A little get a way

Tim and I spent a much needed weekend

together and away from everything.

6:30 am I got TJ to Aurora and watched the Thunder

slaughter Oswego while Tim got Cal and Karrick

to grandma's in Long Grove. We met at the house around

noon and headed to Downtown Chicago. Tim and I lived

down there for years, but it is a different city

State Street has come alive again and slum

blocks transformed. When I started at the CBOE

in 1984 you didn't walk around State Street at night

I spent days finding the perfect Hotel, Hotel Burnham

was probably one of the nicest Hotels I have ever stayed in.

In 1999, after being neglected for decades and nearly forgotten, the historic Reliance Building was carefully restored and resurrected as Hotel Burnham, a Kimpton Hotel. This important building is justly listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. An inviting hotel in downtown Chicago, Hotel Burnham exudes the elegance of a bygone era and preserves a rich part of our country's history. As one of Chicago's most significant architectural landmarks, Hotel Burnham is a fitting tribute to the int

repid spirit of this city.

Occupied by an array of merchants and professionals throughout the 1900s, the Reliance Building later fell into disrepair. In the early 1990s, renovation and restoration of the Reliance Building began at the urging of the partners who own the building and with the help and support of Mayor Daley, the City of Chicago Planning and Development Department and Kimpton Hotels. Portions of the interior were completely rebuilt to match the original, while the mosaic floors, multi-colored marble ceilings and walls, and ornamental metal elevator grills

stairways and archways were meticulously refurbished

to resemble those that once existed.

The resulting 122-room boutique Hotel Burnham gorgeously

illustrates Chicago's past and present glory. The restoration of the

historic Reliance

Building as a signature hotel is also

a progressive step toward bringing State Street

back to its original splendor and confirming

it as a major tourist destination.

1900

Lobby staircase

Love the mahogany doors with the glass panels

When was the last time you actually got a key

for your room?

All original iron elevators and marble with mosiac floors

The stairs had the worn down marble steps

from 100 + years of use

Tim and I in the lobby

State Street from our window

this little girl was playing in the fountain in Daley

Plaza at Arab fest

After a great lunch on the River we went shopping on Michigan

Ave. I bought a beautiful necklace from

Arts and Artesians

Dinner at Italian Village

Sunday morning we went sailing.

Chicago Sailboat Charters

2 1/2 hours out on Lake Michigan, it was 85 and sunny

I was born and raised in Chicago so I often

forget all that it offers. It's all at our fingertips