Day 8 - Chicago Part 3

Hey everyone! Today was our third and final day in Chicago and it was by far the best day. Ryan and I woke up at 8:30am, had breakfast at John and Nancy’s, and headed downtown for our Segway tour. Nancy told us that doing a Segway tour is one of the coolest things you can do anywhere, so we had to try it out for ourselves. Ryan and I had to take the blue line downtown to Millennium Park for the start of our tour. There we were fitted for helmets and signed a waiver (I guess in case we got hurt). Our two tour guides Jarret and Helen showed us how to turn the Segway’s on and how to keep your balance on them. All of the older people in the group were freaking out about having to ride them and stuff. Ryan and I were naturals, me more so than him because of all the skiing that I do. Really riding a Segway is actually a lot like skiing, you just have to keep your balance and shift your weight in the direction that you want to go in.

So riding the Segways down Lakeshore drive and to Buckingham Fountain, by the Field Museum, and to 12th street beach was one of the coolest things we have done on this trip. It’s really funny, when you ride on a Segway you either get people who are angry that you are passing them at 12 mph or they all are like, “dude that thing is sweet lets go ride one”. Ryan was the first person in the group to wipe out on the Segway. He got his tires all tangled up in the sand on one of the paths and fell off. It was very funny to say the least. Wish I had gotten a picture of it or even a video (check out the uploaded video of Ryan riding on the Segway). At the end of the tour we were able to do some off roading on the Segways which was pretty fun. Another guy in the group thought he was hot shit and went really fast through this grassy patch and literally flew off his Segway. He was trying to be cool about it all but you could tell he was in pain. Apparently you can do Segways tours in other cities like San Francisco, Miami, Washington DC and New York. I think Ryan and I might try doing it again in San Francisco if the price is right. Speaking of that, we were able to get a student discount again and did the 3 hour Segway tour for 40 bucks per person. If anyone is in Chicago this is a must do, along with the Sears tower, City Bus Tour, and Lock Tour!!

So after our very eventful Segway tour Ryan and I headed over to the Taste of Chicago again to grab lunch. We figured it would be less crowded on a Monday afternoon than on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Ryan and I had some authentic Italian sausage sandwiches, Somea (fried shell with potatoes, peas, carrots and spices in a tangy sweet sauce), and fried cheese ravioli. All were very tasty and I could have literally spent all day there just trying all the foods. Even with the crowds the Taste of Chicago is a must do if you are there in the end of June.
From the Taste of Chicago Ryan and I headed over to the Sears tower, again hoping to go to the top before we left Chicago. Luckily we were able to and the view from the top was spectacular. Since it was a pretty clear day we could see straight to the other side of Lake Michigan. Check out all of the pictures we took of the view. They are all labeled based on the direction we were looking in. While there Ryan and I bought some cool Chicago tee shirts. I also asked one of the employees how often the Sears Tower closes due to wind and the women said maybe 3-4 times a year. Basically, Ryan and I hit the jackpot the day before. So a quick nugget of information about the Sears Tower, construction started in 1970, it was completed in 1973 and it is currently the largest building the eastern hemisphere (5th largest in the world). The view from the top was way COOL!

After Ryan and I were done at the Sears Tower (soon to be known as the Willis Tower), we headed back to Nancy and John’s place in bucktown for dinner. From there we headed uptown to have dinner at Pizzeria Uno. When we got there it was way crowded, so we went down the street and ate outside at Pizzeria Due. Pizzeria Duo is owned by the same family so it was pretty much the same thing. Ryan and I both got deep dish pizza (4 Cheese and Pepperoni). It was quite frankly the best deep dish I ever had. The crust was thick and tasty and everything basically melted in my mouth. Now, while at dinner we started talking to this table next to us. It was a family of four from southern Missouri and they had no idea what to do in Chicago. They didn’t even know where Millennium Park was or that the concierge at the hotel could help you locate things. They were like deer in headlights and even asked us if Duo Pizza would be better than Pizza Hut. We all said in a chorus “HELL YEAH!!”. After dinner we all headed back to the house. Ryan and I did some laundry and took advantage of being able to do that in a place that we knew wasn’t skeezy. Tomorrow we are headed to Minneapolis, MN to see the Mall of America. Hopefully the drive isn’t too boring!