Chicago, Part the First, in which I play tourist

Chicago was great, as advertised. The view from the Sears Tower made all the other buildings look only kinda tall.

And we also saw this whatever-this-is from afar:
And this from up close:
So, everyone knows the way out now, right?

More family food fun:
Yes, we ate more than just hotdogs - and how! It's a miracle my pants still fit! Then on to Millennium Park to see the Bean from the outside
and from the underside:

The faces fountain was much appreciated by the kiddie set:

Very cool idea, in both senses of the word. I've gotta say, Chicago loves to throw water around. There were fountains and waterfall landscapes everywhere. The Botanical Garden had them, and so did the convention center, where Stitches was it's usual awesome, overwhelmingly fibery self. But more on that later, so stay tuned.