Whirlwindy City Photo Hunt

I am writing this from seat 12D, en route to Chicago to attend the BlogHer blogging/writing conference. In the past, I’ve driven by Chicago and had a layover at O’Hare, but I’ve never really been to Chicago.

Since the BlogHer conference agenda is so packed, I’m not going to have a lot of time for sightseeing while I’m there this time either. I’ll be staying right by Museum Campus, but there’s a good chance I won’t be able to visit any of the museums. Or go to the top of the Sears Willis Tower. Or see a taping of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.

So I thought it’d be fun to make a list of Chicagoey things to photograph, whether I get to visit the actual site or not. I know I’ll see Lake Michigan, for example. But will I get a chance to go up to Lincoln Park? If I make it there, I’ll Instagram it. If I don’t, I’ll Instagram a more broad interpretation – maybe a penny face-up in some other park or a Lincoln in a parking lot. See where I’m going with this? So I’ll hopefully capture everything on my Chicago list in one form or another.

It’s a whirlwind tour of the windy city in photo scavenger hunt form. I’m calling this my Whirlwindy Photo Hunt.

If you’re going to BlogHer, maybe you’d like to join in. See how many things on the list below you can find, whether you interpret it literally or get creative. Tag your Instagram or Flickr* photos with #whirlwindyphotohunt and the item’s hashtag (#lincoln, for example). That way, you can check out everyone’s Lincoln photos or everything from the photo hunt.

1. Windy city #windycity
2. Sears Tower, technically now called “Willis tower,” but even Siri still calls it Sears Tower. #searstower
3. Chicago hot dogs #chicagodog
4. Lincoln Park #lincoln
5. Wrigley field – Sneak in Cubs (or Blues Brothers) references here, if you’d like. #wrigleyfield
6. L train #ltrain
7. Art institute #AI
8. Lake Michigan #greatlake
9. …And all that jazz – this could refer to Jazz music or Chicago the musical. #allthatjazz
10. Something else awesome that is quintessentially Chicago but not on the list. #1morething

Bonus points for reenacting anything from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. #bueller

*If you’re not on Instagram or Flickr, just do a blog post next week with your shots and you can still link to the #whirlwindyphotohunt wrap up post.

[photo of me with suitcase by Phillip.]