4th of July Fun in Chicago!

 

We traveled to the Windy City to visit our son during the Independence Day holiday. The River North area downtown was where we stayed and the atmosphere was vibrant and festive. 

Chicago’s many skyscrapers are always neat to see and photograph. The iconic Wrigley Building was adorned with a huge American flag. As this site reveals, the huge flag cost $6,200 and has been flown during the 4th of July period since 2002 as a way to commemorate the 9/11 attacks.

To the left of the Wrigley Building is the 100-story Trump International Hotel & Tower, the city’s second tallest building. The hotel cost a whopping $847 million to build and was completed in 2009.

We had a wonderful view from room 1526 in the Westin Chicago River North Hotel on N. Dearborn St. 

Sunday afternoon when we checked into our room, this was the view.

Fortunately, the rain ended within a few hours…

Hilton Head island Weekend Getaway

 

“Spring Break” for college students (and their professors) is a bit of a misnomer. The weeklong midterm break comes when it’s still winter. Spring begins on March 20. My SC State Spring Break began March 6. 

For me, the break began even earlier on March 3 when we headed a couple hours south to Hilton Head Island. The proximity isn’t a “staycation” but it’s not far from it. 

The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa is a great for a weekend getaway any time of the year.

I woke up Sunday morning at 6:40, just in time to catch the sunrise from our third floor room (above).

The frame of our balcony made a nice composition for the dawn of a new day. We were blessed with nice weather all weekend! 

The oversized beach chair (left) welcomes visitors to the Westin Hotel and the beautiful Atlantic Ocean beckoning in the background. 

Chicago Family Gathering

GETTING THERE & MEETING UP

Dateline Chicago- The fam came together for a long weekend in August- a weekend that stretched into a couple extra days in the Windy City due to flight and weather complications. 

We, of course, flew in from Charleston to see Justin who lives in Chicago.