Located in the 110 story Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) in downtown Chicago is an opportunity to see the city in an incredible way! The Chicago Skydeck is located on the 103rd floor with a view on a clear day that looks out over 50 miles.
Most recently, in 2009 with the renaming of the building, came the addition of a glass ledge. This fully glass structure allows you the feeling of standing over 1,300 feet above Wacker Drive.
The views from all sides, including the ledge are breathtaking. This is a must-do stop to take in this magnificent city! Enjoy the following photos from our adventures into the tower’s heights.
Share with us your adventures into the Chicago area, have you taken the time to tour the Skydeck?
Check us out at JenGaryNewAdventures.com and follow us on Pinterest.
To Give Thanks can be accomplished in different ways. Last year we chose to sit down and write on strips of construction paper what we were thankful for. It was exciting to find them in among our Thanksgiving decorations.
We had listed our Military. That year we did not see our son, who is a Marine, nor did we this year, but both times the phone call was a wonderful blessing we were thankful for. We listed every one’s health and were thankful for another year of good health.
Thankful for many blessings, family members, leaves, trees, pumpkins, nature all around us. Two people in our group were only 2 and 4, but their answers were amazing. Add candles to the list because we had lit candles and prayed before we ate. Thankful for the Thanksgiving Meal and you have their thankful for’s!
A fun one was written by our youngest daughter. Thankful for work, pay, & very much play! Thankful for Jesus and salvation in the Lord by my dad. Amen.
Thankful for the U.S.A. For love, smiles, hope, and laughter. We are Thankful For Blessings Upon Blessings!!!
Check us out at JenGaryNewAdventures.com and follow us on Pinterest.
My head ached. Hard, throbbing, pounding pain. Slumped over in the back seat of a car. Whose car is it? How did I get here?
My last memory was standing outside of the store glancing at the window display waiting for my meeting with Joey. He was late, as usual, but what just happened? As I reach up to feel the bump on my head, my fingers feel the cold cool traces of blood. My blood! What is going on?
I see two men in the front seat, the one on the right occasionally glancing back to make certain I was still there. Who were these two? Neither one of them was Joey. Joey who was my best friend since college. Where was he? Was he involved with these two guys?
Our plans were to grab a bite at some newer place Joey had found. Joey had been working at a firm in Detroit before relocating back to Baltimore this past month. He landed a position with one of the larger firms in D.C., and I was just glad to have my old friend back in town. Is he tied up in this situation?
“What do you guys want?” I ask loud enough for both to hear. Pain immediately began searing across my face as a gun came crashing across my skull. The man on the right clearly is not a talker. My eyes still blurry, I gaze up and realize we are in a tunnel. I don’t recall ever traveling in this one before. Though my vision is still too blurry to make out precise details.
Where am I heading, what in the world is going on? What are these two planning to do with me? When will this tunnel end….?
Check us out at JenGaryNewAdventures.com and follow us on Pinterest.
If we told you there was a cave under these rocks, would you be curious enough to search for the entrance? If we said there is a sink hole, would you hop up and down on the caved in soft area, or run for your life? Exploring in the woods or wood, is so different because you really can get turned around or disoriented. The sounds can seem so different, especially when you are father into the dense woods.
These are the last few images of Autumn around our home as the temperatures begin to dip into the lower 30’s and lower on a regular basis. Soon, these woods will have a white blanket, ready or not.
Check us out at JenGaryNewAdventures.com and follow us on Pinterest.
What’s under there? Who walked here? What’s inside those beautiful mountains? Are there caves? Trails undiscovered and treasures not seen?
If you are careful and quiet, you can sit for awhile. When you do this, you find, nature is relaxing and nourishes your body, soul and mind. From this time you have taken, you might form a rhyme. From this rhyme you might write a line. This line might become a poem. This line might become a drawing.
If you are pushing your toes in to the cold mountain stream, you will remember one thing. It is Cold! If you reach in to the water, maybe you will pull out a little bit of Fool’s Gold. Or find a pretty lil’ geode. Round a corner, and to every one’s delight, large Elk are running from sight.
