An Adventure in Chicago

I went to the International Reading Association Conference in Chicago and brought Gary along just for fun. While I was at the conference each day, Gary toured all around and found interesting sights for me to go see in the evenings. We had a wonderful time and walked for miles every day taking in all the interesting sights. My favorite thing was getting to meet Henry Winkler (The Fonz from Happy Days). Gary's favorite was the Chicago Art Museum. We both loved going up to the 94th floor of the John Hancock building and looking out at the city all around 180 degrees. The views were awesome. We went back up to the 94th floor one night and the lights from all the buildings were amazing.

 

Henry Winkler was one of the keynote speakers at the conference and his talk was very inspiring about how he had risen above his dyslexia and made a successful life. He has cowritten 17 children's books. I waited in line for over 2 hours to get him to autograph my book and take this great shot!

 

This is the queen of Jordan. She is an Arab Muslim and has written a great picture book for children about not judging a person until you get to know them. She was one of the keynote speakers also. She had so much security around her at all times! Her talk was very inspiring and she is a beautiful woman. I waited in line about 30 minutes for her to sign her book.

 

This is a picture of Gary on the 150 foot-high Ferris wheel at the Navy Pier. Modeled after the very first Ferris wheel, which was built for Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, the Navy Pier Ferris wheel provides unparalleled views of the Chicago skyline and lakefront. In the evening, the Ferris wheel is illuminated by thousands of sparkling lights.

 

Another picture from the Navy Pier .