Advertisement
This was a great day. I started it out at about 8:30 AM by walking almost two miles from my hotel to Navy Pier. The streets were very empty out where I am staying (they are usually very busy) due to the holiday and "Taste of Chicago" in Grant Park. At Navy Pier, I had a quick bite to eat at McDonald's and then picked up a bicylce I reserved online from Bike Chicago. It was a comfortable mountain bike with easy to shift gears.
From there, I rode leisurely along the coastline... around Shedd Aquarium (highly recommended, but I went there a few years back) and to the Adler Planetarium (http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/). Then I watched "Space in Your Face", which is mainly a lesson on the constellations and some other interesting facts. It was early and I got kind of tired during it... and it is very dark in there. After that, I checked out the various exhibits they have, watched a show of 3-D photos from Mars, and another show about the U.S. space race with Russia. Interesting place and I would like to see some of the other shows there, but it will have to wait for another
day.
From there I biked into town a little bit to meet up with my friend, Ben (who is now living in Chicago going to seminary). We walked to Grant Park to go to "Taste of Chicago", where I checked my bike for free at a Chase bank area.
We then bought a bunch of "Taste" tickets and tried out about five "Tastes" each. The way it works is about 70 restaurants have tent areas set-up and they offer at least a "Taste" for 3 tickets and other food items for more tickets; 11 tickets costs $7.
It was very crowded, but we still had fun. Bands were playing in two or three areas. Most of the food I tried was pretty good. Great to do, at most, once a year. If the prices were a little cheaper, maybe more, but it is so packed already that if they lowered the prices for tickets... oh my, it would probably get kind of crazy.
At any rate, from there we walked along the shoreline to Navy Pier, rested, and talked for awhile. Then Ben had to catch his train and I headed back to pick up my
Cloud Gate at Millenium Park
If you look closely, you can see my reflection. http://www.millenniumpark.org/bike.
Once I picked up my bike I did some serious riding (for me anyway... I haven't biked any since grad school a few years ago). I first biked back to the "Taste of Chicago" and watched some of the live music for a little bit. Then I biked around the Field Museum (it was closed by the time I got there) and Soldier Field. I continued down the shoreline... probably seven or eight miles. Lots of people were relaxing and having fun... in one area near a little beach, lots of people were barbecuing, listening to music, and enjoying the day. One of the great things about Chicago is there is little development allowed next to the shoreline... hence Grant Park, a great bike trail, and lots of green space.
At one point, I sat down along the shoreline and relaxed for awhile... watching the water, birds, and boats out and about.
Heading back was the toughest... my legs were beginning to burn and even flat ground was wearing on me. I biked all the way back to Navy Pier, dropped off my bike, and walked the two miles back to the hotel.
Overall, it
was a great day. Chicago is one of my most favorite cities... the air is better than many others, the buildings are spaced well, the people (for a massive city anyway) seem friendly and easygoing, the transit system has low fares (anywhere for $2... including from the airport 😊, and great food, museums, theatre (went to see "Wicked" last week... amazing musical...), and green spaces.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.05s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 7; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0275s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
Rebecca
non-member comment
:-)
oh yay, you got to see Ben!!! tell both of yourselves that we in Springfield miss you guys. it's funny, we have some near-exact pictures...only there are a lot more people, a lot more sun, and a lot more boats in yours. i like Chicago. if you are still there or going back, there is a place a few streets over from the Hilton (east from Michigan and south of the library with the big green statues on top) called Pacific Gardens Mission - on Saturday (?) they tape a Christian radio show and show you around the mission and invite you to hear some gospel and eat some free food. it's an amazing place.