Chicago, Day 2

It was a great day in Chicago!  I'm here primarily to attend a conference: the LiveText Collaboration and Assessment Conference.  Our department at the university uses LiveText's software, and I got a lot of resources and practical ideas today to put to use throughout the school year.  During a break at midday, I stepped out on the patio area just off the hotel's conference center, and this was the view:

That's the Dearborn St. bridge over the Chicago River looking east-ish.

After the conference's afternoon sessions, a colleague (Lou) and I took a double-decker bus tour of downtown Chicago (we sat on the upper level, of course), and I have more photos to share with you.

I don't remember the names of or stories behind all these buildings, but aren't they impressive to behold?

Fun fact: scenes from the upcoming movie Transformers 3 are being filmed in Chicago, and a section of Wacker Dr. is closed because it's set up to look like a scene of destruction from the movie.  Can you see the movie set in the photo above?

Here's a zoomed-in view of that same photo.  Now can you see the burnt-out vehicle and hunks of twisted metal and other debris?  Chicago newspapers have been writing articles about the filming and speculating about what might be happening in each scene based on what kind of stunts and destruction they see being filmed each day.

Lou and I ate supper at Dick's Last Resort, just across the street from the hotel.  I enjoyed the delicious crab cakes and shrimp, but it was also great to be able to dine while seated outdoors looking out over the river.  Here was the view to my right as I ate.