On December 30th of 2005 we
took a 9hr drive from Toronto to Chicago to visit my mom and a few
relatives.
We took 401 west to Sarnia, Ontario then through Lansing, Michigan.
The driving condition in the US isn't different as that of Toronto.
Drivers on our way to Chicago were flying on the highways. What I
liked there was the speed limit for cars is faster from the trucks'.
So there were no more of those smell of burnt rubber coming out of
my car when I metal the pedal. Signs on the road are very clear and
easy to follow.
In Chicago, we noticed a big difference compared to Toronto. This
city is very loud - they do like to honk their car horn, messy and
very busy - you'll see pedestrians jaywalking all over the place and
the drivers i guess just gave up on yielding.
  
Our first tour stop was at the Sears Tower. It is one of the tallest
structure in the world. It has 110 floors and rises 1725' including
the two antennas. Before hitting the elevator, there would first be
an 8-minute presentation about the Tower. The elevator ride takes
about a minute to the skydeck at 103rd floor and you'll be entertained
by a couple of duffusses on tv while heading up. You'll be so annoyed
you'll forget about the ride.
I wouldn't dare to drive to downtown Chicago so we all took the subway.
It took us an hour to get to our stop then we walked under a freezing
cold weather to the tower. The walk was nice though, lots to see on
the way, lots of tall buildings, lots of shops, restaurants, coffee
shops - but mostly Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts - no Tim Hortons :(
It was a bit hazy when we got to the observation deck but it cleared
up at sunset. The city lights were amazing.
  
After the Sears Tower, we had dinner then we went straight to the
Millenium Park for the New Year celebration. I looked-up this particular
event on the interweb because I heard that the fireworks are really
great. According to my source, the event would start at 10pm. We waited
and waited and asked and asked but nobody seem to know about the 10pm
start time. A gentleman asked the same police officer I approached
about the 10pm but he didn't know about it either. So, we assumed
there would be no show until midnight. We walked to a nearby coffee
shop to warm up and kill time. After a long cold awaited moment the
show starts. My source were right about one thing... the fireworks
were great.
  
This is Shedd Aquarium. It wasn't as exciting as I thought it would
be but there were quite a number of different species to look at,
especially fishes... I like fishes 'cause they're so delicious. |
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