The Chicago South Loop Hotel

... place was a mad house as it seemed like everyone from the town was in here eating dinner. Coming from Texas, it was a bit different for us to see that there were many groups of people eating at the same table with others that weren't with them. We are used to a big group eating at one table, but here it was typical to see four groups of people eating at a round table and not know each ...

... Whoa!! a hidden gem!!" We parked our car, and scoped out the park. At the end of the session, some rude kid came up and said "Hey this is MY park, go somewhere else!!" And we got disgusted. Whatever happened to sharing resources, whatever happened to being polite and having ...

... Pier towards the ferry station. An empty water taxi is just leaving, but we wave frantically and it returns to pick us up. Four paying passengers are certainly better than none. US$ 2.00 each is handed over for the ride to the Willis (Sears) Tower.

Emerging from the mist ...

... and found our way to the Sears Tower, which has now been renamed 'Willis Tower'. As it was very sunny we decided to go up to the 'Skydeck' and being quite early we thought there wouldn't be too many people around.....WRONG!! We found the inevitable queues waiting to go to the top. It took nearly an hour of queing before we managed to get to viewing deck, but it was worth the wait! The views were ...

... W Lakeshore is a good 10 minute stroll away from the Magnificent Mile and this is where all the fashionable are; with high end shops to exclusive boutiques, this is ...

... number of churches. There were no eating establishments, for that, we drove down to the next neighborhood which was known for the dining.

Joann took me to Italian restaurant where I had a perfect medium rare steak and red wine. Is there anything better than old friends and good food and wine?

Spending the night at Joann's, I found a surprise in the shower which had expressive tile work down on an odd ceiling angle. It was very pretty.

... to the domestic departures.

we grab a sandwich and set waiting to be told that all flights to the midwest was delayed.
we nothing to do lots of bags and kit carrying we could go far.

Ohare is one of the most less entertaining airports in the world there nothing to do a few shops to buy candy and a few food places thats it

I've been having dreams ( you could call them nightmares) about the exchange rate lately. I think it might be the one thing I am honestly worried about. Why does Britain want cheap imports and expensive exports? Why does the dollar have to drop everyday? These are the questions I seem to ask myself at 4am. Packing for what will be at least 18 months might be harder than I imaged. I don't know what I'll need. Twelve months from now I might want to go ...

... in immeasurable ways and the cornerstone of our human society and life on Earth is our faith and the support of family and friends. All we have to do is look at the long email list of this blog and we are reminded of this incredible blessing. The holiday season is a great time to reflect on the past and foster new hopes for the coming year. With heartfelt thanks, we send our love, support and wishes for the wonderful and healthy new year.