"Singers", Pizza, and Buildings

We rolled into downtown Chicago today at around 5:00.  The traffic here is an absolute nightmare.  The best way to get around is just drive super aggressively.  I finally got parked in a garage and decided I'd had enough driving so I went ahead and swallowed my stinginess and left it there for the night...I may even leave it there until we leave.  It's just not worth the hassle.

Hannah found us a pretty cheap place to stay while we are here...it's by far the most expensive place we're paying for while on this trip, but it's also way cheaper than any other place around.  Plus, it's right in the middle of downtown and near the park, which is right on Lake Michigan.

After dropping our stuff we started walking to a pizza place that is considered a local landmark.  Along the way, Hannah recounted a weird conversation she heard.  There were two people talking in the lobby of the hotel.  The girl was just excitedly explaining something to the guy when Hannah approached.

"So I'm a singer!"

The guy replies, "Oh yeah?  What do you sing?"

*It's at this point that Hannah, or any other sensible listener, would have expected to hear a reply mentioning perhaps the genre of music, or whether this person was a backup singer or something...instead...

"I sing 'Jesus Take the Wheel' by Carrie Underwood!"

Hannah missed the guy's reply because she was so baffled by this response.  Just one song?

Later on, while riding in the elevator with two girls, one of whom took an inordinate interest in my feet (she made a lot of creepy comments), we heard them talking about how they were not looking forward to getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning.  We scratched our heads over that one too because, of course, everyone was getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning...we felt left out that we weren't going to.  We let this go too because of the weird feet comments she kept making.

When we saw dozens of people just sitting around the tiny hotel lobby, and all around the outside of the building, we worried that maybe we had accidentally rented a room in a hotel that doubled as a halfway house.  Our suspicions were strengthened when we heard many, well, the majority really, of these hoodlums singing.  Actually, we heard people singing in their rooms too.  Singing all different songs and as loud and passionately as if they were in the shower.

We discussed some of these weirdos but forgot about them when we got to Lou Malnati's Pizzeria.  I've never had pizza quite like it.  It was not within a hundred miles of being like Italian pizza, or the amazing pizza to be had at Venus Pie, or the Thirsty Fellow.  It was great, though, and it certainly lived up to its name of "deep dish" pizza.

Next we walked several blocks to Willis Tower.  This thing is just mind-boggling.  It is the biggest building in North America, and is even taller than the Twin Towers were...the New World Trade Center that's being built will be taller, but not quite yet.  We rocketed up the elevators at 50 miles per hour to the 103rd story (5 stories short of the top).  We went in the late evening after sunset so the typical 2 to 3 hour waits were non-existent. 

Naturally, the views were incredible, but the tower also has a little feature called the sky deck.  It's an all-glass enclosure that extends 4 feet from the building, letting you see the ground 1,353 feet directly below your feet.  I've got to be honest, it even made me a little nervous...it's just so counter-intuitive to look as if you're stepping off the side of a building that most people couldn't help but react in some way.  

(that's the box hanging out from the side of the building)

On the way back we were feeling pretty tired and enjoying the cool night air when we once again started seeing weirdos all gathered along the streets that our hotel is next to.  There were gaggles of people singing at the top of their lungs and we walked in laughing openly about one character right outside the building.  A guy with a guitar slung over his shoulder noticed us laughing and said, "I guess you're not singing, are you."  

"....um, no? That guy was real good, huh?" I say sarcastically.

Dude replies, "Oh you think so?"

Now laughing at the dude who is talking to me, "Ha ha...no! No he wasn't."

Dude says nothing...things get awkward.

Hannah breaks the silence by saying, "Is there some kind of audition going on?"

Dude rolls his eyes, "Yes..."

Hannah, trying her best be polite now, "Do you know what it's for?"

Dude replies, "Uh yeah...American Idol."

Now all the weird people, conversations, and singing that's been going on make sense now!  Apparently the big audition day is tomorrow, so Hannah and I are debating whether or not we want to make the 3 mile trek through streets and subways to laugh at people's dreams.

Chicago has been tons of fun so far.  I'd put it on the same scale as New York City in terms of size, but minus the trash and commodes on the sidewalk, 1/2 the number of hobos, and plus a lot more friendly people.