Chicago
The train got in half-hour early - I was worried it would be late. For the first time ever I cared if the train was on time and it was actually early - perhaps my karma for not caring the rest of the time.

I took a couple of shots inside Union Station. I never warn the people that I'm going to photograph them. That goes for everyone whether I'm on vacation or with family and friends. I'm not looking for posed pictures. I tried for a shot of a woman sitting on the floor working on her laptop, but she noticed me there and gave me the look of death. I shot the picture and moved on.

I went outside and started looking for photo opportunities. Some guy asked if I was lost, and he gave me directions to the hotel. I don't know why I didn't see this coming, but of course once I had my directions he gave me the "my car broke down and I need some money to get home" story. He actually was helpful, and he caught me off guard, so I kicked him a couple of bucks. I'll bet his car is still "broken down" and he's hanging out in front of the train station waiting for naïve country boys like me. I was way ahead in my budget anyway so I didn’t care. Besides, it isn't a trip to the city unless you get hustled.

It was just over a mile to the Travelodge at 65 East Harrison St. I checked in and took the elevator to the tenth floor. After sliding my key card about a dozen times I went back down for a new one, then it was back upstairs. There was a sign on the wall that you could leave your suitcases with the desk for a dollar for the whole day after checkout at 11am. I asked, and they let me extend my checkout time until noon.

After unloading as quickly as possible, I headed down to the waterfront. There had been a post at www.dpreview.com from a photographer that was going to spend a day in Chicago and wanted to know where to go, which I brought along with me as a PDF file. Luckily I had it and Adobe Reader on my SD card, so I didn't lose it with my battery disaster. The replies to his question gave me a course to take. I started at the Shedd Aquarium. The weather was gray, and I was worried that I wouldn't get any good photos in Chicago. At least it wasn't raining. From there I walked around Grant Park and up the Lake Michigan shore. I knew I'd want to get to the top of the Sears Tower, so I made my way into town. I found a Walgreen's and stopped to pick up some spare batteries for my PDA. I walked another two blocks and found another Walgreens. I picked up a few postcards and continued to the tower.

Twelve dollars later I was unloading the fanny pack I keep my PDA in and camera bag to go through security. I had the straps looped through my belt hoops, and the buckles are a tight fit, so this was not a quick task. Eventually I had everything off and out and was walking thorough the metal detector. Then I loaded back up for the elevator ride to the top after the brief movie. I went up when it was light and didn't leave until after dark. As soon as the lights in town started coming up I decided I had to stay until I got some night photos. There were reflections everywhere which made photography difficult. A place like that should have dark walls behind the windows, but I guess that doesn't occur to anyone other than people like me. I eventually tried some shots where I put the reflections into the composition. After about two hours I went back down and walked back to my hotel. I left the curtains opened so I'd wake up as early as possible.

The next morning I was up at six. I looked out the window and the sky was blue and the weather was perfect. I couldn't believe my luck. I had asked for a seven o'clock wake-up call, but since I was up so early I was out of the room by around 6:30. I decided that I'd leave my stuff in my room and shower when I returned so I wouldn't miss the early light.

I headed back down to the aquarium, and walked up Grant Park until I reached the Chicago River. Then I followed the river until I could cross. I walked to Navy Pier, but it was too early and nothing was open and there weren't many people around. I went out about half way before turning around. I didn't have much time, and Navy Pier wasn't the best place to spend it. Eventually I walked through town to the Water Tower, then back down across the river. I'm glad I went to the Sears Tower the day before. The photos may have been better from up there today, but since they were shot through windows the quality would have been marginal anyway. It was much better to spend all day walking around town.

One of the things I wanted to do was to ride the el train. I got on, but only for a couple of stops since I was running out of time and I really didn't know where the train was going. The stop was near my hotel and I was back in my room at 10:45.

I showered and got ready to go. Why hotels always have towels made of sandpaper, I'll never know. I decided I didn't want to check my backpack in because then I'd have to loop back to my hotel again. I was back out at noon, and spent the rest of my time wandering back to the Sears Tower and around Union Station. As it approached time to leave I went into the station to find the right platform. The waiting room was full of people already. One guy had an upright bass he was lugging around. I decided there were too many people and went and got a sandwich while I waited. Soon it was time to head out and we loaded onto the Empire Builder.

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