Black and Whites Chicago May 2013

Being a ridiculously huge pro wrestling fan, I try to get as much of the behind the scenes psychology I can. Much of this psychology can actually be translated into the real world and what you do in your life to screw yourself or, in better cases, move ahead. The man that I get the best behind the scenes info is from former VP of talent relations and the former announcer and voice of the WWE, Jim Ross (aka Good Ol JR). His biggest piece of advice to all of the young talent on the WWE roster is to maximize your minutes. Well, when I went to Chicago back at the end of May, I made sure to do the same.

I know I've mentioned it several times by now, but I only had six hours to spend in a town I'd never wanted to visit before. My biggest draws were train stations and giant metallic beans. With that in mind, I searched the internet and found out two locations that directly matched my criteria, Millenium Park and Dearborn Station. I hope you all get to enjoy at least Millenium park someday, and Buckingham fountain just a few blocks south. Two places that have invaded my thoughts and dreams since I visited them.

Front Door of Dearborn Station. Now a retail shop. Bummer.

Huge amphitheater adjacent to the big bean, the Jay Pritzker Pavillion. They yelled at me for walking on the grass. I made sure to take a few extra steps before getting back on the sidewalk.

The Giant Bean, AKA Clouds Gate. Looks much cooler in black and white then in color.

The tower of Dearborn Station. There used to be a roof cap on the tower until it burned down in a fire. It was more dull to look at now that the building was turned into a retail strip mall. Very depressing.

A stellar view of the Downtown sky from the Jay Pritzker Pavillion. I took this while standing on the grass while the gardners were working as mentioned in the above image. It couldn't have been a better looking day. Now if only I had brought my filter for a more dramatic shot.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

A Short Stay in the Windy City

Now when I say my visit was short, I mean it! The train pulled into the Union Station around 3:30 PM. and I left at 9:30 on a different train.

Late last year, I saw this incredible time travel movie called Source Code. The main characters were on a Chicago bound train that had a bomb on it. Well, at the very end, it showed the main characters visiting a giant metal structure that had an incredible view reflecting off of it. So I started up the Google search and finally found the structure which looks like a giant metal bean sitting in the middle of a post modern designed city park called Millennium Park.

I did a hell of a lot of research on where to go on my 6 hour stay (probably more research than I did for New York), but I still managed to not have enough time to see everything I wanted. Another killer place to check out is Buckingham Fountain, which was seen on the into to Married With Children. the water shoots up in the air damn near into space! Well, maybe not that high, but its still amazing. And watch out if you walk near the Hilton on Michigan Ave. There was some pointless protest going on that blocked off every street in the area, and apparently, they happen ALL the time over there.

Jay Pritzker Pavillion at Millennium Park

View down Monroe St

A reflection off of the "Cloud Gate" sculpture, AKA The bean

Three monuments in front of Buckingham Fountain. The one in the middle really looks like the Headless Horseman until you get up close to it.

The skyline just north of Millennium Park

I always look for an opportunity for a self portrait.

If you go check out Cloud Gate, You'll get a view similar to this. I think you can see yourself about 543 times (not that many) from the odd concave shape underneath.