Days Nine, Ten, & Eleven  December 2000 Stock Exchange, Sears Tower, Theatre Friday, Saturday, & Sunday We took the train around the look and walked some of the back streets. Since it was Friday, offices were open and the sidewalks were crowded with people going to or from work. We stopped at the Sears tower and almost took the elevator to the top. It continued to be cloudy and overcast, so we just walked about the lobby (procrastinating on lunch) and bought some souviners in the basement shops. Dave, freezing, at the Sears tower Loop district architecture was fantastic Then we proceeded to the nearby Board of Exchange to see the famous Chicago Commodities "Trading Floor" in action. We took the walking tour with lots of informative dislays, and Dave tried to help Jesse understand it in real life terminology. Mostly we just enjoyed watching the confused hoard of people waving frantically and all dressed up in funny suits. We also walked by the newer "futures" trading market and were truely surprised by the sheer number of vehicles that were bought and sold. We stopped at a deli for a lunchtime sandwich then walked the sidewalks up La Salle as Dave was fascinated by the ornate architecture of the buildings. The larger trading floor was for commodities including corn and soybeans The newer trading floor was for futures including "Dow Jones" futures     We visited the big downtown department stores, including Carson Pirie Scott. They were all decked out for Christmas and it was time for Lyn to tell stories about her childhood memories, growing up in Detroit and going "downtown" to Hudsons to see Santa and the Christmas displays. Sadly, Hudson's was "imploded" years ago and high rise condiminiums are planned for the site, if Detroit ever gets organized. Again we stopped for cocoa and coffee and to enjoy the carolers and Salvation Army bell-ringers.   After another simple dinner at Portillos, we took the red line north to see a local company perform Sondheim's "Into the Woods". A student from Dave's class said it was her favorite play, and we had never seen it. To our surprise, the theatre was in an unused Elementary school, converted to a community center and was several long blocks from the El. This was a particularly unpleasant surprise, as the pristine white puffy snowflakes had become a true out-and-out rain that was cold and relentless. Our umbrella (once again) was useless, this time due to the heavy rain just soaking through it (instead of the usual Windy City breezes). The play was delightful with the character of Little Red Ringding hood quickly becoming everybody's favorite. Before the show, we stopped at a neighborhood restaurant and were totally surprised  by how completely soaked out coats, umbrella, shoes and trousers had become. There was not enough coffee, soup and chili to get us warm, and we headed out across the street for the play. Afterward, we again walked back to the El in the rain, and this time added the insult that late-night hours meant and additional change of trains. The romance of Chicago was definately wearing thin. We had discussed attending another Jazz night at "Blue Chicago" but talked ourselves out of it and returned to the Embassy Suites and crashed in exhaustion.   Saturday evolved into a day of rest, as the cold weather and non-stop walking had worn everybody down to the point of exhaustion. We would be flying out tomorrow, taking the blue line to O'Hare but departing on separate flights; Lyn and Jesse to Atlanta and on home to Florida, Dave to Salt Lake City and onto his next engagement outside of Reno, Nevada. After breakfast at the Embassy Suites and a small walk around the nearby neighborhood. Everybody's legs gave out and we headed back to the room. After an honest-to-goodness nap, Dave insisted he wanted to finally see the "Museum of Science and Industry", it is always closed when he is in Chicago on business during the week. Lyn and Jesse relented, went down to the pool, and reminded him to take a lot of pictures. Oh well. When Dave came back, we headed out for one last Chicago dinner at a nearby chinese restaurant, and we had had enough. Jesse had learned a lot, had seen the "Miracle Mile", the "Sears Tower", the "Merchandise Mart". We had seen art and commerce and plenty of Chicago style Improv comedy and theatre plays. We had taken the El, walked in the rain, walked in the snow, walked in the cold. We had sat in a Jazz club, and dropped money in the hat of corner saxaphone player. We had squeezed in enough Chicago to know that it will always be a favorite city to visit and enjoy, but that Florida will always be our home. Sunday morning we packed up and headed out. It was a kiss good-bye and O'Hare as Dave left at 9 and Lyn and Jesse were out at 9:30. It would take all of Christmas (and a week of down time in January) for all of us to finally again feel full of pep and energy. We had seen Chicago. Original Web Upload December 2000 Last Update: January 29, 2003