Days 369 - 371      DuSable Harbor

Chicago, IL

Monday, August 29 - Wednesday, August 31, 2011

 Dream Catcher approaching Chicago

 Chicago Harbor Light

 Dream Catcher on far right entering DuSable Harbor

Artistic walkway to Millennuim Park

 Jay Pritzker Pavilion

 "Cloud Gate" (aka "The Bean")

Jim, Linda, and Jeff at "The Bean"

Crown Fountain at Millennium Park

Various faces represent the people of Chicago

Lobby at Palmer House Hilton

                          

Artwork next to Navy Pier

In front of the famous Gino's East

Famous Chicago deep dish pizza

 View from the John Hancock Building

 Arrow points to Dream Catcher in DuSable Harbor

 Looking North from the John Hancock

Navy Pier from John Hancock

Enjoying the view at the top

 Jim and Marilyn

Marilyn Monroe 

Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable

1745 - 1818

Founder of Chicago

 Greg, Kate, Jim, Brenda, Jeff and Linda waiting to board the tour boat

 Tour boat in the Chicago lock

                           

 Our tour boat

 Top deck of the tour boat

Dad in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" worked here

Scenes on the Chicago River

Dick's Last Resort Restaurant

 Dinner at Gene and Georgetti

Our ride

 Fun in the limo!

Linda enjoys the ride!

Windy City here we come!  On Monday we endured 7-1/2 hours of rock and roll on Lake Michigan to arrive at DuSable Harbor in Chicago.  Hurray!  We’re off the lake!  But we were surprised when we checked in at the marina.  In order to calculate the cost of the slip, the marina included not only the length of the boat, but also the bow pulpit, the dinghy, and the swim platform.  It was the only time on the entire loop that we encountered this situation. 
 

We walked through Millennium Park to “Cloud Gate” (aka “The Bean”), and then on to a casual dinner at one of our favorite stops in Chicago called Miller’s Pub. 

On Tuesday we rode our bikes to Navy Pier and then down the bike path that runs along the shoreline of Lake Michigan.  Beautiful!  We rode downtown (a bike on Michigan Avenue?) to Gino’s East for a famous Chicago deep dish pizza.   After lunch we made a brief stop at Watertower Place and then went to the top of the John Hancock Building for a magnificent view of the city.  In the evening we walked a few blocks to the Chicago Yacht Club for a light dinner. 

On Wednesday morning the 4 of us were joined by Kate and Greg on “Grianan” for the Windella Guided Architectural Tour.  The tour boat traveled the Chicago River while the guide explained the history and purpose of countless buildings along the waterway in downtown Chicago.  It was fascinating, and we learned a great deal about Chicago.

After the tour we walked to Dick’s Last Resort for lunch and then on the Gene and Georgetti Restaurant for a cocktail.  In the evening we were again joined by Kate and Greg for dinner at Gene and Georgetti, rated one of the top steak houses in the U.S.   After dinner we planned to take a taxi back to the marina, but a limo was parked outside of the restaurant.  The driver offered to give us a ride for a reasonable price.   Yippee!  A limo!  We all hopped in and had a lot of laughs going back to the marina.                    

Total miles:  62.5      Total bridges:  0       Total locks:  0