A few weeks back at Shikha & Manmeet’s wedding, I was killing some time before their reception at Chicago’s Trump International Hotel & Tower with John Moon of Northern Light Film Works.  John and his wife Jennifer are actually from Indianapolis, In. and while we were chatting outside the hotel,  John commented on how beautiful and interesting the architecture is along the Chicago River.  John mentioned that last fall he made a weekend trip up here with a bunch of friends and took in one of the architectural boat tours that are a fixture on the river in the summer.  Sadly, despite the fact that I’ve lived in the Chicago area my entire life, I have never “bothered” to actually take one of the boat tours, or really partake in any of the “tourist” type of activites downtown.

It’s easy to take for granted the city you call home.  In fact my job as a wedding photographer in some ways causes me to take it for granted even more.  Every week I’m downtown photographing a wedding, an engagement session, meeting with a client, or having lunch with a vendor.  In the back of my mind it’s easy to think “hey I enjoy the city all the time!”  Unfortunately creating bridal portraits in and around the Chicago skyline isn’t quite the same as spending a day on a tour bus, shopping on Michigan Ave, exploring Navy Pier, or taking the kids to Lincoln Park Zoo.  Sure, it might sound “touristy” and maybe those aren’t the things that “real Chicagoans” do all the time.  But if you stop and think for a minute, those are the things that visitors to Chicago experience, which then helps spread the word about what a great city Chicago is to visit.

So if you live in San Francisco, take a tour to Alcatraz and spend a day at Fisherman’s Wharf.  If you live in New York go visit the statue of Liberty.  If you live in San Diego, check out the world famous San Diego Zoo.  If you live in LA, take a tour of movie star homes.  Regardless of what city you call home, we all can benefit from reconnecting with where we live on a level that we don’t necessarily experience on a day to day basis.