| Chicago - Day Two
Another eventful day! After a great breakfast at Houlihan's, we
decided to go down to Navy Pier and go on a cruise on one of the
tall ships that are in harbor this week. This is something that
I've always wanted to do, and I have also never been on Lake
Michigan, which, for a native of Chicago that loves the water,
is quite unusual.
So after some trial and error, we finally found where we were to get
the tickets for the cruise. The problem was that we had to wait our
turn... which was another 3 hours! So we decided to see what we
could on Navy Pier. We came across a stained glass exhibit, which
featured astounding pieces of German stained glass, which had mostly
been used in churches in the Chicago area which were no longer in
existence. I have included some pictures below.
I hope you can see them.
When it came our turn to sail, we boarded the Windy II, which was
the larger of the two sailing ships. My SO was all OVER that ship...
trying to get me to come to the other end... which didn't work!
I'm not very sure-footed on water, and since I was already exhausted,
I opted to stay where I was, and met a very nice couple from
Montgomery, Illinois... on the northwest side of Chicago. We took
their pictures; they took ours. We exchanged life histories and
vowed to get in touch and send pictures their way.
Anyway... sailing on...
We were on board for about an hour and 45 minutes. The cruise itself
lasted an hour and a half, and was the most relaxing part of this trip
yet. Away from the city's heat, I was finally able to cool off...
with the spray from the Windy II cooling me down. The crew
"volunteered" some of us to hoist sails and tighten the ropes. The kids
on board had a ball with that! Along the way, we met up with the
Windy I and exchanged some staged cannonfire. Again, the kids on
board were the ones to help out with that chore, and we turned back
toward land when we were certain that all low-down no good yellow-
bellied egg-suckin' scalawags were properly put back in their place in
the pecking order. My SO took over the ship at one point, and I was
certain that I was going to have to enlist the rest of the people on
board to mutiny so we would have a safe return. That turned out to be
an unneeded precaution, as the captain soon took the reins once
again and ably guided us back to dock.
After our wonderful experience aboard the Windy II, we (read that I)
decided that I was not going to leave Navy Pier without riding the
giant ferris wheel. After all, this is a trip for making some long-
held dreams come true. So up on the ferris wheel we went, which went
around so slowly that you really didn't know you were moving. And for
someone like me who really isn't fond of heights, that was perfectly
fine.
We ended the day back at the hotel, with the lights of the city coming
up for the nighttime bustle. Day is done...
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