Two years in Chicagoland

What’s up everyone?

Wasatch Mountains

Well we here at the Adventure Dairies are celebrating an anniversary.  Its officially two years since we moved from our hometown of Salt Lake City to the suburbs of Chicago.  There are usually two question that people tend to ask us: 1) What are the differences between SLC and Chicago? and 2)  What do you miss the most since you left?  I thought for this post I would address these question.  Of course this will be my experience and thoughts.  I can’t speak for Erin, but I feel that some of our answers would be similar.

Lets tackle the first question.  What are the differences between the two?

View of the Salt Lake Valley

Lets get the obvious one out of the way, population.  The Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem Combined Statistical Area or CSA for short is made up of 10 counties with a population of about 2.5 million people.  On the other hand, Chicagoland is made up of 9 counties in Illinois and 2 in Indiana with a population of about 9.4 million people.  Definitely a noticeable difference.  With a denser population there is an increase of cars on the road and heavier traffic.  At rush hour it can be about a 2 to 3 hour drive from where I live to get to Chicago, which is about 30 miles.  Not as bad as L.A. which takes you 2 to 3 hours to go 5 miles.  Its not uncommon to be at a dead stop on the highways.  While we’re on the subject of the roads, I do have to add that they have tollroads.  That was something that we had to get used to.  Luckily they offer a little device that deducts the toll automatically when passing through the sensors, making it so that you don’t have to stop at the booths all the time.  That would increase the hassle of driving on them and travel time.

View of Chicagoland

Erin and I have had different experiences when it comes to the people.  I will say generally the people that I have interacted with have been a little standoffish.  No, thats not the best term.  More like reserved, yea more reserved than that of their western counterparts.  They tend to have their guard up until you get to know them and then all bets are off.  Still not quite the friendly, do anything for your neighbor, people of Utah.  Its not bad, just different.  To be honest I kinda like it.  I tend to keep to myself and I don’t like to be bothered, so I guess in that way I fit in.

People in Chicagoland are more diverse than that of Utah.  Lets face it, in Utah there’s not a lot of diversity.  They do have a decent population of Hispanic and, funny enough, Polynesians.  Other than that not much, but slowly they are becoming more diverse.  Here we get them all.  Different areas of Chicago have been founded by immigrants from around the globe.  Many are still migrating over.  Its fairly common to walk into a store and hear several different languages being spoke as you traverse the isle.  Its something that I’m not accustomed to, but its refreshing to know that I’m part of something bigger.  Even though we appear to be different, in the end we’re all the same.

Red Rocks of Moab, Utah

One thing that I took for granted while living in Utah was the mountains.  I never realized how much I would miss them until I moved here.  I’m not trying to take away anything from Illinois.  For the most part it is a beautiful state, with its many forest preserves, lakes and rivers.  The drawback is that its flat here.  I mean very flat, about the only thing that gives you any elevation are the small hills scattered about and the elevated highways. Illinois doesn’t even stand a snowballs chance in hell when it comes to the diversity of Utah’s wilderness.  Mountains, forests, deserts, red rock.  Yea, Utah has it all.  What can I say, I’m kinda bias when it come to Utah’s outdoor scene.  I was pretty much raised out in it.  I have a lot of fond memories of Utah’s backcountry.

One last thing before I put a nail in this questions coffin and thats the food.  Chicago is a destination for any diehard foodie.  Its a no-brainer that with the influx of immigrants that Chicago has that they would bring there traditions with them.  I’ll be honest, I haven’t explored the food side of Chicago as much.  I’m kind of a picky eater, so I tend to stick with what I know and like.  Luckily, thats where Erin comes in.  She loves to push me out of my comfort zone, so most likely, we’ll be trying something new and wonderful.  Hopefully.

What do you miss the most since you left?

Starved Rock State Park, IL

Once again let get the obvious out of the way and thats family and friends.  For me it has become quite the change of pace knowing that if I want to see my family or friends I either have to drive for 22 hours or catch a plane and fly for 3 hours.  They are no longer that 15 minute drive away.  I guess thats alright.  It has forced me to become more independent than what I was previously.  That made it sound like I was reliant on them, which I’m not, but it was nice to know that they were not that far away if I need their help.  Technology has made a big difference for us though.  We could always call if we needed to, but sometime you need more of that human element, for the lack of a better term.  Thats where Skype and FaceTime have earned their keep in this house hold.  It is always nice to see their smiling faces.

