Sightseeing in Chicago

I have a tradition of taking Sean on a road trip every summer (we've been to the Four Corners Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and Mount Rushmore).  When we were trying to decide where to go this year every place that Sean suggested was farther than I wanted to drive (I don't mind long road trips but a long road trip with a fourteen year old boy seemed a bit daunting).  I asked him where he would go if he could fly anywhere in the U.S. and he answered Chicago.  I liked this idea because it meant we could go to Hamilton while we were there (I didn't have to twist his arm because he likes this show, too).  We had two days of sightseeing in the Windy City and we were able to cross off everything on Sean's list!

Our first stop was the Skydeck at the top of the Willis Tower, which was once the tallest building in the world.  I went out on the ledge with Sean for about two seconds but he actually sat down on it (it is a lot scarier than you might think because you can see through the floor straight down to the street).

The views of Chicago from the Skydeck were pretty spectacular!

Our next stop was the Cloud Gate (otherwise known as the Bean) in Millennium Park.  Have you really been to Chicago if you haven't posed for the obligatory picture in front of the Bean?  We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner (Sean got his first HRC pin to start his collection) and then called it a day.

We started bright and early the next morning at the Field Museum (more on this coming soon).  Sean loves museums and this is the one he chose to visit.

Next we went to the Navy Pier so we could ride the Centennial Wheel, a large ferris wheel with incredible views of the city and Lake Michigan.

After lunch (deep dish pizza at Giordano's) we finally got on the hop-on hop-off bus for a tour of the city (it's a long story).  This is one of my favorite ways to see a city.  It was raining when we started but it stopped after a few minutes.

Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan.

The old water tower and pumping station.  These buildings are some of the few that survived the Great Fire of 1871.

Some of the buildings downtown feature some really cool architecture.

In the evening we had main floor seats for Hamilton at the CIBC Theatre and we both enjoyed this cast very much (more on this coming soon).  This was such a great trip!  I really like Chicago and it was fun to spend time with my nephew (who now wants to move there).  Where will we go next year?