My Kind of Town

The conference ended today, so I had some free time to explore downtown Chicago. My hotel is right near Millennium Park, and I went for a run through the park and along Lake Michigan. I finally found a good breakfast spot, Yolk. I had a veggie skillet with cheese, hash browns, eggs over easy, and an English muffin. The bad news is that the cheapass generic Lactaid I bought at CVS didn't work very well, so I paid the price for my gluttony.

You know how they say everything's bigger in Texas? Well, I've been to Texas and nothing seemed that oversized, but here in Chicago, everything is huge. The buildings, the roads, the city blocks (they're like triple the size of a Boston block), and with all those corn-fed Midwesterners roaming around, I'm never the tallest person in a room, even when I'm wearing heels.

Since it was such a nice day, I went back to the park to walk around and take some photos. I was very impressed by the landscaping and all of the flowers- they were beautiful and the city must devote a lot of money into keeping everything so well maintained. And in case you were wondering when I became the sort of person who gets excited about flowers and takes pictures of them, the answer is TODAY.

A big fountain and an a big lake:

Another thing Chicago has in abundance is Evil Buildings. I've always found the Sears Tower rather malevolent-looking, the way it darkly looms over the city with its twin demon antennae.

However, if a Ghostbusters-like apocalypse ever occurs in Chicago, I believe this building will figure prominently:

Chicago Public Library? More like Chicago Public Library of Evil! That eagle is poised to swoop down and grab you with his extended talon!

Oh, and look who's peering over the library's shoulder- the Sears Tower!

They're plotting something; I can tell.