Lake Michigan was providing us with not comfortable travel conditions again. Following 2 footers. Personally, I don't know how people love boating these waters! Luckily, we only have today and one more lake travel day of the trip this summer. Next summer we will be on the lake for just a short time from the Calumet River, where our boat will be kept this school year, to the Chicago River.
Approaching Chicago, the number of boats near us dramatically increased! There was a group of 11 mini-sailboats- learning how to sail. (On these waters?! Daring, but I bet they learn how to handle a lot of situations!) Once we got inside the breakwater, the waves calmed down and we were able to go sit out on the foredeck to admire this new-to-us city. It is always a unique opportunity to approach a city by boat. We get to see sights other people don't see, and have different vantage points. I don't let that pass me by. I soak it all in and take many photos to remember it, since a lot of this is a once in a lifetime experience.
DuSable Harbor doesn't have people on site- they work remotely with phone and email being their main points of contact. Before we got to our slip, we needed to pump out on the head of C-dock. Ben, Moose, and I worked together to get that done before moving to the head of B-dock which was our slip assignment.
Everyone was hungry, so we sought out Al's Italian Beef, one of the food places recommended to us by some friends at home who lived in Chicago and know it well. We walked just over a mile to get there and got to take in so many sights along the way. We walked along the river and up Michigan Avenue. On the Chicago Riverwalk, there is a submarine door with a plaque about Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the submarines built there, and their journey south. We thought that was pretty cool, having just been in Manitowoc and learning about this just a few days prior.
Along Michigan Avenue, Ben said how this is a cleaner New York and he likes this city. I was blown away by how quickly he decided this! Then, we walked along (skibidi) Ohio Avenue to the restaurant. Al's doesn't have options for kids, so Ben and Bear concocted their spicy sandwich to share, Moose and I concocted our plain and cheesy sandwich to share, and Roo picked a chicken sandwich- she didn't want beef. We also got a side of loaded fries and an order of plain fries. The 4 of us were a bit of a mess, but we all scarfed it down and thought it was very good. (Thanks, Morreales!)
Our plan for the rest of the day was to see the Bean (aka Cloud Gate) and get back to the boat in time for Ben's meeting. It started at 5, so we were a little crunched on time. Ben wanted to walk back a different way so we could see more of the city. We went through security at Millennium Park and got to the Bean. It was cool to spot it from the security line because it blends in so well, reflecting the city, sky, trees around it. I wasn't expecting it to be so hidden in plain sight! It had some construction fences up and those were also reflected onto the bean, so I walked us around to another area where they wouldn't be in our pictures. We captured our reflections in the Bean for a fun perspective, then sat on the steps and used the selfie stick to get a cute family photo as well. We walked under the bean, into a sea of people taking photos in there as we left. It was 4:45 so Ben and Bear walked back to the boat.
Moose, Roo, and I went to the gift shop for a magnet and postcards, then started our journey back to the boat. We had a twisty path to follow back through Maggie Daley Park and stumbled across a super fun park. This park had several different off chutes with themed-playgrounds. There were at least 8 different stops- bridge, nest swings, regular swings, mirrors, whale, nature path, ship, lighthouse, among others. Of course, we stopped to play for a little bit at each one, but wanted to get back since my phone battery was running low and we needed it to navigate us back to the boat.
The next day, we got our bikes out for a longer venture. Cupitol Coffee and Eatery was our first stop for breakfast. It was a cute little shop that Ben found. Instead of sitting at tables, we sat in a little couch area, which was a cozy way to start our day. I branched out a bit and got a sweet potato bowl that had brown rice, kale, sweet potato, vegan coconut curry, and a poached egg. It was one of the best breakfasts I've ever had!
After breakfast, we went to the Field Museum. We saw 2 shows, Sue the T-Rex, and explored the ocean exhibit. Sue, if you don't know, is the largest (40+ feet) and most complete (90%) T Rex fossil found in 1990 by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota.
$200+ and 5 hours later... we left and biked 6.2 miles to Pequod's Pizza (another recommendation from the Morreales). We rode along the Lakefront Bike Trail. I was surprised to see so many boats anchored accompanied by people swimming, picnicking, and laying out on the cement "beach" area.
Once we got to Pequod's (at 4:30), they told us it was reservations only and the next opening they had for 5 people was at 11 pm. Skip. We had a few more recommendations for some deep dish pizza, so we stopped at a Lou Malnati's (a recommendation from a Chicago-lover at home) that was on the way back to the harbor. Typically I don't eat deep dish. It hasn't ever been authentic deep dish, so it was never any good. I was determined to try authentic Chicago-style pizza though and hoped it would change my mind and it did! I loved it. I understand the hype about deep dish pizza, just wish it could be successfully recreated outside of Chicago. When a cookie comes in a pizza pan, I can't turn it down. Oh, who am I kidding, I can't turn any cookies down. So, we got a pizookie a la mode to enjoy. (Thanks, Mrs. Drase, for the Lou Malnati's recommendation!) After stuffing ourselves full, we biked the rest of the way back to the boat.
Everyone showered. I did the last load of laundry for the trip. In between trips back and forth to the laundry. I sorted through what stays on the boat, what we needed for the next few days, and what we'd wash when we get home, while simultaneously creating the inventory boat list on my phone. I reference this list several times each year to see ones of what we need to buy, what we are leaving on the boat, and what we need to bring back next summer.
