America 2015: Day Eleven (9 August 2015)

I got down a little bit of that down old music, Lord it's been overdue
Got to get back to the windy city, with them funky ole sweet home blues
Meet me in Chicago, baby I'll show you around
Meet me in Chicago, let me take you downtown

A couple have been lookin funny, I've been all over the world
Nothing better than a walk downtown with a sweet home Chicago girl
Meet me in Chicago, up and down hall street
Meet me in Chicago, get yourself somethin' to eat

                                                                                                                   - Buddy Guy

Sunday 9 August

After a late start to the day – I didn’t wake up until 10:30am after not getting to bed until 1:30am, and I really needed every single minute of shut-eye I got – we drove to downtown Chicago and spent the afternoon sightseeing in honour of Karen’s birthday. She’d like me to tell you that she turned 28 today. We got to see a good chunk of the really big Chicago tourist attractions, from the ferris wheel at Navy Pier to ‘The Bean’ at Millennium Park.

The Bean



I’ve seen it all before in previous visits, but it’s completely different in summer compared to winter. For example, where the popular Millennium Park skating rink sits in winter is a nice café. The fountains are all going strong, and there are people everywhere. It was a beautiful afternoon and there was a great vibe around the place. For a city that’s the third most populated in the United States, with 2.7 million residents in the city alone (and nearly 10 million in the greater metropolitan area), it’s surprisingly laid back and relaxed. There’s certainly none of the manic energy that characterises New York.

Navy Pier was absolutely jumping with people. I guess you could compare it to Darling Harbour back home in Sydney, at least in regards to it having a heap of touristy places, from shops to an Imax Theatre and a few small rides. The centrepiece is the ferris wheel, which goes a very long way up – slowly, to give you a chance to get good photos – and provides amazing views of downtown Chicago, including the famous Sears/Willis Tower, which makes all the surrounding buildings seem dwarf-like in comparison. It’s a less crowded skyline than New York City boasts, but far busier than Sydney.

Navy Pier Ferris Wheel

 

Lake Michigan stretches out in the other direction right out to the horizon and beyond. You’d be forgiven to thinking it was a sea, but it’s just a lake, the only Great Lake (of five total) that’s exclusively inside American borders. On a good day, it’s said that you can see up four states from the observation decks of Willis or Hancock Tower in Chicago – Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. They don’t call Lake Michigan the “Third Coast” for no reason. You look at it in wonder, and have to remind yourself that Illinois is actually a landlocked state.

For a moment, it didn’t look like we’d get to do any sightseeing. After parking underground and getting into a stairwell to head to street level, we were trapped in the stairwell. Who knew that those signs that say doors are alarmed and an alarm will sound if you open one were actually true? After setting off an alarm on one level, we managed to find our way out on street level, but not before nearly dying of laughter. #TouristFail!

So, for the last few months, we’ve been working towards this birthday surprise for Karen, and thanks to everyone who managed to avoid telling her about it, when we produced tickets for an architectural cruise of Chicago at dinner – thanks to the Grand Luxe Café on Michigan Avenue; the jambalaya was so big and so good that I couldn’t eat dessert – she was none the wiser, but very happy. The cruise had been on her Chicago Bucket List. So, happy days.

 

Just as well we arrived 30 minutes before the cruise, because even then we were one of the last to board, and just managed to secure seats at the front of the boat. Despite a threat of thunderstorms, the weather remained fine. It was a great night to be on the river, learning a lot of new stuff about both Chicago as a city, and it’s architectural importance. The volunteer guide from the Chicago Architecture Foundation was really good. She really knew her stuff and I learnt a lot of new stuff about the city.

A really successful day! Happy Birthday, Karen!