Oh Sweet Chicago

Oh sweet Chicago....

Chicago was where we spent the past three years of our lives. Going to school at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago has it's perks. Living in downtown Chicago, situated 5 minutes from the brown and red line tracks, a ten minute walk to Oak Street Beach and Lake Michigan, a two mile walk to Navy Pier, and right smack-dab in the middle of the city was such a wonder.



A cloudy city-scape from Navy Pier...

 

What we will always refer to as the "Sears Tower"... (although it has been renamed the "Willis Tower")

Notice the Christmas red and green lights on Merchandise Mart and in the background.

Beautiful tour boats along Navy Pier with clouds eating the tops of the skyscrapers...

 

The Stately "John Hancock" building right off of Oak Street Beach.

Its quite the view from the observation deck near the top!

The magnificent Chicago Drake Hotel and Westin Hotel...

I could only imagine spending the night in such a fancy place, overlooking the lake.

Or living in one of these high rise apartments where I could watch the waves crash onto the beach...

Or packing a picnic lunch and walking to the beach for the Chicago Air and Water Show every August.

Seeing a movie at our favorite theater... And going up to the third floor in the building to get to the screens!

The view from our 9th floor apartment window.
And Moody Bible Institute's campus to the left.

I have such sweet memories of our time in Chicago. The fast-paced life. The days I spent wondering how to balance classes, homework, two jobs, housework, cooking, and our young marriage. The time I spent sitting in Rich's Starbucks, watching him work so hard, and interact with so many different people...from business men, to Patrick Swayze's wife, to local artists, to night club employees, to the homeless and drug addicted.
The convenience of walking to famous places like Millennium Park, Grant Park, Navy Pier, and Buckingham Fountain. The inconvenience of going grocery shopping in the rain and icy snow with a granny-cart instead of a car, and the challenge of having to be so cautious when I was walking in the city alone.

Chicago was such a sweet time in our early married years. 

But we knew it was time for a change.
Time to get away from the fast paced life.
And find our new home....

In Small Town, America