Photography Tuesday: A Day in Chicago

I had a random day off on a Wednesday a few months ago and the hubs and I decided to head downtown.  I suggested going on the Architecture Boat Cruise because we'd never gone.  Then we decided to invite our friends who recently got married.  The bride is a transplant from Atlanta and so it was a great opportunity for her to see and do things in her new city!

We started the morning off at the Bongo Room in the South Loop for breakfast.  It was DECADENT.  We ordered 3 dishes to share among the 4 of us and that was plenty!

Red Velvet Pancakes

White Chocolate Pretzel Pancakes

Architecture Boat Tour: After Breakfast we drove & parked near North Pier Docks.  We went with Chicago Line Cruises because they had the longest tour (about 90 minutes) and the reviews on yelp seemed to be the best.  Our docent was very knowledgeable and fairly entertaining.  My dad was an architect and though we never had gone on a tour, I thought of him often during the cruise.  Our friend, who's an engineer, really enjoyed it too but my hubs & his wife were not quite as excited.   I also personally LOVE any history of Chicago so I was totally in my nerdy element :).  It also helped that it was a GORGEOUS day!  It's very photo intense from this point onward but I promise there is a "sweet treat" at the end!

See the beautiful blue sky?

Thought this reflection was interesting

This is an example of all the condos around the city that were remodeled from older buildings.
You can tell because of the balconies kind of "tacked" onto the exterior

Thought the pop of red was cool!

Dear old Sears... I mean Willis Tower

I love Sears Tower... quintessentially Chicago.  Sigh... Willis Tower.  I haven't gone up yet to see the clear balconies where you can step into "mid-air."  I went to undergrad in the city and from my dorm room I could see these two buildings every night. Very awesome, I miss you tall friends...

The Marina Towers, lovingly known as the Corncobs

 This structure in particular brings the memories flooding back.  My dad was the one who taught me that they were nicknamed the Corncobs.

Looks so stark, yet beautiful

I photoshopped this picture with Maggie Holmes Urban Action.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the tour.  I thought it was educational and I learned a thing or two about the basics of architectural styles in Chicago.  I've heard of walking tours in the city, kind of doing the same thing... I think I'll have to do some convincing... maybe next summer :).

Now our next stop was what my husband was excited about...Morton's Steakhouse.  I'd never been and I love me some steak.  We went for an early dinner so we were able to get the lunch special.  So for the price, I think the food definitely lived up to the hype... enough that I didn't get any good pictures!  This is from my friend Yane.

Delicious looking, isn't it.  This was hub's surf 'n turf.

So, now, here's your reward for reading down all the way to the bottom!  They opened a Sprinkles Cupcake in Chicago!  On the way out of the city we picked up 1/2 a dozen.  Ginger Lemon, Strawberry, Red Velvet & Chocolate.  So GOOD!  Again, I think they lived up to the hype... hubby just doesn't get the whole cupcake craze... oh well.

Yummy!!

It was a really fun, being outside on a rare beautiful August day... with adults, that was a bonus :).  I love my in-laws...

I know there isn't much photography talk in the post, other than photos.  I will say that this was a rare time when I was shooting outdoors - using ISO 200.  I'm usually at ISO 800, aperture wide open taking pictures of the little guy.  So it was fun playing around with the settings.  Let me know if you have any specific questions!!
Have a great day!