"Weekend in Chicago" a Chicago Travel Page by Callavetta

Sometimes we just get lucky, and this past weekend was a great example of that. Since daughter, Lorna, just relocated to Michigan to begin work on her PhD at Michigan State, Jill and I took a break and agreed to meet Lorna in Chicago for a weekend. I had no idea that long time epal, Beatchick, would be celebrating her birthday in the city at the same time! So after corresponding for some 5 years we were actually able to meet in person. In addition, I had the great fortune of meeting one of VT's premier Chicago experts, Dabs!

According to the guide on the Architectural Tour, the infamous Dabs worked in the building with the spire reflected in the photo!

In addition to the good fortune of meeting Mary and Kristi, we were treated to perfect weather.

Why does the Chicago flag have those stars? Well, I'll tell you, Jill. One represents Fort Dearborn, the second the Great Chicago fire of 1871, the third the World's Fair in 1893 and finally the forth, the World's Fair in 1933.

The stripes represent the cities two waterways, the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.

Now aren't you glad you asked?!

...aka, the Bean. My "Bean" (Jill's nickname) stands below Chicago's Bean. The Cloud Gate has been standing in Millennium Park since 2005. It was actually fabricated from 168 highly polished steel plates by it's designer Anish Kapoor, in my backyard, Oakland, California. It is 66 ft. long and ended up costing $23 million, just $17 million over the original estimate. None of the monies came from public funds.