Yummy Yummy! Right Here!

We had a great weekend. Abby's here, and we decided to begin exploring our new habitat.

Saturday we took a picnic down to the McHenry Dam and then hiked the 2-mile trail around the nature preservation area nearby. It was both woodsy and wetland-y and we saw a bunch of birds. There was a deck for observing black terns about halfway around that we enjoyed, although we're not really sure if we saw any black terns as none of us are quite sure what they look like. Canada geese, though - those we recognized. Also something that we're pretty sure was a crane. Or a stork. Anyway, it was really pleasant.

Sunday we ventured down to the heart of Chicago. We rode the Metra, which is a commuter train that offers $5 weekend fares to ride as much as you want on any of the lines. It was fun, and a neat way to see the scenery. Which, okay, was mostly trees (in the suburbs) and buildings (in the city), but still nice. We got off the train at Union Station, where that one scene in The Untouchables was filmed. It's a pretty busy station, with restaurants and souvenir shops. One restaurant, in a stunningly clever marketing ploy, was trying to attract patrons by having its (surely underpaid) employees yell, "Yummy yummy! Right here! Yummy yummy!" We decided not to eat there.

Instead, we walked to Sears Tower, which is only a few minutes from the train station. We had to wait in line, but not for too long, and then after a mere 60-second elevator ride, we were at the observation deck on the 103rd floor. The view is impressive, as you would expect. Kind of like going up in the Arch, only much more so.

Then we headed to lunch, where we ate real Chicago-style deep dish pizza. "It takes 30 minutes to cook, but it's well worth the wait," our waiter told us, and we agreed that he was right. After that we walked around downtown some, took a few pictures of St. Patrick's, Chicago's oldest church (it pre-dates the fire), and then decided it was time to head home. All in all, a very pleasant day!

Finally, a picture of our living room sans boxes!



This gnome came with the house. I think he's pretty saucy.



Sears Tower, from the ground up (tallest building in the US, second-tallest in the world)



The view from the Sears Tower, facing north



Downtown Chicago, near Union Station



St. Patrick's Church. The two different spires represent East and West.