Chicago

Earlier than we would have liked on Sunday morning we set off on our journey. Time of departure was 3:15am. Why so early?  We figured that by the time we were ready to stop for lunch we could have knocked out 9 hours of a 12-hour drive.  We set out early in the morning, fully packed from the night before and headed for I-84 West and eventually I-80 West.  After just over 12 hours and 750+ miles, we were safe and sound in Chicago.

We actually decided to forego a stop for food along the way, instead opting for some granola bars and a snack, which left us quite hungry when we got to the city.  The first thing we decided to do was to visit the highly recommended Lou Malnati's Pizza.  We ordered a small pizza and enjoyed our first authentic deep dish pizza.  Far different from the thin crust foldable pizza of the east coast, this was a delicious snack.

The rest of the early evening was spent walking around the city, specifically at Millenium Park.  It was here that we saw Grant Park which is a beautiful open air amphitheater and the world famous Bean, so we had to get a picture or two.  We plan to head back today, armed with better cameras than just the phones.

After walking around the park, we headed down to the lakefront.  A nice cool breeze came off of Lake Michigan as we strolled around to Navy Pier.  The Pier was full of people and we just walked around, enjoying the views back at Chicago's skyline as the sun set

We were exhausted and decided to head back to the hotel and sleep after a long day.  Tomorrow is planned to be full of adventure in Chicago.