CHICAGO FAMILY TRIP PART 2 -SKYDECK
It used to be the Sears Tower but now it is called the Willis Tower. But whatever it’s name, it is one of the tallest buildings in the world, and the 2nd tallest building in America! AND… not only that, but it was on our family’s “definitely MUST DO” list. (If you missed Day 1 – you can see it HERE.)
I felt a wee bit nervous the minute I first heard that we might go to the top and step out onto “The Ledge,” and with good reason. Get a load of this:
- It is 110 stories tall.
- It is the highest observation deck in the U.S.
- It is 1353 feet above the ground….yeesh
- On a clear day you can see 4 states – Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
- The elevators to the top are among the fastest in the world, 1600 feet per minute! Ugh..
- The building is designed to sway up to 3 feet in the wind! THREE FEET!!!
But I’m here to say that we live large and take chances so we went to the very top!
And the view was tremendous!
And other than having my ears pop every couple of seconds during the quick elevator ascent to the top, the whole experience was amazing!
There are glass boxes that extend 4.3 feet out from the building where you can stand and look 1353 feet straight down!
We stood there and stared far too long, but wow. I’ll never forget that! Then we hopped on over to the Lincoln Park zoo, which was a pretty cool for being a free zoo but only got to be there for about 4 animals before it closed, haha!
Now I’ll just let the rest of the day speak for itself in pictures…
Before leaving for this trip, I was worried about taking my family to a big city that has so much crime, but I have to say that never once did I feel unsafe. That is, until Sam took us to one of his apartment buildings where he lived while serving his mission. The neighborhood felt really sketchy to me, and I got out of the car long enough to snap a quick pic, then right back in and locked the doors!!
His apartment was the window on the top floor. He told us how he would have to unlock that gate there at the bottom, and then carry his bike all the way up that staircase to the very top.
Second day in the books and one more to go! Our third day was one of the most unexpected and fun things we did! Check back!
