One afternoon Jim wanted to go to the Abraham Lincoln Museum, so we set off to Springfield. Yes, cornfields on the left, soy on the right. Just as I remembered.....
The life of Lincoln was a hard one, losing children then his own murder. He stood for liberty, and without it there is no persuit of happiness.
Starved Rock State Park.
One of the 7 wonders of Illinois....I wonder what the other 6 are....
The park has nature trails that lead to bluffs with views or down into small canyons made of limestone carved by water over the centuries.
Here is a few pictures inside the lodge. Old character and rustic charm.
Millennium Park, Downtown Chicagoland.
We went downtown to the amusing place filled with people, laughter and plenty of sunshine. It was rather warm for this time of year and everyone was taking advantage of being outdoors. Blue skies, wispy clouds, a beautiful day for you.
My eyes wandered around as we climbed steps, left, right...oh goodness! This structure that I gazed upon drew me to it immediately, had to go and touch it!
"Cloud Gate" is British artist Anish Kapoor's first public outdoor work installed in the United States. The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect the city's famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives. Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest of its kind in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high. Cloud Gate sits upon the At&T Plaza, which was made possible by a gift from AT&T.
There were other sculptures too. This one below was made of some type of vinyl and held together with zippers...
This next area came in handy on this hot day. Awsome structure.
City life is really not for me, but big cities like this have facinating destinations to enjoy. After a few hours, we decided to head to Navy Pier.
"Joy has not value until it is given away" and these kids gave me joy. I decided to join them!
After Jim ran around with those kids, he was pooped out! He was resting up before we walked on the pier. The waters of Lake Michigan was a pleasing greenish blue. This was a great surprize for me. Coffee in hand, my wonderful hubby by my side, it was a great day.
You had to watch your back every minute!
Christ with His deciples in stained glass. 
Christ with His deciples in stained glass. In honor of my father, Miguel Angel Leira, who had served as a Merchant Marine. Thank you pappa, for serving.
