Tractors. There were so many interactive exhibits that we spent about 5 1/2 hours there!

We even were able to take a tour of the original U 505 German submarine that was captured by the U.S. and assisted in ending WWII.

These two clowns are Caytee and me!

I had to take a picture of me and the John Deere. I figured it would make my Dad and Grandpa proud!

We spent some time enjoying the nightlife of Chicago.

Caytee, Hali, & I on Michigan Ave.

The Bean at night

The girls on the town: Caytee, Erin, Hali, & Me

One of the highlights of the trip was that we got to go to the second Cubs game of the season. It was so much fun to get to visit the famous Wrigley Field!

It was a BEAUTIFUL day for a baseball game! The Cubs were playing the Rockies, which made it even more fun because they are the two teams I followed the most growing up. To be honest, I have never really watched baseball but those are the teams that I payed attention to. My experience was complete with a Wrigley Hot Dog, a rendition of "Take me out to the ballgame", and the classic drunk guy trying to get us all to do the wave! What a game. The Rockies ended up winning 5-2.

That evening the four of us split up and Erin and I did a little bit more shopping and wandering around the city. She introduced me to Garrett's Popcorn, where I tasted the most delicious caramel popcorn! We also spent a little bit of time at the Navy Pier....at least long enough to check out the ferris wheel and Lake Michigan.

Thursday was our last day in the city. Caytee and I found a Panera Bread Restaurant and had a breakfast of fresh bagels! Once Erin and Hali were finished with their conference for the day we met up to say our farewell, and then Caytee and I were off to catch the subway that took us to O'Hare Airport.

I was sad that our time in Chicago flew by so quickly, but I was ready to get back home. It is definitely a place I have decided I'll visit again! We saw a lot, but there is still so much more to experience and see.

I did go back to work the next day to finish off the week. That is one part of coming back to reality that isn't so much fun, but I guess that was the best way to get into the swing of things again.

Saturday night only supported my opinion that I was having a stellar week! My dear roommate Jennica and I had bought tickets to Brandi Carlile's concert in Salt Lake, and had been anticipating it for about two months! We got to the State Room early enough to stand at the front of the stage and enjoy one of the best concert's ever. I loved Brandi's music before that night, but her performance sealed the deal that I would always be a fan. I was incredible to stand that close and her how talented she is. We got to hear her sing some of the new songs that will be on her upcoming album. One of those songs she and her band sang unplugged standing only four inches away from me! (I am not even exaggerating!)

Cool band's like Brandi Carlile's has a cellist...I thought he was cute!

All in all it was a fantastic night and the best way to end such a fun week! And for anyone keeping track...my little brother comes home from his mission in 8 days, so I guess next week we be an awesome week too!