Integrity Cruise

Day 141: Michigan City, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois

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Day 141: Tuesday, September 6th: [NOTE: there are lots of pictures today! We're sorry if you don't have a high-speed connection, but be patient.]

We slept late, but awoke this morning a little excited about arriving in Chicago. The weather was supposed to be nice again today so Bill plotted a course straight across Lake Michigan for the 30-odd mile trip.

All went well and, as we approached Chicago, the skyline appeared out of the haze. This is a perspective of the skyline few people get to see.

We had reservations at the new DuSable Harbor Marina. The entry is just off Grant Park and the famous Buckingham Memorial Fountain. This fountain pumps 14,100 gallons of water every forty minutes for an impressive show.

Monroe Harbor had moorings for 1,200 boats. It is huge!

The Chicago skyline is a study in architectural shapes; here are a few:

DuSable Harbor. That's Navy Pier to the far right in the distance:

The marina is also huge and quite new. Our berth was right next to Waterfront Park. This is an 18-mile long public park that runs along the lakeshore between us and downtown Chicago. You can see some of the greenbelt to the left:

This ship is the home of the Columbia Yacht Club, one of the oldest in the country. Before it was retired the ship was used as a ferry between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick in Canada:

In case you can't read all of this sign telling about the Yacht Club and the ship, some impressive facts about the 372.6 foot long ship are that she could carry a complete railroad train, 60 cars and 960 passengers along with her 65 man crew:

The marina, being beside an urban public park, offers massive security gates:

We could toss a rock to the biking/jogging path (or vice-versa):

Just north of our berth was Navy Pier. This is a combination amusement park, shopping mall and general entertainment center for Chicagoans and visitors:

We walked along the riverfront and into town. Rush hour was just starting and the town was jumping. In our habit to photograph clock towers and interesting buildings, here is a sample of Chicago:

Here is another study in unique buildings:

One of the challenges for tomorrow was to assure Integrity was low enough to pass under the bridges in the downtown portion of the Chicago River. The tour boats have a challenge as well:

The "Magnificent Mile" is a popular shopping section of Michigan Ave. We had to document our presence:

Apparently Michigan Ave. crosses the Chicago River where Fort Dearborn used to be. Sculptures on each corner of the bridge depict Chicago's major historical happenings:

There are pretty gardens at the ends of the bridge. That's the home of the venerable "Trib" newspaper in the background:

This view caught our eye as we passed these 20-story buildings. Neither of us wanted to climb that fire escape - up or down:

We were very happy to discover Millennium Park. It has a combination of attractions with this fountain commemorates the founders:

These tall buildings surround the huge park. Sorry, but we don't know the names of the various buildings:

This awful looking mess caught our eye:

It turned out to be a giant amphitheatre (the Jay Pritzker Pavillion):

This serpentine walkway goes over Lake Shore Drive. That's the amphitheatre in the background:

This orb-like chrome thing was perfectly fascinating; it's called the Cloud Gate. The mirror-like surface reflected everything and it was fun to watch people aping it:

It wasn't a true sphere:

Here is a close-up of us reflected in the orb:

And one last picture:

We headed back to the boat for happy hour and supper. Tomorrow will be fun!

Position tonight: N41 53.150 W087 36.757

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