I would have to say that the biggest thing that I miss is the activities that I used to do back in Utah.  Yea, I going to head back to Utah’s outdoor scene.  Sorry, but not sorry.  I’m referring more to our motorized outdoor activities: Jeeping and ATV riding.  We’ve been doing this long before I can remember.  Like I mentioned above, I was raised driving on the red rocks of Moab and blazing across the sands of Little Sahara Sand Dunes on our ATVs.  We have explored many parts of Utah that most sane people would consider unreachable.  There was nothing better than to wake up on a Saturday morning and decide to load up the ATVs and head out.  We have done this on countless occasions.  Now it not quite that simple.  We didn’t bring out any of our off-road vehicles since we didn’t think that we would use them once here.  But thats okay, we still get to use them once and awhile when we are back in Utah.  It just takes a lot more planning and consideration on our part.

Utah Backcountry

Well this was just a few of answers to the questions we tend to get asked.  Both Utah and Illinois have their good and bad.  It all boils down to what you make of it.  It has been a crazy 2 years for us.  We are excited to continue exploring our new home and sharing our adventures with you.

As alway, thanks for stopping by.  Until next time.

Josh

In the Steps of Lincoln pt. 3

What’s up everybody?

Well we have reached the final leg of our Lincoln Historic Site tour.  I find it fitting that the end of our journey takes us to the final resting place for Lincoln.  Our trip was a lot simpler than that of Lincolns.  The train , dub “The Lincoln Special”, left Washington D.C. on April 21 1865 on its way to his home town of Springfield, Illinois about a 1654 mile trek.  The train was scheduled to stop in 180 cites in 7 states.  At each stop, they would place Lincolns coffin into a horse drawn hearse.  Followed by a procession of mourners, the hearse would travel to a public building and the coffin would be place for viewing.  Thousands would pay their respects to the fallen President.  A newspaper reported that some people had wait for more than 5 hours just to pass by Lincolns coffin.  This to me shows just how loved he was as a President.

The final stop of his long and tedious journey was the Lincoln Tomb, which was still under construction at the time.  Lincolns remains as well as Williams, Lincolns third son who died of  typhoid fever in 1862, were placed in a temporary tomb while the the main structure was being completed.  It was actually Thomas Lincoln, Abe’s four child, that would be the first to be laid to rest in the tomb.  Followed shortly by his father and two older brothers.  Mary Todd would also by place to rest there after her passing in 1882.  Robert, Lincolns oldest and last remaining son, would not be buried there.  He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery as requested by his wife.

The Lincoln Tomb is located in the Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.  It had never occurred to me that the tomb would actually be in a cemetery.  For some reason that possibility never crossed my mind.  I guess I pictured it out in a field, or something like that, stand all serene and regal.  It was definitely a surprise to me, an interesting and unexpected surprise. The tomb was designed by Larkin Mead. Construction began in 1868 and was dedicated in 1874.  Since then it has gone through two reconstruction, due to poor craftsmanship.

The tomb itself is constructed from brick with a sheath of Quincy granite.  The base is 72 ft squared.  Two sets of double staircases, on the North and South sides, lead up to the upper terrace.  There a massive 117 ft tall obelisk juts towards the sky.  On the four corner of the obelisk sits four large pedestals.  Each containing bronze statues that represent the four military branch of the Civil War: Infantry, Artillery, Calvary, and Navy.  Statues of Lincoln can be found on the front and back of the building.  It is a truly impressive structure to behold.

At ground level there is a bronze bust of Lincoln.  It was modeled after the marble bust of Lincoln found in Washington D.C. created by Gutzon Borglum.  It is said that if you rub the nose it will bring you good luck.  Now poor Mister Lincolns nose is all polished and shiny from the millions of visitors.  You know what the say “When in Rome do as the Romans do”, so like all the other fools we step up and rubbed his nose.  Hey! a little luck can’t hurt.  Right?

