June 29, 2014 Chicago

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Woke early and drove to the Franklin Park train station, where we had breakfast and waited for the train into Chicago.  There were lots of people and it turned out that there is a Gay Pride Parade today somewhere near Wrigley Field, so the trains were full of colorful characters.  Tu-tus, colorful socks, colored hair, beads and buttons, tie dyes, glitter. We stood next to and spoke with a young man who filled us in on what was going on, good places to walk and eat, local beer (312) and more. We had to stand for the 35-40 minute ride.

We walked first to the boat for the architectural boat tour, at Michigan and Wacker, on the Riverwalk.  Bought our tickets for the 10:30 cruise and had only a few minutes to wait. Today is a hot, sunny day.

We had a good volunteer tour guide, Barry, who was an architect.  He pointed out  incredible architecture and engineering feats, along the river and by the harbor, as well as filling in a good bit of history, including the founding in 1837,  development of trade and transportation, and some of the more prominent early developers like Wrigley and Montgomery Ward. And of course, the huge fire of 1871 which sort of wiped the slate clean as so much was re-built. As an architect he was keen on pointing out ways that architects saved or made money for their clients - designs that create more "outside offices" or more usable, leasable, space, etc.  We learned about gothic, modern, art deco, post modern and current architectural styles.

This one reminds me of "The Jetsons".

 Traveling on the river, he seemed proud that the river that was once an eyesore is now becoming a beloved feature.  They are constructing a Riverwalk all along it and anyone who builds along the river is responsible for incorporating the Riverwalk into their plans.

 The large letters had just been put on the TRUMP tower, the second tallest building, and are a subject of much discussion for their size and lack of style - Barry's comment was "if you can't say something good about it, say nothing."

Trump Tower on the left

He pointed out a building with a car elevator in the center, and many older warehouse buildings that are finding new life, often with loft or apartment balconies added to the original building.

 After the tour we contacted our nephew Russel and walked to meet him at a nearby cafe  where a World Cup Game, Mexico vs Netherlands, was playing.  Had a nice lunch and got caught up a bit. He is in the third year of his PhD here and seems to like the city.

We then took off toward the Hancock tower.  Stopped briefly at a Bridges Museum to see the how many of the bridges, (bascule trunnion - like a see-saw) of the city work. This picture from a window of the museum.

We walked along the Miracle Mile, a huge, busy shopping mecca with all the big names. Went up to the 95th floor of the Hancock Building where there is a restaurant and bar.  What a view!

 Next we walked back through the Miracle Mile and onto the Navy Pier which is a collection of restaurants, amusements, tour boats, etc.  We enjoyed walking through the Smith Stainglass Window Museum there, for it was beautiful as well as cool.

Navy Pier

Statue near Millennium Park

Long hike back to Union Station, which again was bustling.  We were able to get seats this time.  My "Fitbit" which counts steps says we walked over 10 miles today!

After returning to the Franklin Park station, we decided to go to Gene & Jude's, a top rated hot dog place which is only about 5 minutes away, and was recommended by the Schoppas.

 Different presentation with fries on top!  Good dogs!

 Too late and too tired to look for alternate camping spot, so we do Walmart again.  We had gotten approval of management and Greg talked with the security patrol, so we were comfortable.