The Windy City

 

Sept 8, 2022 – On a clear sunny day with calm flat seas we cruised into Chicago. Eight weeks and one day after first dipping our keel into the Great Lakes in Buffalo, New York, we arrived at out last port on these incredible lakes. We were very excited to finally arrive in the Windy City for many reasons…..

1: The Great Lakes are known for their potentially treacherous conditions. We had been very prudent and lucky and managed to avoid any significant real sketchy conditions but with summer winding down and fall approaching good travel days on the lakes would become few and far between.

2: We would be visiting the city where my father grew up.

3: We were going to be meeting up with my old friend Ray and Karen’s nephew, Miles and his family.

4: We were going to meet up with Heather and Cam on Sea Clef and finally have a buddy boat again.

5: Most importantly – we would be leaving the boat for 3 days, the first time since we started our adventure, to meet up with Delaney and Griffin at a wedding in Milwaukee.

We arrived in Chicago around noon and tied up to a mooring ball. After settling in we hooked up with Heather and Cam to venture into the city with two goals for the day – Architectural boat tour and pizza. Chicago is known for its magnificent buildings representing the architectural styles of the eras in which they were built and the best way to view them and learn about their history is on an Architectural Boat Tour on the Chicago River. Gothic, Neo Gothic, Art Deco, Modernism, and Contemporary buildings are all on display. 

Some of the memorable structures include the Willis (Sears) Tower that was for decades the tallest building in the world, the Merchandise Mart that when built in 1930 had the most square footage of any building in the world, Marina city with its corn cob like structure and the amazingly beautiful Vista Tower, the tallest building in the world designed by a woman. We also learned about ways in which these sky scrapers are designed to resist the fierce winds that blow off Lake Michigan. The Vista Building has multiple floors that are wide open, allowing the wind to blow through the building. The amazing 150 N Riverside building rises from a narrow footprint and appears it would topple over with the slightest breeze. Near the top of this building are giant water vaults that act as liquid dampeners. To quote the Chicago Tribune, “If wind pushes the high rise one way, the water sloshes the other way, damping the wind-induced sway and eliminating the threat of rattling chandeliers and whitecaps in the toilet.” Our young guide on this trip was both knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I’d highly recommend this tour for anyone visiting Chicago. 

Vista Tower

Merchandise Mart

Marina City

150 N Riverside

A few years ago Delaney had an internship in Chicago and got turned on to Lou Malnati’s Pizza. She sent us a couple of their frozen “pies” and we have been ordering them for ourselves and as gifts ever since. Best frozen pizza ever! We could not go to Chicago and not experience a fresh pizza. After disembarking from our boat tour, the four of us Ubered over to Lou Malnati’s for some deep dish delight. As expected, as good as the frozen pies are, the fresh are even better. Back on the boat that night we had an incredible view of the lights and skyline of the city.

The next morning we moved from our mooring ball to a slip in DuSable Marina. This is a large beautiful marina with many large beautiful boats. We have heard that many of the boats here are owned by people with no idea how to drive them…. They hire captains to take them out for a ride. Too bad for them they will never get to experience the terrors and exhilaration of backing in to a slip on a breezy day. The marina is named after the man recognized to be the founder of Chicago, Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable. Little is known about his early life. He was of African descent – most likely born in Haiti. There are no known portraits of him but he has been described as handsome and well educated. A trader, he was considered the first non-indigenous settler of the area that would later become Chicago, Illinois. During the Revolutionary War he was arrested by the British as an American Patriot sympathizer. Aside from the harbor, he also has a school, museum, park, bridge, road and a snowplow named after him.

Settling into the marina we cleaned the boat and that night met up with an old friend Ray and his wife, Kris. Ray and I were crew on a racing sailboat, Redline, back in 80’s and 90’s. I had not seen him for many years. After moving to Chicago he became a very successful sailor. In 2021, Ray and Kris and their crew won the J109 North American Championship on their boat, Courageous! We had a wonderful dinner downtown with them that evening.

The next morning we left the boat and drove up to Milwaukee to pick up Delaney and Griffin who were flying in from Boston for her friend’s wedding. We shared a tasty breakfast and headed out for a little sightseeing. Karen and Dee split off to get their nails done leaving Griffin and I to explore. We found the National Bobblehead Museum! Who knew there was such a thing?! The museum’s collection is in the thousands. Did you know there were Chinese bobblehead figures documented in England as far back as the 1760s? The first sports bobbleheads were produced in the 60s. We wandered through the museum for over an hour with a smile on our faces the whole time. There were representations from sports, politics, cartoons and movies.

Checked into our hotel, that night Karen and I spent our first night in a non-rocking bed for the first time in 6 months – in a room with more square footage than our floating home! And we took showers that lasted more than a minute! Mazel-Tov to Libby and Nathan for a beautiful wedding. We wish you long and healthy lives together and thank you for planning your nuptials so we could meet up with Dee and Griffin!

Back in Chicago we had only one thing left to do before setting off again. Karen’s nephew Miles and his wife, Mary, brought their two adorable boys over to the boat for a visit and a walk for some ice cream. It was great to visit with them even if it was for only a short time. That night, 9/13 would be our last on the Great Lakes. Our sleep that night was a little troubled with both the excitement and trepidation of starting our voyage south on the great rivers early the next morning.