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!
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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)
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