Chicago — Summer 2011, Museum Edition

What do you do in Chicago when it's 99 degrees? Head straight for the museums. I guess everyone had that idea because they were packed. We went the Shedd Aquarium. The Jellies Exhibit is worth the price of admission.

Also in this post; The Field Museum and Soldier Field.

Chicago — Summer 2011 Part Deux

So I was a true tourist in Chicago and did the city boat tour. It wasn't nearly as cheesy as I thought. The night before it rained so hard that they closed the locks that allow boats to go out onto Lake Michigan, but the architectural tour was really cool. I was able to see a couple of my favorite buildings up close and personal. The Marina Towers, maybe better known as the Honeycomb Buildings, hold 896 separate units, which are spread out over 61 floors. The buildings are mixed-use, housing a 13-story hotel, parking, and a small marina for residents. Each residence comes with its own 18-foot balcony. Because of their round structure the condos are pretty narrow at the entrance and widen out as you go towards the interior. The walls have no right angles. How cool is that!

The smaller building in the middle with the dome is one of the locations from the most recent Transformers Movie.

Scene in  Transformers Movie

Chicago — Summer 2011

Chicago is home to many things, not least of all food. The region has some of the finest restaurants, but the street food is where it's at.

U.S. Whitewater Rafting Center — Charlotte