6.8.12 Chicago: Willis Tower, River Cruise, MOTO and Scavenger Dash

This past weekend we headed to Chicago for a fantastic weekend with friends. We took the first flight of the morning. We headed from the airport to the Willis Tower – formerly known as the Sears Tower. I was really impressed with the waiting areas. Several displays highlighted some of the key attractions in Chicago. I recommend the movie that tells the history of the Sears Tower building. Then you head up in an elevator that goes 103 stories in sixty seconds.  They have a fun logo that shows all the building heights you are passing and you go up.

The views are incredible.

The Edge attraction features four windows that jut out past the building so you can look straight down.  Pretty fun.

After enjoying all those views, we walked over to Greektown to meet up with Bethany for lunch and check out her exhibit at the Hellenic Museum. It was so fun to get a personalized tour!

From Greektown, we headed across town to the Swissotel. We found a great last minute rate. The hotel was beautiful and our room was great. Here was the view:

I had really wanted to go on a river architecture tour. We tried to get tickets, but they said the 2:30 pm tour was sold out.  Where there’s a will – there’s a way! Glenn spotted a woman trying to return four tickets and promptly offered her the asking price. Away we went on the Wendella 75 minute river cruise.

The views from the river were great and the breezes provided a little relief on such a hot day.

Then it was time for MOTO! Moto is a fantastic restaurant. We took a cooking class with the Chef Richie Farina at the Rolling Pin in Brandon, Florida earlier this year.

We were excited to try his food. We were not disappointed.   To start, we didn’t get physical menu, but a taste of all the courses.

The popcorn course wowed us. The top item in the picture is popcorn ice cream surrounded by hand placed grilled corn that has been flash frozen. It was amazing. The bottom is a corn custard with a tortilla crust – also amazing.

The sea course fogged the table.

We were seated in tall booths that gave us almost complete privacy. It was the best dining experience I have ever had. It only got better when we lead down to the kitchen for a tour and a chance to say hi to Chef Richie. They kitchen is amazing. They have an automated expediting system so the kitchen is calm and quiet. It’s clear how they put out such fun food.

Saturday we participated in the Scavenger Dash. We got twelve clues. We had to figure out the clues, get to the locations and either take a picture or do a challenge. We were able to get to 8 out of the 12 locations. We really enjoyed it and will likely do it in Florida next year.

Saturday night we had a fantastic game night with friends. Sunday we were able to sleep in, have a nice brunch and then headed to the airport. Overall, a fantastic weekend.