Early this year we suggested to Nikki that it would be great to travel to Chicago to watch a basketball and baseball game, as well as having a look around what we had heard was a great city. Looking at the Chicago Bulls (basketball) and Chicago Cubs (baseball) we discovered that we could catch both if we went up there over the Easter. Nikki also has family both in Chicago and just south of the city so we didn't have to worry about accommodation.

It was suppose to be spring but you would never have known it. It was snowing in Washington DC when we left, it was freezing cold (around 35 - 40° F) and windy in Chicago (it was living up to it's name) and snowing when we flew out of Chicago but we had a blast. We had a great look around the city for a couple of days, went to Nikki Dad's and Step-mom's house for Easter Sunday and then back to Chicago for the baseball and basketball game. Patty (Nikki's Step-mom) is a fantastic cook and we rolled out of there on Monday morning to catch the train back to Chicago.

While in Chicago we stayed with Dana (Nikki's step-sister) and her apartment had fantastic views of downtown Chicago. It was easy to walk everywhere we needed to go.

First meal in Chicago	View from the female toilets of the Hancock Building - floor 94	Sears Tower, looking from the Hancock Building - tallest building in the US	Looking down at the Water Tower - the only building to survive the great Chicago fire	The city goes on and on
Navy Pier on Lake Michigan - would be great in the summer			Looking back up at the Hancock Building	The Magnificent Mile - the Chicago shopping street and the equivalent to New York's Fifth Av.
Chicago Water		Open air stage in Millennium Park	Freaky kidney / bean shaped object in Millennium Park
Looking up from under the giant reflective bean		You get some good reflections of the city and everything around the bean	Chicago is famous for its elevator trains - they are noisy as they rumble by	Nikki in the middle of the road with the Wrigley (as per the chewing gum) in the background on the left
A famous and well known view of the Chicago river		Chicago Board of Trade	The statue on top of the Chicago Board of Trade is Ceres, the Roman Goddess of grain and harvest.
			Carol, Nikki and I eating traditional Chicago Pizza	Chicago by night

Easter Sunday was a day spent eating and relaxing with Nikki's family and they made us feel extremely welcome. Nikki's family have a tradition where they boil and decorate eggs and then have an egg challenge / fight. Each person challenges someone else and then either hits the top or bottom of their opponents eggs. One of the eggs will break and that person is then out of the competition. Last person standing is the winner.

Nikki, Dana, Carol, Adam, Patty and Jerry on Easter Sunday	It's egg-off time.	Just one of the feasts that we had over Easter

One of the main reasons for the Chicago trip though was to catch a couple of sports games. Wrigley Field is probably one of the most well known baseball fields and home of the famous and luckless Chicago Cubs. They haven't one a World Series since 1908 or somewhere back then. That said their fans are loyal and always praying that hopefully this year will be the year. Baseball is probably the American's version of cricket (batting and fielding) but it's a lot slower than cricket and there are not many runs scored. That said they are a little whimpie over here due to their need to wear gloves to catch the ball. You don't see the Australian cricket side with gloves on out on the field to catch the ball.

That night we went to the United Centre and watch the Chicago Bulls basketball team take on the New York Knicks. The Bulls thumped the Knicks on that occasion. The Bulls was the team that Michael Jordan played for and won six NBA championships. Dana use to be a member of the Bulls cheerleading team (called Luv'a'Bulls) when MJ was playing. She still knew someone who worked for the team and they were able to get us out into the centre of the court for a photo before the game. It was amazing being out there on the home court of the mighty Chicago Bulls. Certainly one of the highlights of the trip.

Carol, Nikki and Dana outside of the famous Wrigley Field sign		Underneath the stands - it's easy to tell that it's an old stadium from here		The back wall of the grounds is usually covered with ivy but it hadn't grown yet following winter
		Nikki and Carol trying to keep warm during the game	You can't go to a baseball game without having a hot dog
The statue of the great Michael Jordan - the inscription on the front reads "The best there ever was, the best there ever will be"
	Some famous Chicago players		Championship flags	Standing centre court
	Half time entertainment - he was doing flips over 14 people	The crowd camera	The bucket boys - played the buckets like drums and sounded great