A Different Look at Chi-Town: SkyDeck Tour

I was given free admission to the SkyDeck and commemorative photos of the experience in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are honest and my own. 

One of the most breathtaking sights you will ever see is the view of the Chicago skyline from the Willis (Sears) Tower SkyDeck. Friday started bright and early, after breakfast in the club, of course. We took a short(ish) mile or so walk from the Sheraton to the SkyDeck, where we arrived shortly before hoards of children on a field trip. Their teachers knew - the SkyDeck is an amazing place to take children. I know that I'll be taking my children the next time we're in the city!

I enjoyed the opportunity to explore at my own pace, using their handheld electronic tours, which would be great for my kids because they were short and sweet and you could do the ones you wanted. Even the elevator gave you quick blips of information along the ride, which I thought was a great way to take "guided tours" into the 21st century.

I ended up buying some souvenirs for my kids because I thought it was such an iconic place, but one piece of advice: don't buy anything while you're on top, there's a much bigger selection in the gift shop back at the bottom! There's also a small food court area. Did you know you can have birthday parties there?! I thought that was kind of cool - what a great experience to give kids!

My favorite part of the experience was going into the sky boxes, though! It was slightly terrifying, but not, all at the same time. My fear is not of heights, but of railings, so that actually worked out well for me. Because we got up there several minutes before the middle school kids we were able to have some extra space to be crazy, taking pictures on the floor, jump shots, and group photos.

So then came the *really* fun part. On our walk to Willis Tower I told my fellow bloggers that at some point I was going to need a handstand pic. Last year, because we're cool like that, a few of the other gym moms and I started taking handstand pics at camp because a) the girls' coach had posted one from her honeymoon, and b) we had way too much time on our hands. The trend continued, and we'd share random handstand pics with each other. So that became #HandstandsAcrossAmerica. So now each time I travel, I take a handstand pic (I also have one in front of the Washington Monument and one in front of the White House).

Anyway, as we were sitting there, Loni, of Lifestyles of the Pantsless, said, "you need to take your handstand pic!" I was absolutely terrified. That's crazy, right? I don't care how safe it is, being upside down in a plexiglass box a-ca-cha-billion feet in the air is crazy. But then I realized that this was one of those opportunities that I could regret, or I could tell my kids about. I went with being able to tell my kids. So after Loni helped me into the handstand (because I refused to kick up into a glass wall), I got what I think is one of the most epic photos I will ever pose for. This will forever be one of my favorite memories of the trip - not just the handstand, but the Sky Deck tour. It's not a place where you would necessarily spend a ton of time, and it seemed like the line got really long as the day went on, but I will say it's one of those things you should do once in your life.

thegymmom.com receives free products for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation. This disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.