Tuesday, April 21, 2009

April 16 -- going to Chicago

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I'll put in another plug for my belief that every city should have at least one iconic building.

You know the Sears Tower means Chicago........





I took lots of pics of that pointy building, in the middle not quite a third of the way in from the right, when we were in Chicago for the bridge tournament in 2006....





It was the early-middle of the afternoon as we went through town on our way to O'Hare (convention center essentially "across the street" from O'Hare). The traffic was fairly heavy as we passed the heart of downtown, but otherwise was no big deal.

Don't you think it's a great idea to put the light rail in the middle of the expressway? The expressway is going there anyway, so it doesn't take up that much more space to put the tracks in the center................









Taking pictures from a moving car has its frustrations. Like trucks between the camera and my intended target.





Fine.

We'll take pics of the trucks......

Can you see the reflections from the semi on the cement truck? (As always, click on a pic to embiggen....)





I feel like I ought to know what that polygonal building with the round top is, but I don't.....





Still following the cement truck.

Nice starry handrails (with matching red stair bannisters) on pedestrian bridges.





The road curved around until we could see the north face of Sears Tower, but this was the last shot I got that I liked.





We made it the hotel without a single wrong turn (we have occasionally had to go a block or two out of our way after going the wrong way on River Road). Huzzah.

The Hyatt, in the back, with pink glass and cylindrical sections. You can see, in the distance, the gerbil tube which connects the Hyatt to the convention center (which is unseen on our right).





Busy hotel lobby, with arum lilies.



This pic is a lesson in checking which setting the camera is on, from time to time.

For this purpose (and for obscuring the identities of the men), this setting is fine, but if I cared to get "photographic realism," say, this setting Would Not Do....

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3 comments:

Lost Aussie said...

Nice photo tour! I hope you do well at the tournament!

Snowbrush said...

Such a beautiful building. I went to the top years ago, but it was a cloudy day.

I need orange said...

Thanks, Marie!

I, too, went to the top years (and years) ago. I believe we had a sunny day (I don't remember being disappointed.....).

It's cool when you can see forever, from a really tall building.........