Chicago lake view

Chicago lake view

Day Two of the cross country adventure finds us spending 24 hours in Chicago.

First thing on the list was a walking/subway tour of the skyscrapers in the city. There are wonderful examples of buildings from various eras–from the beginnings of tall buildings in Classic Chicago style designed in the 1800s, to the Art Deco Chicago Board of Trade, to the latest in postmodern technology. It was a gorgeous sunny day–not too hot with no humidity–a welcome change from Virginia.

One of my favorite images is Alexander Calder’s “Flamingo” sculpture in front of one of the buildings on Federal Plaza designed by Mies Van Der Rohe. I love the contrast of the warm red against the stark black of the building. Apparently the sculpture wasn’t part of the original plan, but was installed after Mies’ death. It’s signed “AC 1973” at the base of one of the legs.

Calder "Flamingo" sculpture - Chicago

Calder “Flamingo” sculpture – Chicago

Deep dish pizza for lunch was next–delicious! Can’t come to Chicago without having pizza.

On the recommendation of one of my son’s friends who lives here, we went up to the top of the Hancock Building to the rooftop bar. For the price of a beer, we could see for miles on the shoreline of Lake Michigan.

Bean Sculpture - Millenium Park, Chicago

Bean Sculpture – Millenium Park, Chicago

Of course there were a lot of people around the Bean sculpture in Millenium Park, but this shot from a little ways away makes it look like a spaceship getting ready to take off.

Since we’d had so much lunch, dinner was a picnic of bread, fruit and cheese in Grant Park while listening to a free concert–opera and orchestra–with Phil’s friends.

Today we’re up and out, driving through Iowa and Nebraska.

I’m posting images every day on Instagram and Facebook if you’d like to follow the trip that way too. Links are in the upper right sidebar.