Slowly driving through Cade’s Cove, you will see a whole village. One of the churches holds a cemetery, but in one of the trees a Momma Bear and her Cub, you are sure to see. Far, far back is a little cabin where two people might have met. Maybe it was where they held each other tight, kissing all through the night.
Beautiful views of colors, mountains and more mountains holding trees with leaves that are showing their folded delicate spring green. Bursting forth with the morning light, displaying flower blooms. Mountain wild flowers sprinkled all through, in and around the woods, waving at us as we pass by. Or, dancing, in the breeze, on the side of a hill.
Check us out at JenGaryNewAdventures.com and follow us on Pinterest.
Holiday time is here!! We are so excited to see all the Christmas decorations and to remember great times with family and friends. One of the warmest, not just because it is located in central Florida, are the times at Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground in Walt Disney World. To kick off these holidays, we offer these few photos of the Trails End restaurant in the Settlement, and a couple of scenes from around the resort. We hope you and yours are getting excited as this time of year rolls around.
In front of the Trails End restaurant decorations
One of the beautiful horses and sleigh rides around the resort
The tall Christmas tree adorned with colorful decorations, so pretty at night
Take time to consider your good memories of holiday time with family and friends past, where are your favorite get away places?
Check us out at JenGaryNewAdventures.com and follow us on Pinterest.
This has been an exciting ride for us! We are now at the point in our renovations that changes are very minor. Most of the changes are really with the gadgets and items that we utilize to make our life more enjoyable, rather than upgrades to the trailer. So with all that introduction this will be probably the last article on Hoshi Chao unless something major happens (hopefully to the good).
If you have not read the previous Versions of the story of how this fifth wheel became our Hoshi Chao, click any one of the articles below:
There have been several trips taken with our fifth wheel. She has been named “Hoshi Chao”, which means Stars Nest in Chinese, because we felt the need to name her and since she is the nest for us and all of our family and friends on our trips it seems appropriate. All of the systems in the trailer are working well. All the finishes have been completed to our satisfaction, in fact we recently purchased paint to touch-up all the colors since we are now dinging and scratching areas from use.
The title of this article seemed so correct for this point in time as we are now fine tuning the items within and without the trailer making it more and more a good fit to us and our lifestyle. This happens in every home, even if it is a home-away-from-home trailer. Once you determine how you like to utilize the trailer and the activities you will be doing, you find all the neat items to make life easier and better.
We found that we didn’t care much for sitting up at the counter and eating, but as we sat outside and in the family area of Hoshi Chao we needed a flat surface or top. Looking online for TV trays or computer lap desks gave us some ideas. Best of all though, when discussing this with my mom, she shared that she and my dad had purchased a couple from back when they traveled in their RV and trailer down to Texas. She was kind enough to share them with us, now that made it even more special. So each time we pull out the folding lap tables or TV trays, whatever you call them, I can think of the two of them in years past enjoying their travels. Couldn’t be any more special to me!!
Now underneath the tray above you will notice a wine colored soft and comfy blanket that has electrical wires running throughout. With the temperatures getting colder, we felt we needed to upgrade the blankets from just quits in Hoshi Chao to electric blankets. So two were purchased, one for the master bedroom and one for the couch/bed in the family area. Let’s say they were warmly received (lol).
To the left of my extended hand below, you will notice a newer small mid-level shelf has been added to the shelving units. Yes, I know it needs to be painted still, but we found that will all the electrical gadgets we required another shelf that was not as visible to plug in our devices without creating such a cluttered area.
The family resting area needed a little ambiance, and yes since it is getting cooler, another electric heating device is always welcome. It is amazing how quickly and effectively these units can heat up the area! When all the lights are out, the (fake) fireplace offers a very romantic feel.
Current televisions are based on the concept of bouncing their sounds off the lower back portion of the wall or surface out. This does not always work well enough in the trailer, and too many times means you have to turn the volume up to levels which are annoying, don’t allow you to communicate, and on the outside of the trailer are obnoxious. Enter old technology in the form of computer speakers. Yes, I know they make wireless and wired sound bars and speakers, but when you have free outdated speakers laying around, what a simple solution. Now the volume is half of what it used to be and you can easily listen and carry on a conversation.
