MJ's Moderation

City of the Big Shoulders

We drove down to Chicago last weekend to see our son, Seth. He won a trip through his work (top regional sales!) and flew in from Phoenix for a 4-day visit. Saturday afternoon was the only free time he had and the weather was ideal: blue skies, sunny and warm, but not too humid.  And talk about people!  The streets were teeming with them, walking, skating, biking, site-seeing, and shopping.  We stopped at a great little restaurant called the "Gage" - right across from Grant Park on Michigan Ave. and had a delightful lunch together.  We sat near the front windows with a super vantage point for people-watching! Afterward, we wandered past the Art Institute of Chicago (our favorite), through the park, and enjoyed browsing an art show on the green. Next was a stroll down to Lake Michigan to watch the sailboats, and then back again through Millennium Park.  All around us the skyline was such an interesting backdrop. I love the architecture in this city.

A perfect day - but much too short, as then we had to say our good-byes and be on our way.  We'll see Seth again in October when he flies back home to Milwaukee for a GB Packers game.  We'll be back down to Chicago, that toddlin' town, any other time the opportunity presents itself.

The Power of the Pyramids

The Mormon/Latter Day Saints (LDS) Conference Center, located to the north of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, was completed in April of 2000. The auditorium in the Conference Center seats 21,000. The building is constructed of granite from the same quarry which provided the granite for the Temple. A semi-annual world general conference is held at the headquarters of the LDS Church at Temple Square and includes music by the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the auditorium. 

The builders decided that the roof should not be wasted space, and so designed a rooftop garden with pathways that meander throughout trees, native flowers, and other plantings. A guided tour of the center offers an elevator ride to the roof where you'll have a great view of the city and the mountains beyond.  The pyramid shapes are actually atrium windows channeling natural light into the building below.

Blue Dancers

Located just outside the Pump House Regional Arts Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin, this blue metal sculpture provides some artistic interest to an otherwise mundane asphalt parking lot. The building visible in the background is Piggy's Restaurant.