Chicago, Chicago, That Toddlin' Town, That Toddlin' Town...

So, I'm pretty much in love with Chicago. :) Paul and I got to go there on the 5th-7th of July, to hang with his family and see some of the museums and to get away from the drama and sadness around here for a while. Here are some pics of the occasion! I seriously want to live here someday...

Here's Paul and me on a strip of land between the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium...with the gorgeous view of the Chicago skyline in the background! We had a nice lunch there on the lawn, with the most annoying seagulls ever known to man scavengering around for our leftovers. :)

We got to see some really neat shows at the Planetarium...I've always loved learning about space and planets and stars and such, so this was a real treat!

Here we are at the Aquarium, me, Paul, and his lil' sister Emilie. I got to see lots of creepy looking fish, like the one pictured below...and a dolphin show, and some beluga whales. Not as cool as the ones in Japanese dramas, but this aquarium still rocked my socks. :)

I thought this was kinda cool, this whole parade of worlds in front of the museums that reminded me of those silly hogs and frogs here in Lafayette. But still cool...

Navy Pier, a place I could spend days at...we got to ride the Ferris Wheel there, which has always been a sort of fantasy of mine, and play Putt-Putt and eat out. So here are the pics from all of that. :)

A very pretty place, you know how I love fountains of any kind. :)

What can I say, I have an electric personality! :)

This is one of the oldest buildings in Chicago, and it made me laugh to see it stuck right in the middle of downtown, with all the skyscrapers and such. It's like someone took an old church out in the middle of a small Greek town and then built a huge city all around it.

I love horses. Too bad we didn't get to ride any on this trip...maybe next time!

Paul, looking for his old high school from the top of the Sears' Tower. You can't be that high off the ground and not feel a little of the romance of the place, especially not after watching "Sleepless in Seattle" a few dozen times before the trip! :)

If you love big buildings and sunny beaches, Chicago's a great place...and what a view, from the 103rd floor!

*Whew!* We were pretty glad to be going home after a whirlwind handful of days walking around everywhere...and best of all, we got to ride the train! I've decided that trains are a great, cheap way to travel. I'm a fan.

Well, that's our trip in a nutshell, kiddos. If you haven't been to Chicago, you need to go. There's so much to see there, and we didn't even begin to scratch the surface...we didnt' even BEGIN to begin. :) And it was an amazingly fun and relaxing distraction from all the goings-on here in the real world. Good times, friends, good times.