Chicago has a population of 2.7 million people. It also has famous landmarks like the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower after London-based insurance broker Willis Group Holdings) and is the fifth tallest freestanding structure in the world at 527 metres. The lookout is on the 108th floor; 442 metres above ground.
My mate Martin decided to join me in Chicago from Washington D.C. We stayed at Getaway Hostel which is one of the most modern hostel I have ever stayed in. We purchased a CityPass which gained us entry to the top 5 attractions in Chicago.
The John Hancock Tower was completed in 1970 and famous for its visible X-bracing exterior beams, it has 100 floors, 344 metres tall and the height at the antenna is 457 metres.
The Shedd Aquarium has the largest indoor marine mammal facility in the world with its main tank capacity of 11,000,000 litres. Pacific white-sided dolphin, beluga whales and other interesting mammals made it a fascinating place to visit.
The Field Museum, well it was just crap; don’t bother. It’s just a museum with collection of everything but there wasn’t anything that caught my attention. Its basically competing with the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.
The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum is all about space and galaxies. Well it was part of the CityPass so why not........aaaand that’s all.
Chicago is also known for its famous deep dish style pizza. It looks like a quiche but instead of eggs & milk, it is filled with peppers, Italian sausages, onions, lots of cheese and topped off with a layer of tomato paste. Bon appétit.
Chicago is surrounded by a beautiful shoreline, good layers of sand and access to the lake; technically still a beach but to me, if it’s not the ocean, it’s not a beach.
There is also a very well known sculpture called Cloud Gate that you would have seen in movies like Source Code and The Break-Up. It was completed in 2006 and is said to have been inspired by liquid mercury.
Coincidently, my mate Bunce was in Las Vegas for the VMWare Conference so it made sense for me to catch a flight from Chicago to meet him for a few beers. This trip for me was more about R&R (Rest & Recreation). Sitting by the pool, working on my tan and gambling.
A new hotel has also opened up on Las Vegas Boulevard called The Cosmopolitan. The name tells all; modern and lavish to accommodate rich young professionals.
While looking for food, Bunce decides to walk through a set of unmarked doors which took us into a room, down a set of corridors, around the back of the kitchen, up the service lifts, around offices, out to a balcony on the 17th floor, back into the hotel and as he opened the doors, we were greeted with “Hi Guys, what are you looking for?”. Haha, it was brilliant! The security guard was very calm as they must have been watching us for the last 30 minutes.
We also shot machine guns and pistols at the Las Vegas Gun Range. I chose the M16 machine gun and a 9mm Glock pistol. Bunce decided to use the famous Magnum .44 pistol. The sheer power was ridiculous! Check out the videos.
Then it was off to the Pinball Hall of Fame to play machines from the 50’s, quick feed at In and Out Burger and the red eye back into Toronto via Chicago.
Sam
Shedd Aquarium – 9.4 MB
Cloud Gate – 11.4 MB
Cosmopolitan Hotel – 14.2 MB
Gun Range – 7.4 MB
Sam M16 – 11.4 MB
Bunce M16 – 8.5 MB
Sam Glock – 15.1 MB
Bunce Magnum – 18.9 MB
Sam Magnum – 8 .6 MB
Cloudy view from Hancock Centre
Hancock X-Beam
The Life
Martin and Chicago Pizza
Theatre where John Dillinger was shot
From Sears Tower
Cloud Gate
Chicken and Chips anyone?
Nah! All for me!
After using the shrinking machine in Vegas
Balcony in Cosmopolitan
Yours for $200USD
Bunce ruining his t-shirt
M16 Left / Glock right
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