Chicago!

I have always dreamed of visiting Chicago, for several reasons. Being a huge Oprah fan, I of course have always wanted to visit Oprah and watch a taping of her show, but I have never been able to get tickets.

My husband was born in Chicago, and has told me many stories about his childhood. He came from an Italian family, they owned a family Bakery. He lived in the apartment above the bakery when he was very young. We had planned on visiting Chicago together someday, but unfortunately he passed before we had the opportunity.

I was quite excited to have the opportunity to visit Chicago with my sister Judy. After spending a few days visiting with our sister Deanna in Iowa, we left early in the morning, and drove all day. Road trips are great! We reminisced about our childhood memories, talked about our hopes and goals for the future, discussed politics and life in general.

We arrived in Chicago around 4:30, just in time to hit the rush hour, lol! We found our way to our hotel, which was a few blocks away from the lake and the Navy Pier, in the center of downtown Chicago. She could not have selected a better location!

I was simply amazed with the beauty of Chicago, and awed by the incredible structures, and intrigued by the history of the city. Sharing it with my sister helped make it even that more special.


We did all the touristy activities, we rode the boat up the river on an Architectural Tour, we took another boat out in the lake for a view of the city coastline.

We rode on the tourist bus and had a guided tour through the city, and we visited Sears Towers to glimpse an overview of this incredible City.

I often thought about my husband Frank, too, particularly looking at all of the incredible architecture. Even though he was not with us, I often felt he was with me in spirit. 

He was a very gifted Architect, and looking around, I could understand how he must have been inspired as a child.

The third main reason I have wanted to visit Chicago was to view the neon sculpture at O’Hare International Airport. My father was an electronic wizard, and he designed the computer system that runs Michael Hayden’s “Sky’s the Limit” neon sculpture at O’Hare.

The last time I had seen the sculpture it was stretched out in the desert behind my father’s shop. It had taken all day to set it up for testing. By the time he was ready to test it evening had fallen. He turned it on, and it lit up the desert with it’s dancing lights and was quite a joy to see. Several neighbors from the hill around my father’s shop drove over to see what it was, they thought a UFO had landed!

Chicago is an incredible city. I fantasied about what it would be like to live in this city, in one of those high rise buildings that provide such a beautiful and unique view. I thought hmm, it would be nice to spend a year enveloped in that environment. Who knows, maybe someday!

Seeing the sculpture at O’Hare was incredible, it is such a beautiful piece of art. Brought back a lot of good memories of my father, and many fond memories of working with Michael Hayden and his interesting group of workers that help him build his fantastic creations.

You can view more of my photos in my photography collection the Chicago Gallery and  more sculpture photos in my Michael Hayden Gallery.