This is our last day in Chicago. We decided to go to the top of the Williis Tower (aka the Sears Tower) to view the city from the highest point in Chicago. We walked past the Chicago Vietnam War Memorial, and some fun, quirky sights and got to the top of the tower. Chicago is a sprawling city and we enjoyed the view from the air and reminisced about the places we'd seen. It is a 110 storey (1,450 feet hight) skyscraper in Chicago, and was once the tallest building in the world, occupying the top spot for a period of around 25 years, from 1973 to 1998, until the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia was built. It remained the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere until the completion of a new building at the rebuilt World Trade Center site in 2014. The Willis Tower is the 2nd tallest in the US and the Western hemisphere - and the 16th tallest in the world. More than one million people visit its observation deck each year. The CN tower does not qualify as a building so it does not count in this category. We ventured out onto one of the 3 balconies, made entirely of glass. It was pretty spooky but we survived. Some of the antics that people did to get a great picture was quite entertaining, from jumping to laying on the floor with their feet in the air to seductive poses. The three of us were lame and just had a "normal' picture taken.

Then we decided to go to the London House rooftop patio for a beverage. GUESS WHAT??!!?? On the way we decided to take a new route and we found the Route 66 signs that eluded us the day before. It made my day!

We got to the London House rooftop patio just as it started to rain. But after the elevator ride it had stopped so we enjoyed the views and quenched our thirst.

Joanne just had to go shopping so we walked along the Mag Mile and she and Valerie made some purchases.

We had enough time to grab a bite for lunch and get back to the hotel to catch a cab to the airport. On the way to our hotel every day we passed by a popcorn store that had magnificent aromas coming from it. The place is called Garrett's and every single time we went by it (even before it opened in the mornings) there was a line up out the door. We had planned on trying it but weren't about to stand in line for 30 minutes or more for popcorn.

The cab we ordered was stuck in traffic so the consierge hailed us one. Well, we managed to get the singing cab driver in Chicago and, boy, were we entertained on our hour long trip to the airport.

Then, of course , our flight was delayed by a half hour before we were on our way home.

GREAT trip with some fun gals.

Here's some fun facts about Chicago:

Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837.
Chicago's first permanent settler — and businessman — was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, an African-American from what is now Haiti, in 1779. In du Sable's home, which he shared with his Indian wife, the first marriage in Chicago was performed, the first election was held, and the first court handed down justice.
The world's first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Company, was built in 1885.
The 1893 Columbian Exposition grounds were so strikingly attractive and popular that they launched the so-called 'City Beautiful' movement, an emphasis on parks, boulevards and other green space, in American city planning.
In 1900, Chicago successfully completed a massive and highly innovative engineering project — reversing the flow of the Chicago River so that it emptied into the Mississippi River instead of Lake Michigan. Each year, the Chicago River is dyed green to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1949.
The first televised U.S. presidential candidates' debate was broadcast from Chicago's CBS Studios on September 26, 1960, between John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Richard Milhous Nixon.
Sen. Carol Moseley Braun became the country's first female African-American U.S. senator in 1992.
The atom was first split (leading to the A bomb and nuclear power) under the football stands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago.
Chicago's own Jane Addams, founder of the Hull House, was the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. The Hull House opened in 1889 to aid Chicago immigrants.
The term "Jazz" was coined in Chicago in 1914. The city's native musicians included band leader Benny Goodman and drummer Gene Krupa.
Over 52 million people visit Chicago annually.
Chicago's nicknames include: The Windy City, City of Big Shoulders, The Second City, and The City That Works.
Chicago's downtown area is known as "The Loop." The nickname refers to the area encircled by the elevated ('L') train tracks.
The game of 16-inch softball, played without gloves, was invented in Chicago.
Walt Disney was born in Chicago in 1901. He studied drawing at Chicago's McKinley High School and the Institute of Fine Arts.
The Twinkie was invented during the Depression by Chicagoan Jimmy Dewar, at the time, manager of Chicago's Continental Baking Company. The dessert was dubbed "Twinkie" after Dewar spotted an ad for Twinkle Toe Shoes. Originally filled with banana cream, but as they became scarce during WWII, vanilla cream was substituted.
Frank Sinatra introduced the song, "My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)" in the 1964 Warner Brothers musical "Robin and the Seven Hoods." The song was voted best motion picture song of 1964 by the All American Press Association.
The first all-color TV station debuted in Chicago (Channel 5).
Chicago has the largest collection of Impressionist paintings outside of Paris.