While we love abandoned bird’s nests, we realized that there were just too many to take care of, and a couple that were falling apart. Poor construction techniques and didn’t meet Codes (lol). The remaining ones we elected to clean up with some sprucing and pulling of broken and items falling out and then spraying with a lacquer. This sealed and protected the remaining nests and gave a very nice appearance. Also we had to bring into Hoshi Chao my grandfather’s lucky horseshoe that was purchased back in the early 70’s from Dollywood!
Though we would show you a look at how well the trays worked for an impromptu steak dinner.
Lastly, we realized we needed a little more light in the family resting area, and the overhead lights can be a bit too much when you are not trying to read. Some white icicle lights were threaded into our mesh netting and shell display and that provided a very special touch.
Like I stated in the beginning, these really did not alter our Hoshi Chao, but definitely made out time living and resting within a much better ex0erience!
Check us out at JenGaryNewAdventures.com and follow us on Pinterest.
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6
Check us out at JenGaryNewAdventures.com and follow us on Pinterest.
Listening to the sounds of the birds overhead, lost in the tranquil moment. “Can you pay the toll?.” The sounds jarred us out of our thoughts and brought us back into the reality that we were lost. Not just uncertain which direction we were heading, but not certain of how we got here.
“I said, can you pay the toll!” demanded the voice nearby, as we strained to find the source of this noise, looking all around, hi and low. I feebly responded “Who is there?” Silence. Even the birds who had provided such sweet songs only a moment ago had vanished.
“Even if you cannot see me, I am here, and you must pay the toll!”
By now we had deduced that the sound originated from below the roadway, somewhere inside one of the two culverts. Which one precisely, well neither of us knew that answer, but for a second it was comforting to at least know it was one of the two.
“When I come out, make ready to pay, or there will be trouble your way” the voice under the road called out. Josie made it clear to me that she was ready, if we needed to run.
As we stepped farther away from the edge of the road, the sounds of other voices began to be distinguished from within the nearby woods. A stillness filled the air, and our senses became very much aware that we were now very definitely lost, but not alone!
“Do not mind him”, a voice from the thicket spoke loudly, “there is no toll to pay.” “Thank you”, spoke Josie, “do you have a name, can you come out so we can see you?”.
For what seemed like hours, but in actuality was only seconds, the leaves shook, the thicket moved to and fro. In my mind I had already an image of what was to come out, but nothing could prepare us for the reality.
As the branches cleared, out stepped a winged creature about the size of a mouse, but with human features. Well, as much as we could tell, for he did not come close enough at first for a good inspection. His name was Eolande, and as he told us over the course of a small conversation, was indeed a fairy. We found ourselves continually pinching each other in an attempt to awaken from this dream. Nothing changed. Several glances back and forth as he shared with us his story, gave us each the understanding that this was closer to time after a few drinks, rather than a reality.
Eventually Eolande was joined by the other fairy from inside the culvert pipe, Jaylor. Turns out Jaylor is one of the more forward and jokesters, according the his admission. Through the matter of a late morning the group of winged creatures rose to what appeared to be a dozen or so, and back down to just Eolande. Their curiosity with us seemed at times equal to our curiosity with them. Finding ourselves eventually sitting alongside the nearby creek with Eolande and asking every possible question we could think. How long had they been there, were there others, why did they choose now to show themselves to us? Questions that with each answer brought more questions.
As quickly as this adventure had begun, it was over. Josie turned to ask me a question, and when we looked back, they were gone. Eolande, Jaylor, all of the fairies gone! Left behind was a small flower picked by one of the young boy fairies for Josie.
Josie and I gathered our backpacks, after calling out several more times to no answer. As we walked along the road, to a destination we did not know, our silence spoke louder than words. I found myself questioning everything, and the looks Josie gave me told me she was in the same situation. Herself clinging to the petals of the gifted flower.
Oh how wonderful, if it was all true, it was wasn’t it…
Check us out at JenGaryNewAdventures.com and follow us on Pinterest.
