Chicago

We flew back to Racine, WI on Oct 5 and found Happy Daze waiting for us at Reef Point Marina.  Before we finished prepping her for cruising a couple of Loopers stopped by to say hello.  Nancy and Carey Cook had just finished two years on the Loop and we first met them in Delaware City back in July.  They were gracious enough to transport us for provisioning and then we all went to dinner together with lots of great stories to share.

Alas, the weather window was closing and we needed to leave early next day to make it 60 miles down to Chicago.  Wind was 20-30 kts and seas were beam on, but  spaced far enough apart that we didn't get hammered too much.  Quite a relief getting behind the break-wall at Chicago.

We berthed at DuSable Harbor, which was a perfect spot to visit the city.  It was just off the Chicago River and right on a walking/running/bike path, only a few blocks from center of town.

We arrived early enough to go on a walking excursion into town including the Magnificent Mile.  Here is a view of the Chicago River looking out to Lake Michigan.

They have many tour boats traveling the river, along with water taxis and the occasional private boat.  We found a highly rated pizza parlor for dinner and bought a large sampling of Ghirardelli chocolate for many desserts to come.

The next morning we found a sunny sky and went into the city on the river. It was very special.

Being early on a Saturday morning, we had the river to ourselves.  I'm sure we were in more pictures from onlookers than Angie was able to take of  the city.

Lots of unique architecture and several new buildings were under construction.  The economy seemed very healthy.

It only took about 30 minutes, but we went under about 30 bridges and never met another boat on our trip through the city.