Chicago!! The End

 Had to get a picture with the Columbia girl.  I bet she felt so dumb!  Ha ha.  It's a cool coat though.

Just to show how uninformed I am, I had no idea that the subway emerged to become the "el" train as well.  We rode it out to the airport.  

 These are high-rise apartments...the lower part is a parking garage!  There are some cool buildings in Chicago!  (This is where I'd want to live.  Parking is a nightmare, and horrendously expensive when you can find it.)

It's kind of cool to be in a downtown where you look around and all you see is buildings.  I'm sure it gets old, but it's fun for Tourist Becky!

 Navy Pier was right off the Magnificent Mile.  Not much to see in November, but it was fun to get a one minute history lesson off the sign we read.

The view from the pier looking back to the city was so cool.  This isn't the main part of downtown...that would be off to the right.

I love that they have lighthouses on Lake Michigan!

Things we saw in Chicago that you just don't see in Salt Lake:

• Mulitple 7-11's with revolving doors
• Parking that will cost you $25 for two measly hours
• The Subway and "El" train
• A jungle of high-rise buildings
• Lots of babies, but no toddlers or kids.  Just babies.  
• Express and Local streets.  They're the same street, but if you accidentally get on the express, you can't get off until there's an exit.  Which is inconvenient when you're already late for church.  :)
• People smoking everywhere.  Sick.

On Sunday we slept in and went to church with Mike's cousins that live in Chicago.  Wes and Megan had us over for dinner as well, and it was so much fun to hang out with them for a few hours.  They've lived out there since I married Mike, and they have three kids about the same ages as ours.  Megan's parents were visiting too, and it was really fun to get to know them a little bit.  Oh, and Wes got us a parking pass to Notre Dame, so he was totally the hero of our trip!  I didn't have my camera so, sadly, we have no pictures with our fun Clayton cousins.

Wes & Megan gave us a few restaurant recommendations, and we loved every place we ate!

• Blackie's (a dive bar with a sign over the door that read, "Better food than most hospitals."  I loved the food before I tasted it.  How could you not??  They had awesome burgers, and they were cheap!  Probably our cheapest meal there, plus it was a long walk, so we burned off the calories before we even ate them.)  
• Bandera (on the Magnificent Mile, with an amazing view of the street.  We shared soup and a cheeseburger.  Oh, and they freshly grind their own beef.  Yeah.  Best burger I've ever had.)
• Pizzeria Due (because Uno's had a longer wait.  Famous Chicago style deep dish pizza.  I will be replicating their food this week.  I also want to try Giarodono's and Gino's East.  Just not enough time!)
• The Corner Bakery and Cafe (mini bundt cakes.  need I say more?)
• Buona (A Cafe Rio style restaurant that had italian/american food.  Fresh and delicious!  And next to our hotel.)

We each gained about 5 pounds in 5 days.  But it was so good!