We entered into the south door, which opens into a small rotunda with a statue of Lincoln that resembles that of the Lincoln Memorial.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have never been in a tomb or mausoleum before.  It is eerily silent inside with a slight creepiness about it.  Even the two greeters had a weirdness about them.  Sorry guys, I mean no offense.  Off of the rotunda a set of hallways lead you to burial chamber.  On the South side of the chamber lies the resting place of the Lincoln Family, Mary Todd and 3 of the sons.  On the North side of the chamber sits a massive granite cenotaph.  You don’t know what a cenotaph is?  Well neither did I, so I looked it up.  According to my dictionary app, it is a tomblike monument to someone buried elsewhere.  Originally Lincolns remains were place in a marble sarcophagus, but a failed robbery of his body changed that.  Upon the request of Robert, they placed Lincoln 10 ft below the chamber floor and placed the cenotaph above him.  The cenotaph is surrounded by flags.  The flags on the left represent the states that Lincolns ancestors lived: Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.  On the right the flag of the President of the U.S and the flags of the states that Lincoln lived: Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois.  In the center is Old Glory with the inscription above it that reads “Now He Belongs To The Ages”.

We have finally come to the end of our Lincoln journey.  It was a very interesting and inspiring trip for us.  Before we went to Springfield, I thought that I knew quite a bit about Lincoln.  This trip definitely proved that there was still a lot to learn about him.  Lincoln has become an American Icon and that might be part of the problem.  We tend to focus on the great things that he did while he was the President and forget the things that made him great.  From humblest of beginnings would rise one of the greatest American Presidents.  There is a lot we can learn from his example and I hope we take them to heart.

That is all for now.  Until next time.  Thanks for stopping by.

Josh

In the Steps of Lincoln pt. 2

What’s up everybody?

For this weeks post we are headed back to Springfield, as we continue to checkout more of the Lincoln historical sites.  Last week we had talked about Lincoln Home National Historical Site, but that was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg that can be found in Springfield’s Historical District.  Everything within the Historical District is about a fifteen minute walk from each other.

As we wondered though the streets of the Historical District, we came across the Old State Capital and the Lincoln - Herndon Law Office Building.

The Old Capital building was not the first capital building to be built.  In fact, it was the fifth to be built.  The original capital of Illinois was in Vandalia, a town found toward the southern end of the state.  The new capital building was built in 1837 after a caucus of nine lawmaker, which included our main man Abraham Lincoln, successfully lobbied to move the capital to the more central town of Springfield.  This building was the setting for many of the events in Lincolns adult life.  From inside these walls he had plead many of his cases to the Supreme Court, where he served his final term as a State Lawmaker and where he gave his famous House Divide Speech.  It was also where he announce his candidacy for President of the United States in 1858, much like his contemporary Bararck Obama would do some 150 years later in 2007.  This would continue to be the Capital Building until the 1870’s, when the small building could no longer support the growing needs of the state and a newer capital building would be built.

The next stop on our walkabout of the district was the Lincoln - Herndon Law Office building.  The Lincoln - Herndon Law Office building was part of the much larger brick building know as the Tinsley Block.  Named after local developer and builder of the structure Seth M. Tinsley.  The Block was built to supply office space for the many workers that were flocking to the new capital of Springfield.  Lincoln and his original partner, Stephen T. Logan, moved their law office into the third floor of the Tinsley Block.  They worked together for sometime until they decided to go their separate ways in 1844.  Lincoln continued to work out of this office and would eventually take on a junior partner, William H. Herndon.  They successfully worker from this space until they moved to a new office in 1852.  Now a days part of the original Tinsley Block has been torn down, but the Lincoln - Herndon Office was safe from the demolitions and preserved.  The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) took control of the building in 1985 and has worked hard to restore the building back to resemble how it looked in the 1840s. 

The Cherry on top of this Historical District sundae is, of course, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPM).  In my opinion, the ALPM is the biggest draw for tourist that are visiting downtown Springfield.  With the exception of the Lincoln Home.  The ALPM consists of three buildings:  Springfield Union Station, the Lincoln Museum and the Lincoln Library.

The Springfield Union Station was, obviously, primarily a train station.  It was built in 1896 and operated as a passenger hub for several railway companies, but was predominantly used by Illinois Central.  Trains would continue to operate out of this station until April of 1971 when the completion of the Amtrak train hub ceased control of all passenger traffic in and out of Springfield.  After the train traffic to the station had ended, it was used for private business and also state offices.  In 2004 it was absorbed into the ALPM and underwent major restoration.  three years later in 2007 it would reopen its doors as the new Visitor Center for the ALMP.  Currently it is housing Lincoln: History to Hollywood exhibit.  On display are costumes and props from the Steven Spielberg film Lincoln (2012).  Starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln.

