September 19 was a day were we spent finding the gremlin in our head (toilet) and getting the gear shift fixed. We were successful on both accounts and now those big projects out of the way. Yeah!!! Was a rainy day off and on so we did not do too much exciting.
September 20 was a much more exciting day. We got up early and called an Uber to take us to the South Shore train station. Managed to figure out what ticket to buy and how to buy tickets with fifteen minutes to spare. While waiting for the train we conversed with a very gregarious women from Texas. She and Bill had quite a give and take and Bill was given lots of advice about how he should be good to his wife by the time they were done! I got a smile out of that!
The train arrived and we headed into Chicago’s Millennium Station in the heart of the city. Bill and I wandered around the lock and riverfront
Then we headed back into the city to ooh and ahh over the great old buildings, some dating back to the 1890’s. We took lots of pictures.
Also wandered through Millennium Park and Daly Park with its athletic fields, as well as the streets with many theaters and the symphony building complex.
At 1:00ish we sat down on the steps of the Art Institute with its famous lion statues to await the arrival of three of our friends from college. Maureen and Flo flew in to Chicago to stay with Jan while we were in the city. Was great fun to catch up with friends and enjoy a wonderful lunch.
After lunch, we had to have ice cream! Jan knew a Shake Shack down the street that had the best custard ever. Was a nice splurge that we all enjoyed.
After fortifying ourselves with custard, we headed back to the riverfront to take in the sights. Had some great laughs and danced to the music of the street performer and boat watched.
Was so glad that we could reconnect with good friends. Was hard to say good bye, but we had a train to catch so we could get back to Hammond Marina before dark, and Jan, Flo and Maureen had a bus ride to tackle to get home.
On the way to the train station we ran into Pat McLaughlin from MV Sunshine and we chatted with him briefly and then he decided to accompany us the rest of the way to the train station. We had to walk fast, but we made it in plenty of time, actually got on the correct train and got off at the right stop in Hammond. Was proud that we had negotiated the transit system successfully.
After a quick dinner and sifting through way too many pictures of Chicago we went to bed, tired but happy to enjoy our friends and add another adventure in our travels.