We have spent several days in the Chicago area and like it a LOT. The downtown is beautiful. There are so many trees and beautiful landscaping around most buildings and streets lined with parkways and plantings. Of course there is Lake Michigan and rivers through town to add to the beauty. We have also had fabulous weather - clear, sunny and 75 to 85. (Most stores, buildings etc. have storm entrances to remind us that sometimes the weather is really bad.) The architecture is diverse and spectacular. Nothing is "strange" and it all seems to work together to create a beautiful city. Had a fun tour on a Double Decker bus with a really knowledgeable guide. She had great architectural info along with info about Oprah and others.

We had a wonderful lunch at "Signature", a restaurant on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building. It was so far above most of the buildings that it was a bit scary! The view was incredible.

The surrounding neighborhoods are also pleasant with lots of trees, parkways and plants. There are countless elegant high rise condos downtown with views of the Lake.

The terrain in the Midwest is quite flat. We forget how much that we rely on Mount Rainier or the Olympics in the distance in the Seattle area to help orient our location! There are no such landmarks here to do that. Our trusty GPS helps us to find North!

The traffic in Chicago is not too bad. It's definitely not as bad as New York and similar to Seattle. Bob has done fine driving around. If we stop to let a pedestrian cross, they look surprised and don't know what to do!