All right lets get into the nuts and bolts of it.  The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and museum are two massive buildings.  Located across the street from each other and both respectively take up a city block.  The entrances were built to pay homage to the rotunda of the Old State Capital Building.  The Library was opened on October 14, 2004.  Half a year later the Museum would open its doors on April 19, 2005.  Prior to the ALPM opening, Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC was considered the “Lincoln Museum”.

I’ll be honest the Library is not really a touristy location.  For all intense of purposes, it is a research library.  It contain many artifacts that pertain to Lincoln and his legacy.  Also held within the walls of the Lincoln Library is the Illinois State Historical Library.  In this collection you can find many historically significant artifact that pertain to the state of Illinois.  Such as paper, manuscripts, pamphlets, and other miscellaneous item.  The Lincoln Library is open to the public, but their rare collections are non-circulative.

The Museum is were all the action happens.  The moment that we walk into the main forum of the museum, we were awe-struct by what we seen.  The Lincoln family was there to pose for picture with all the visitors.  Of course, they were mannequins so they really didn’t have a choice in the matter.  From the forum we had several option that we could take to explore.  A helpful greeter was happy to give his advice on how to proceed through the museum.  The museum is, for the most part, divided into four section:  The Pre-Presidential years, the Presidential Years, Treasury Gallery, and the Rotating Exhibit.  It also includes two theater that show some interesting movies about Lincoln and the museum itself.  

We decide to start where it all began and headed towards the Pre-Presidential area.  We start our journey into Lincoln earlier years by passing through a recreation of the log cabin that he grew up in.  Its interesting to me that a great man like Lincoln could come from such humbling begins.  Maybe it was these humble beginnings that made him such a great man.  Leaving the cabin we come upon a display of a slave trader in the process of auctioning off some slaves.  It was a scene like this, that Lincoln had seen as child, which started to influence the way he thought about equality.  As we travelled further in, we came upon his Springfield years.   This was a very important time for Lincoln, as he met Mary Todd, started a family, ran a successful law firm, and started on his political path to the Whitehouse.

What better way to view Lincolns Presidential Years then to step through the doors of the Whitehouse.  As we enter, we are greeted by several of Mary Todd’s formal dresses.  They still look as elegant and regal as they did back when she first had them.  This section of the museum documents Lincolns years as president and the event of the Civil War.  As you would expect, this is the bigger of the two section as many important things happened during this time of Lincolns life.  I tend to think that I am a knowledgable person, but as we continued through the museum I quick came to the understanding that I didn’t know as much I thought I did.  I understood that many of the Southern States were not happy with the policies that he was trying to implement.  We became quite aware of this as we enter a room that was filled with political cartoon that depicted him in a bad light.  This was interesting to me because we tend to see him as a great man that did great things, but at the time he was seen by many as someone that was trying to destroy there livelihood.  It kind of puts things in a different perspective.  The last exhibit was a somber one.  We entered into a dimly light room and sitting in the middle of the room sat a replica of Lincolns casket.  For me, I took a quite moment to ponder upon the events, good and bad, that lead to that point.  Its hard to think but he did die for what he believed in and the many are grateful for his sacrifices.

All in all the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum is definitely something that should been seen.  It is full of history and for someone like me who has the thirst for knowledge they won't be disappointed.  It helped me to open my eyes just a little wider on one of Americas greats icons and it will for you as well.

We hoped you enjoy a quick tour of Springfield's Historical District.

Thanks for stopping by.

Josh

In the Steps of Lincoln pt.1

What’s up everybody?

Ever since we moved to the Chicagoland area we knew that there was one place that we had to visit.  Since we are living in the Land of Lincoln, we knew that we had to go see Lincoln’s Home in Springfield.  As my brother always reminded me whenever we talked, “You are there, you have to go see it”.  Its been a trip we’ve been planning for sometime now, but kept putting it off as the timing never felt right.  In the middle of the previous week, we decided to heck with it. On a whim and very little planning, we decide that on the coming Saturday we would drive down to Springfield for the day and see as much as we could.  Now Springfield is only a two and a half hour drive from where I live, so to me that was a doable task.  I’ve driven longer for less on several occasions.  So early Saturday morning, a lot earlier than I like to get up on the weekend, we jumped in the car and headed out.

The Lincoln Home is one of two site that are run by the National Park Service in the state of Illinois.  The other being Pullman National Monument.  This historical site is made up of Lincoln’s Home, the surrounding four blocks of his former neighborhood and the visitor center.  Along with Lincoln’s Home there are two other homes that you are allowed to enter, the Dean and Arnold houses.  Each one has been restored back to the way it was back in Lincolns time and has there own exhibits relating back to Lincoln.  The rest of the neighborhood was also restored, but you can only admire them from the outside.

