Day Eighteen ... south of the river and a few surprises

Today our planned day was exploring south of the river. Ian had mapped out our day which would take us to some Ad Labs, parks, notable buildings and allow us to ride on some public transport. We weren't in a rush but were still out before 8.30.

We began by wandering down the river walk again to grab the first clues of an Ad Lab about historical disasters in Chicago, but along the way we came across boom gates blocking off the bridges across the Chicago River. Curious about what was going on we stopped, along with a whole lot of other people, and some friendly locals filled us in on what was happening. 

At the end of the summer season they raise the bridges on a Wednesday and Saturday morning (one or two at a time) to allow the yachts to return to the upstream boatyard for winter. They’re known as Flotilla Days. Those massive ornate metal bridges lift up in two spans and the yachts sail forward and wait for the next span to open. It was incredible to watch. If we had been half an hour earlier or later we would have totally missed it. 

After watching the bridges and yachts we headed off to continue on our day. We competed an Ad Lab that took us to some art works - sculptures and mosaics, my favourite was the Pablo Picasso that looks like a baboon.

We then caught a bus that took us to the Museum Campus - which is home to the Planetarium, the Museum and the Aquarium and the parkland that surrounds them. We didn't intend on going to any of the "attractions" but rather to walk around, look at the statues and sculptures, get close to the Lake and observe Chicago from a different perspective. We started by sitting and having our breakfast sub looking back across the lake to the city skyline. At the Planetarium they had a couple of telescopes set up for you to safely look at the sun.

We walked along the waterfront, through several beautiful gardens, filled with amazing things to see. We have been truly blessed with our weather and with the colours of autumn. The Buckingham Fountain is huge and glorious. The rose garden, whilst at its end, had some pretty roses. We also crossed over the road at one point, dashing to avoid the 6 lanes of traffic, for our second unplanned moment of the day, to watch some pickleball.

At Millenium Park we completed another Ad Lab that took us to the highlights of this lovely park. It is one of the most popular parks in Chicago with a massive amphitheatre for concerts, an experimental garden, a waterfall that is two towers of iridescent bricks that project the faces of over 1000 Chicagoans. We were disappointed that the Cloud Gate (also known as the Bean) was currently cordoned off as they did some more landscaping works but we could see that it would have been very impressive. 

We walked to the Chicago Cultural Center in search of a cow, a stained glass dome and a story chair. We found the cow outside and stopped for the kids to get a photo and then headed inside. We had anticipated the Tiffany Glass Dome having seen photos of it in our research for this trip. What we hadn't expected was the sheer splendour of the entire room. Intricate mosaics embedded in marble, ceilings with ceiling roses and recessed plaster, exquisite hanging lights, marble staircases and the dome itself. We were able to walk the four flights of stairs to the top, and as we did we heard beautiful singing drawing us upward. This was when we encountered out third surprise of the day. The Uniting Voices choir were rehearsing so the stairs and landings were filled with harmony as they rehearsed "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Absolutely incredible!

At this point we needed food (we never found the story chair) so we went in search of lunch and came across a Five Guys. Fabulous diner-like food where we could sit at the window and watch the world go by (and the queue for the Nutella Cafe).

We then caught the "El" to take us to the last of our "disaster" Ad Labs (a train accident, a falling pane of glass, a fire in a theatre and a gruesome serial killer) and yes we do learn lots of really crazy things when we do these Ad Labs. We also saw a huge public protest march which luckily we didn't get caught in.

We visited the Harold Washington Library Centre, with ornate metal wings on the roof, and 9 floors of library, including a public library and a more historical collection (and for my library folk ... I could have done some serious weeding across the 9 floors!).

Back to our hotel for a quick change into some warmer clothes and we then we headed back out for our Sunset Cruise. The booking says "romantic" but with about 200 people on board, and lots of kids, romance wasn't high! 

The cruise however was fabulous. We cruised for 90 minutes travelling through the locks to leave the river and head to the lake. The difference in water level between the river and the lake is 5 feet. You enter one lock which they then close before they open the second lock. At that point water rushes in and the boat rises ... then you are off out into the lake. The whole process is reversed as you return to the river.  The views back to the city as night begins to turn was very pretty. Twinkling city lights, views of the Ferris wheel on Navy Pier, a wonderful commentary by our guide Spiro made the entire cruise a great way to end our stay in Chicago. 

Back to our room for a warm shower. I'm blogging and Ian is checking out our details for tomorrow. The journey is almost over. Just one last phase to go ... our cross country train adventure. 

Life is good.

Today's tally ...

Photos - 475

Steps - 21,916

Kms walked - 16.78 km

Ad Labs - 3