Open House Chicago

In October, John and I were able to check out the Open House Chicago, which is a program that opens many historic and important architectural sites locations around the city. It's free and it allows people to access spaces usually closed off to the public. Buildings can range from historic theaters, skyscrapers, and even train stations. We decided to check out the Aon Center, which luckily didn't have a line to get in, but it did have remarkable views of the city. The Aon Center was originally coated in pink marble, but because of the harsh winter weather and cold temperatures here in Chicago, chunks of the stone were known to have fallen off the side. To my knowledge, no one was injured from the falling stone. The building was resurfaced, the pink marble was re-purposed, and today it is still on the tallest buildings in the city.

Silver Falls State Park

Silver Falls State Park is a situated about an hour and a half away from Portland. Last week John and I were lucky to take a short trip to see the spectacular waterfall inside the state park. The park contains several waterfalls, which we hope to explore someday when it's warmer. The main attraction and largest waterfall, South Falls, marks an extensive trail that loops around in a circle. South Falls was pretty easy to maneuver around and to view, yet the trails were slippery and somewhat icy. The best part about South Falls was being able to walk around and under the waterfall! Pictures do not do justice to the immense sensation of the water flowing over us. We had a spectacular time and next week I will be posting photos of the interesting forest-scape that surrounded the waterfall.