Springfield was not the first place that Lincoln lived, but when he came rolling into town upon a borrowed horse and everything he owned in two saddle bags, he knew this was the place that he would start his new life.  It was true, this would be the place were he would start his family, a successful law career and it was also were he started to develop many of his political and social views.

Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842.  Two years later he would purchase the only home that he would ever own.  Lincoln purchased the then Dresser residence for $1500 dollars.  It was a cozy one and a half story home with five total rooms.  Over the next 17 years, the house would be remodel and go through several changes.  Eventually the home would expand to two stories, 12 rooms and nearly 3,000 square feet.  The halls were usually filled by the rambunctious play of the Lincolns children.  Unfortunately, even with all the joy that filled the house, tragedy found its way in to spoil it.  In December of 1849 Edward, the Lincolns second child, fell ill with what is believe to be tuberculosis.  He would eventually pass away the follow February.  His funeral was held within the home.  They continued to live here until Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1860.  Sadly, the Lincolns would never return to live back in the home.  In 1887 Robert Lincoln, the oldest and last surviving Lincoln child, deeded the home to the State of Illinois.  But he did have two provision that had to be met before signing it over. They were “that said homestead shall be, forever, kept in good repair and free of access to the public”.  On October 9 1972 the Lincoln Home official became a National Historical Site.

The NPS offers multiple tours of the home throughout the day.  Guided, of course, as many of the artifact in the home belong to the Lincoln.  We don't want to lose or damage an of the history that is associated with the home or the Lincoln Legacy.  We had a very nice guide, Ranger Kelly, a happy-go-lucky young lady that was very knowledgable of the home and history of the area.  She was very excited to show us around and happy to answer any questions our group had.  As I mention most of the artifacts in the home belong to the Lincolns, with a few exceptions.  There was one artifact that we were able to touch, the hand railing leading to the upper floor of the home.  Of course we had to use it for safety, but it was really cool to think that we were touch an actual piece of history.  The original hand rail that the Lincolns used on a daily basis.  As Ranger Kelly pointed out it was almost like shaking hands with Abe himself.  I would have much rather shook his actual hand, but I can live with shaking his metaphoric hand instead.

The tour gave us just a hint of what it was like when the Lincolns lived there.  At the time both Abraham and Mary Todd had there own separate rooms.  I don’t know if that was common at the time, but interesting either way.  To me, each rooms seemed to represented the occupants that slept there.  The other thing that really stuck out to me was, what I’m going to call the Maid’s Room for I can’t recall what they actually called it.  It was located just down the hall from the Lincoln family bedrooms.  It was small and very simple, but what it represented is what stuck out to me the most.  The maid, usually a black girl, was not a indentured servant or a slave but a paid worker.  They were hired by the Lincolns to help with the house and the children and were well compensated for their services.  This showed that Lincoln did believe that everyone should be treated as equals and have the same rights.

The Lincoln Home gave us just a glimpse into the life of the Lincolns Family.  There are many stories about them from their time in Springfield.  Truly if the walks could talk we could learn so much more about their daily lives.  They were probably more of a normal family then we give them credit for.  The home was filled with joy and tragedy, much like our own homes.  Lincoln was a great man and there is still plenty of things that we can learn from him and his example.  Visiting his home brought an already iconic man into a new light.  

We still have plenty to explore in the Land of Lincoln and are excited to bring it to you. So until next time, Thanks for stopping by.

Josh

Tip Toeing Amongst the Flowers

What’s up everybody?

A few weeks back our friend Steve invited us to go up to the Chicago Botanic Garden.  We kept on making plans to go there with him but something always seemed to come up and prevented us or him from going.  Finally the stars aligned just right and we made it up there.

Just a little background on Steve.  He attended school for Landscape Design and managed a floral shop for a time.  He has a real passion for horticulture.  He has a nice little garden of his own in his yard.  I’m sure if he had a larger yard he would have a mass garden in it.  I’ve tried to grow a little garden myself and failed miserably.  So it was nice to have someone, that actually knows what they are doing and has actual knowledge about what they are talking about, show us around the garden.

