Wandering aimlessly in Chicago

My flight landed at 6:30 am. I collected my luggage and called my hotel. "Can you please let me check in early?" They responded in the affirmative. Great!!! I got my rental car and began my drive into downtown Chicago. Rush hour traffic sucks. It took a little over one hour to get to the hotel. I tossed the valet the car keys and went to check in.

Boutique hotel. Concrete, steel and glass were the main ingredients. I was given a room near the top, the 24th floor. I was tired because I didn't get any sleep on the plane. A short nap was overdue.

I woke up around 1pm and got ready to do some exploring. I used to live in Chicago but a lot has changed over the years. I headed over to Michigan Avenue. This is the part of Chicago known as the Magnificent Mile and stretches from the Chicago River up to Oak Street. You'll find many high end stores here. I crossed the Chicago River into the Chicago loop (downtown) and walked east to State Street. This once was a pedestrian mall but that failed. More stores here. At Washington Street I headed east towards Millennium Park.

I walked through Millennium Park and remembered how dirty this place had once been. Now it's filled with artwork, beautiful landscaping, wildflowers and water features. It's so much better now. I reached Buckingham Fountain and watched some planes that were practicing for the air & water show that was taking place over the weekend. I was getting farther and farther away from the hotel, better head back. I walked along the lakefront and then by navy pier. Time for a coffee break. It was a beautiful day, so I sat outside and did some people watching. Back to the hotel for a break before dinner.

Chilled out, freshened up and left again. The mission was to find some dinner and take some twilight photos along the way. I went north towards Water Tower Place and the John Hancock building. Chicago's Water Tower is one of the few structures that didn't burn down during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Adjacent to the historic Water Tower is the Water Tower Place, a multi-story indoor shopping mall. I was getting hungry so I popped inside to find a place to eat. Off to the food court, but it's not your regular type of food court. It's an upscale food court with reserved tables. An interesting and appealing concept. I stopped to take a photo of the interior as I was leaving the food court. Just as I was about to press the shutter release button, a worker started yelling "NO PICTURES INSIDE THE FOOD COURT". I was 3 feet away, but she felt she needed to talk very loudly in order to demonstrate her "authority". I apologized and pleaded ignorance, very easy for me to do, but she continued her rant. "IT'S A PATENTED IDEA!! NO PHOTOS ARE ALLOWED!!!" I apologized again and tried to make nice but she continued babbling. I shook my head and walked away. It's funny how perceived power can make people act like idiots. I got the last laugh because unknown to her, I took some photos before she saw me. Haha!!

I left Water Tower Place and went south along Michigan Avenue, snapping more photos as I went. I reached the Chicago River and turned east. Click, click, click. Night time photos along the river. I had a long day and was tired from my lack of sleep and lots of walking throughout the day. I went back to my hotel and called it a night. The adventures would continue tomorrow.