The Taste of Chicago started today, so I hopped on the Metra train early this afternoon and found my way there. There were dozens and dozens of booths lined up. You could sample food from many of Chicago's restaurants, meet the people who work at your favorite local radio station (Q101 rocks!), and fill out contest forms to win everything from a new Volkswagon bug to a trip to Jamaica.

I walked through Buckingham Park to snap a photo of the absolutely perfect view of Chicago's skyline, then had a quick bite to eat from one of the booths. After a little picnic underneath a tree, I walked a few blocks to visit the infamous Sears Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world.

A few stats...

• Sears Tower stands 1,454 feet tall (443 meters). Twin antenna towers on top of the building bring the total height to 1,707 feet.
  
• It consists of 4.5 million gross square feet of space.
  
• The Tower's framework contains 76,000 tons of steel.
  
• There's enough concrete to build an eight-lane highway five miles long.
  
• It has more than 16,000 bronze-tinted windows and 28 acres of black duranodic aluminum skin.
  
• The building's 106-cab elevator system, including 16 double-decker elevators, divides the Tower into three seperate zones with skylobbies in between.
  
• Six automatic window-washing machines clean the building exterior eight times a year.
  
• Two express elevators soar to the Skydeck floor (1,353 feet above ground) in just over one minute. (My ears popped four times.)

Once you arrive on the Skydeck level, you have an incredible view of the city and, on a clear day, you can see portions of four states. (Unfortunately, today was a bit hazy.)

At the North side of the building, you can see Wrigley Field, the John Hancock Center, and much more. If you walk over to the East side, you have a beautiful view of Lake Michigan, Navy Pier, the Chicago Stock Exchange, and Soldier Field. On the South side is Cominsky Park, Adler Planetarium, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Midway Airport.

You do have to pay to visit the top of the Sears Tower (I believe it was $7 or $8 a person), but it's well worth it. There are restrooms located on the Skydeck, as well as four pay phones, so make sure you call home and tell them your calling from the top of the Sears Tower!

The Sears Tower Skydeck is open seven days a week. For ticket pricing and seasonal hours, call 312-875-9696. (It's also fully accessible to disabled visitors.)

See you on the road...

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