Chicago Botanic Garden is a 385 acre living plant museum.  Owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and is operated by Chicago Horticultural Society.  It is located in the village of Glencoe Illinois, about 25 miles North of Chicago.  It boasts the largest membership of any U.S. botanical garden.  They have over 50,000 members.  The garden is free to all visitor, but with that being said you do have to pay for parking.  They have to get you somehow. Right?!  Parking is about 25 - 30 dollars depending on the day of the week and the size of the car (i.e. large passenger van).

I tend to be the type of person that likes to get to places early.  Mostly to beat the crowds that tend to filter in later on in the day.  With that being said we headed up there about 10 o’clock and found a decent parking spot relatively close to the front entrance with a little bit of a walk to the gate.  Once at the entrance we found nice workers passing out maps of the garden and ready to answer any question that we might of had. Inside of the entrance building lies the shops, eateries and information booths.

As soon as we passed through the entrance our senses were put into overload as we take in the sights and smells of the flora.  The Botanic garden is made up of 9 islands, of various sizes, and encompassed by 6 miles of lake shoreline.  As a whole the garden is separated in to 27 individual gardens and 4 wilderness areas.  Each garden has its own unique theme and flora to match that theme.  The two that stuck out the most to me were the Japanese Garden and the Plant Evaluation Garden.

I would have to say that the Japanese Garden was my favorite.  Surprisingly it was not overly abundant on flowers.  Maybe because of the time of the year.  I know that some of the plants that they have in there have a short blooming period.  This particular garden is actually made up of three of the nine island.  Two of which guest are allowed to traverse, while the third is only for the bird and garden staff.  You feel as if you have traveled back in time as you pass over the feudal style bridge into the garden.  Once there you are greeted with Japanese buildings and structures.  The main focal point is the pagoda, which was design by a famous Japanese architect.  It was full built in Japan.  Then taken apart and shipped to the U.S. where it was reassembled and put on display.  I would have like to have spent more time there but as it was getting later in the day our energy levels were starting to leave us, since we had been exploring the other garden throughout day.

The other garden that I found interesting was the Plant Evaluation Garden.  This particular garden is set up in concentric circles filled with flowers of various species.  In the middle of the garden lies a really cool sundial.  Here as the name implies, is where they grow plant and evaluate how they grow.  You can think of it better as a testing or proving ground for the plants.  The purpose of this is to test how the plants cope with the stress of growing in the Chicagoland area.  It is not a quick evaluation either as they typically grow them for four to six years and sometimes longer.  It is nice to know that they go through all this trouble to bring us the highest quality of plants that they can.  They don’t just throw them together and see what happens.

One thing I would like to add is that all of the gardens are wheelchair accessible and are fairly easy to navigate.  There is also a shuttle tram.  For a small fee they will take you on a tour of the gardens.  At designated stop they will allow you to get off, but if you get off you will have to wait for the next shuttle to come by to continue the tour.  I will let you now that it is not an in-depth tour, but you will get information from the tour guides that you may not get when you are on your own.  Of course, the tour guides are what makes the tour.  We had a sassy black lady that was pretty entertaining to listen to as she tended to repeat herself throughout the tour.  Just don’t get to loud, for she had a tendency to shush those perpetrators who got too vocal.  

There is truly a lot that the Chicago Botanic Garden has to offer.  If you want to have a serene walk through beautifully designed landscapes or even partake in the many class that are offered.  There is something for everyone.  There is a reason why over a million people visit the Garden annually.  We had a excellent time and appreciate having Steve invite us into his world and showing us around.

As always, thanks for stopping by.  Until next time.

Josh

Quickshot: The Leaning Tower of....Niles?

What’s up everyone?

A couple of weeks ago I happened to be flipping through an app on my phone and came across an article about roadside attractions in each state.  I knew of a couple that are here in Illinois, but I was quite surprised by the one they chose.  About 15 miles Northwest of Chicago lies the suburb of Niles.  Within the city you can find the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Yes, thats right.  A scaled down version of the famous tower in Italy.  

The Niles Tower is about half the size of the original.  Standing 94 ft into the air with a 28 ft diameter base and a tilt of about 7.4 ft from plumb.  Of course they used modern materials to reenforce the structure.  Don’t want it to topple over.  Am I right?!  To compare, Pisa is about 186 feet tall with a 50 ft diameter base and has a lean of about 13 ft from plumb.

