Day 5: No Basketball but Lots of Fun!

Since our tournament ended yesterday, we had time today to do the 'tourist' things we haven't been able to do yet. The coaches had a full day planned for us, beginning with breakfast at Lou Mitchell's, a Chicago restaurant that specializes in breakfast and lunch. After we ate way too much of the delicious food at Lou Mitchell's, we walked to the Sears Tower, enjoying the sights of Chicago along the way. Once we reached the tower, we watched a short video on the history of the building of the Sears Tower followed by a very quick elevator ride to the top of the tower where we enjoyed the Sky tower Observation Deck. Fortunately, it was completely enclosed with glass windows, providing views of the city from all angles. The elevator travels 1,600 feet in a minute; no wonder it was a quick ride to the top!

The next stop on our agenda was the Art Museum. Coach Weinreich provided a narrated tour of the history of Chicago for the girls, pointing out such landmarks as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the L, Union Station, the Board of Trade, and areas where scenes from several movies were filmed in Chicago's downtown area. Once we reached the Art Museum, we had plenty of time to explore and enjoy the exhibits. Contemporary art, modern art, sculptures, and miniatures were among the favorites.

After the Art Museum, we walked forever, or so it felt like, to get back to the cars to drive to Geno's for dinner. Geno's has authentic Chicago-style pizza. Coach Weinreich 'bet' the girls they wouldn't be able to eat more than one piece, and only Jackie could actually finish two pieces! We also had a chance to leave our mark on Chicago by signing our names on the walls of the restaurant.

It started to snow again tonight with big, fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky. Fortunately it waited to snow until we got to Geno's and ended before we drove back to our hotel.

The plan to tire the girls out with a lot of walking and fresh air may have paid off, as they will hopefully go to sleep at a somewhat reasonable hour (maybe before 2 a.m.?) Tomorrow we plan to go to the Chicago Bulls game in the afternoon and see fireworks at midnight for our last full day in Chicago.

We've uploaded more pictures from several different cameras for another slideshow. We also have provided pictures from our day's events below.