Chicago Day 2

Tuesday morning started off slow. I stayed at the Chicago O’Hare Garden Hotel, and its best feature is the cheap price. I booked it for around $110 for 4 days and 3 nights. It had complimentary “breakfast”, no wifi in the rooms, and complimentary shuttle to the airport and anywhere within a 3 mile radius. The wifi only worked in the lobby. The signal was weak, so it was sad to see five or so other travelers in the hotel lobby trying to connect to the internet. Fortunately, I didn’t stay in the hotel long enough to be inconvenienced.

With that said, I woke up at 9:30 remembering the hotel had “breakfast” in the lobby. When I went down to the lobby, all they had was a coffee station. I made my way to the nearest 7-11 and purchased muffins and some juice then I was on my way to the train station.

My hotel’s stop is the Cumberland station, and I would get off at the Clark/Lake station to visit most of Chicago’s attraction.

I honestly had no clue where the main attractions were, so I aimlessly walked around before stumbling finding the Willis Tower.

I really love this shot:

Next stop was Millenium Park, but I got sidetracked when I saw Lake Michigan and Buckinham Fountain.

Hello Officers…

Statue of Honest Abe:

While I was lounging on the shores of Lake Michigan, I really wanted to see Soldier Field. I made the short trek over there and saw the Shedd Aquarium, the Museum of Natural History and finally Soldier Field.

Entrance to the John Shedd Aquarium:

Soldier Field BOOOOOOO!

I wanted to go back to the hotel and relax before I headed to the ballgame, so I made my way to the nearest train station when I saw this sign:

Gas prices here are $3.45 now, but I assume the pay is higher in Chicago than it would be here.

Travel mishap #2.

My hotel is on the Blue Line, and the stop I was on was the Red Line. I would have to ride the loop until I could transfer to the Blue Line from Clark/Lake station. I paid my fare at the station and made the short ride over to Clark/Lake to transfer. I looked around in my bookbag and pockets but couldn’t find my CTA pass anywhere -_-. Before my trip, I ordered two CTA passes, so I wouldn’t have to pay a fare while I was Chicago. A one-way train ride is $2.25, so I ended up paying the fare and made my way back to the hotel room.

I made a brief stop to Dominick’s and then D’Agostino’s Pizza to try out their thin crust pepperoni pizza. I ordered one slice ($4) and thought about ordering two. When the cashier handed me the slice, I was surprised at how big it was.

That’s a big boy!

It was amazing and filled me up the rest of the night.

I relaxed a little bit before making my way back to the train station for Game 2 at Wrigley Field. This time, the Braves won by 2. The weather was great and the fans were friendly too. Here are some pics.

Braves!

After the game was over, I made my way back to the hotel and relaxed before heading to bed. And with that, Day 2 is in the books. I’ll continue the rest of the trip later.