Back in the 1920s, a successful business man named Robert Ilg built a 22 acre recreation park for his employees of Ilg Hot Air Electric Ventilating Company of Chicago.  Wow! That was a mouthful.  The park had two giant pools within it.  Which posed a problem.  Two large pool obviously uses a lot of water, but where would they get the water to replenish the pools.  The choice was to build a water storage tower.  But if you’re going to build a tower, why not put a little twist on it.

In my research on the tower, there is not a clear reason why he chose to build the Pisa replica.  Most believe that it was to celebrate the Tower of Pisa’s 600th anniversary, but as I said, no clear reason.  Construction started in 1931 and was finished in 1934 and there it stands in all its glory.  Eventually a piece of the park was donated to the YMCA with the stipulation that they would maintain the upkeep.  This upkeep would soon swell past the agreed budget and the YMCA would not be able to properly take care of the tower.  

The city of Niles agreed to buy the tower from the YMCA and started to renovated the tower.  They add refection pool, lights, fountains, and beautified the landscaping.  In 1991 the Village of Niles established a sister pact with the city of Pisa.

To be honest it was kind of cool.  I wouldn’t suggest just going up there to see it, but if you are up in the area it is worth stopping by and taking some photos.  We didn’t get a chance to explore the Village of Niles as it was getting late in the day and we had to get back home.  So there could be more to explore there.  Maybe next time we are in the area we’ll check it out more in-depth.  All in all it was pretty interesting.

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time.

Josh

A View From The Top

What’s up everyone?

Today we are going to the top of the world.  I’m talking about Willis Tower or better known as , and to me will always be known as, Sears Tower.  At the time of its conception, it became the worlds tallest building by surpassing the World Trace Center.  A titled it held for 25 years.  It currently stands 1450 ft with 110 floors.  It is still the ninth tallest building in the world and the second tallest in the western hemisphere.  One World Trade Center now takes that title.  Willis Tower is located in downtown Chicago.

In 1969 the Sears, Roebuck, & Co wanted to consolidate their thousands of works in offices they had scattered about throughout the Chicago area.  So they started the search to find the right place to built.  Looking through their option they settled upon a location just off the banks of the Chicago River.  With a location found they hired Skidmore, Ownings, & Merrill(SOM) to design their building.  SOM’s lead architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan came up with the idea to use the nine square “tubes.  Essentially they are 9 separate building all interlocked with each other.  Using the "tube method gave the tower stability and was more cost effective to build.  This method has become very popular in constructing the worlds super tall builds.  Even the current tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, use this method.

In April of 1971, the first pieces of steel were put into place and construction was underway.  It was completed in May of 1973.  There it stood as a beacon of American ingenuity.  In 2009, a London based insurance broker known as Willis Group Holdings agreed to lease a portion of the building.  With the new lease came the naming rights, as Sears rights expired in 2003, and Sears Tower became Willis Tower.  But for many it will always be the Sears Tower.

The biggest draw for tourist is, of course, the Skydeck.  When you first enter the tower the send you over to the elevators.  Ironically, the send you down into one of the basement floors.  Once there they take your picture and you purchase your tickets.  From there you walk through a couple of rooms that talks about the tower and a little bit about Chicago.  You make your way to another set of elevator.  They stuff you in and rocket you to 103rd floor.  When the doors open you are greeted with a 360 degree view of the city.  They say that you can see up to fifty miles in any direction.  Of course it all depends on the weather conditions.

The view is spectacular but the best park of the Skydeck is the Ledge.  The Ledge is a retractable glass box that extends a little over 4 ft from the building.  From inside the box you can look through the glass floor 1353 ft down to the Chicago River below.  It is said that the inspiration for the Ledge came from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  In the scene the trio are in the Skydeck.  Ferris convinces them to stand on one of the rail and press their heads against the window to look down at the ground below.  To prevent the many tourist from recreating this and for them having to constantly clean the windows, they tried to come up easier way to give you that experience.  In the end, the Ledge was born.

I can say that I’m not really scared of heights, but it was still a little intimidating to walk out on to it.  Poor Erin was quite the trooper.  For those who don’t know, Erin is really terrified of heights but it was something that she really wanted to do.  I will say it did take a little coxing but she did it and was happy for doing so.  It was definitely a weird feeling to be staring down at your feet and seeing what could only be describe as tiny ants scurrying about very far below.    If you are ever in the Chicago area it is something that you should at least try to see once.  Like I said the view of the city is spectacular.  Something that you don’t get to experience everyday.

Hope you enjoyed a brief look at the Willis Tower.  As always, Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time.

Josh