Step 5,624,408

I checked off another state that I have visited in my life as I made my first trip to Chicago yesterday. I got up at 3:45AM to get ready to leave at 5:00AM from home. I knew there was going to be a lot of driving so I might not get a lot of steps depending on our schedule with the trade show we were coming to attend.

My boss and I ended up getting into Chicago and settled in around 1:00PM. After a quick lunch at the South Loop Club and a stroll through the trade show, which was more walking that I had imagined, we headed out to see Chicago. We had parked our car at the hotel and didn't want to move it and repay the $28/day parking charge. We decided to walk to the Sears Tower which was a little over a mile away. Walking through downtown Chicago is really an experience. Our route took us several blocks down Wabash Avenue which has an L line that runs on a platform above the street. It is a odd sensation to walk the street with cars flying by and trains constantly rumbling overhead. I hadn't experienced this kind of urban area since being in NYC. Cincinnati feels like a town to me now that I have once again been to a city.

We finally made it to the Sears Tower (I refuse to call it the Willis Tower, its new name). There was wan admission of $15 to take the tour which wasn't too out of line with the prices in Chicago. The tour takes you through a history of Chicago and a video about the creation of the tower and the architecture of the city. You then hop on the elevator that makes the 103 story climb in about a minute. Once you get to the top, you have a 360 deg. view of the city. On a clear day, you can see four states, but it was hazy yesterday. Only IL and IN were in view. It was something to be that high and all you can see is city and water. It reminded me of being at the observation deck of the Empire State Building and World Trade Center when I was in college. The picture I took makes you feel you are in a plane flying over the city.

One step out of all of the steps I took yesterday was more memorable than any I have taken in sometime. It will forever be etched into my memory for how terrifying it was. The Ledge at the Sky Deck is a set of three glass box extensions to the Sears Tower that let you walk out away from the rest of the building with nothing between you and the 1350 ft drop to the street except for an inch of glass. I knew about the Ledge from the news. I had it in my mind that I wanted to give it a shot even though I do have a fear of heights. My fear is more of talls. I don't like to stand at the bottom of a tall building and look up. I forced myself several times yesterday to do just that, and the fear seems to be subsiding. Back to the Ledge, when it came my turn to step out into the box, I felt my heart start to race like I had been chased by someone. I put one gingerly placed foot out onto the glass like it might give at any moment and I would have to dive back into the building. Once I felt it was solid, I put my second foot out into space and stood there for thirty seconds or so just to catch my breath and take in the moment. I snapped the picture of my shoes, the glass, and the street far, far below. Even after I stepped out, I could still feel the tension in my body from the fear.

We left the Sears Tower and decided to walk to the Navy Pier which was about 2.5 miles away. The long walk gave us a lot of time to take in the city and see some other sights along the way. We passed through Millennium Park and took a picture of a giant reflective sculpture that gave a different view each time you looked at it. I really like modern art when it comes together in this type of piece. We also saw Grant Park where Obama gave his acceptance speech after the election. We finally got to Navy Pier around 5:00PM. It had already gotten very dark at that point. We walked out to the end of the pier and back before finally stopping to eat dinner at the start of the pier.

After setting for dinner, my legs and back felt too stiff to make the two mile walk back to the hotel. We caught a cab, went back to the room. I was exhausted from all of the walking and getting up so early, so I decided to lay down for a bit. I ended up falling asleep at 7PM CST and not waking up until 5AM CST. I had planned on going out to a bar in the neighborhood last night, but I guess I just didn't have it in me. I'm going to go out to Grant Park for a walk this morning. We are leaving Chicago this afternoon to head to Cincinnati for the Bengals game tomorrow. I hope to have some more pictures to share tomorrow.

Thursday's Steps: 13,905

Yesterday's Steps: 21,640