Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Day 84 Visit Chicago( getting there)






Most people go south in the winter so it seemed  a little backwards to go  to the “windy city” were it is even colder than Pittsburgh.  Maslow says that a self actualized person does not always follow the norms and  so I packed a good warm coat and some cute hats (see Try A Hat, Day 51) and headed to Chicago, where  deep dish pizza was invented, cracker jacks were introduced,  and  Batman’s Gotham   City was based.  I had never visited this 3rd largest city behind  NYC and LA (both of which I visited several times). Therefore it seemed like a perfect  place  to explore in this journey of trying new things  and  I had a bonus feature –a  tour guide that used to live there!  

Reflection
Flying into Chicago you realize the enormous size of the city because the lights seem to go on forever. I usually drive to NYC so this was a beautiful sight. Ironically, I had a touch of the beach  when I entered the W Hotel.  The lobby had flashing lights, an art deco style and  Miami sounding music playing. I felt like I was in South Beach and ready to go dancing.  This place screamed "have fun", which was I intended to do! 


W Hotel

I walked through the city like Marlo Thomas  from the 70’s show That Girl, looking up the whole time at the unique buildings and trying to absorb it all.  I loved the variety in the architecture, old and new buildings all rolled into one city. This was  like Pittsburgh but on a much larger scale.  For example, the water tower  that survived The Great Chicago Fire was nestled between the modern buildings.  
Water Tower
The Bean seemed to be the focus of a lot of tourist activity and in its reflection you could view the city from many angles. I excitedly anticipated the days to follow where I would experience new foods,  my  passion for art, view a parade and holiday lights,  experience a birds eye view of the city and  receive some good old fashioned praise the Lord Gospel music!
Bean

Spiritual Reflection 
A mighty city reminded  me to praise and thank God for his gifts. 

Come, let us sing to the Lord!
    Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come before him with Thanksgiving.
   Lets us sing him psalms of praise.
For the Lord is a great God,
   the great King above all gods.
He owns the depths of the earth,
   and even the highest mountains  are his.
The seas belong to him, for he made it.
  His hands formed the dry land too. (Psalm 95:1-5)
Other Sources
W Hotel  http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=97509&language=en_US