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This sculpture is of Abraham Lincoln is located off Michigan Avenue, near the south side of the Tribune Tower.We had tickets for the 10am Lakes & Rivers boat ride from Wendella. As a kid, I'd been on a few Wendella boat rides, but it's been years. These days, there are many competing companies that give tours of Chicago from the river, but we decided to stick with the classic this trip. We walked from our hotel (Sheraton Grand), and it was a quick walk with plenty of photo-ops (especially when we crossed over Michigan Avenue). We arrived at 9:45am with tickets in hand, and the boat left promptly at 10am (don't be late!).
Our tour was a 90 minute tour. Wendella offers an architecture tour from the river that lasts 75 minutes. The lakes & rivers tour is longer and it includes a lot of the architecture tour, but not all of it. We spent about 40 minutes on the river learning stories behind many of the buildings on the Chicago skyline, and then we went through the harbor lock out to the lake. There were magnificent views of the city from the lake, and our tour guide was able to point out more buildings from there.
Our tour guide pointed out the part of the city
where Abraham Lincoln was nominated in the Republican convention of 1860. He also pointed out where Ft Dearborn once stood. Some of the buildings we saw included old furniture warehouses that were converted to luxury condominiums, the tallest skyscraper designed by a woman (Aqua), the 1000M (which is narrow at the base and flares out), and classics like the Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower, and the Sears (Willis) Tower. We learned about new skyscrapers being designed and built, including 12 on the city's south side. We learned that the woman who designed Aqua has another, taller skyscraper being built in Chicago that will be the 3rd tallest building on the city's skyline. Also, we found out that the John Hancock building would be the tallest building in any other US city's skyline, except Chicago & New York. It's currently the 4th tallest skyscraper in Chicago, but it will continue to drop a few positions in the years ahead as new skyscrapers are completed. The tour was informative, and it was nice to put some stories to the buildings we saw.
We docked back at Wendella right at 11:30am, and then we walked back to our hotel to gather our last
few bags and check out. We were meeting my parents, who just flew into O'Hare, at Lincoln Park Zoo for lunch. Lincoln Park Zoo is only a couple miles north of our hotel. It would be easy to catch the bus straight north on Michigan Avenue most of the way to get there. However, our car (which we parked at a private lot) had to be moved by 12:30pm to avoid getting charged a second day. So, we drove. Like every park in Chicago, Lincoln Park Zoo has free admission. However, it's difficult to find free parking. We opted to pay to park in their lot. Parking costs are based on time, and for 3 hours at Lincoln Park Zoo, it cost $30.
We met my parents near the entrance, and we went in and got hot dogs & such at the Landmark Cafe. After lunch, we checked out a couple animals (including a close-up of a lion) and rode on the Endangered Species Carousel (currently $3 per ride, or 5 rides for $12). Then we walked through the zoo (the kids' favorite was the primate house) and exited on the south side near the gardens. From there, we
had to use Andrew's phone to navigate through the winding pathways to reach the pedestrian bridge over Lake Shore Drive to North Ave Beach.
The kids loved the beach. It was jumping. We watched people play some game that looked like hacky-sack, but it involved hitting a ball with open palms to one another, bouncing it first on a mini trampoline-type thing. I saw someone ride by on what looked like a comedically-large long board. There were plenty of people jogging, cycling, playing catch, swimming, and just enjoying the nice weekend. The kids played in the sand and ventured into the water. There were some pretty big waves! We didn't stay too long. We had my cousin's rehearsal dinner to get to up near Lincolnshire! On the walk back through the zoo, we were tired. My parents treated the kids to an ice cream sandwich, and that seemed to give them a boost to make the last of the trek back to the car. In all, it was another successful day in Chicago. We've been here only about 24 hours so far, and we've gotten to do and see so much! I feel like we need to plan a
1000M
New skyscraper in Chicago much longer trip to the city next time.
To see the pictures of the zoo and beach, scroll down to the bottom of this post.
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