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Day 132-133 2nd Year. October 2-3 Day trip into Chicago and last lay day in Hammond

 A beautiful sunny day greeted us as we prepared to head into Chicago with Dan and Chris on MV Long Gone and Jody and Mike on No Agenda.

So we Ubered to the train station and took the South Shore Line into Chicago, stopping at the 57th Street stop.  

We had not been in this part of Chicago, with its tall apartment and condominium buildings and Jackson Park along the waterfront.  We walked along the waterfront and enjoyed the view and all the mosaic lining the pedestrian path.



We then headed to the Museum of Science and Industry, a gorgeous old stone building that took up the entire city block.




Once inside we wandered through the  exhibits which contained live demonstrations and many hands-on exhibits.  We started with the Science of Storms which dealt with tornadoes, avalanches and tsunamis and the science behind what makes these occur.

This is the tornado demonstration.

The next exhibit focused on Transportation where you could walk through an old locomotive and a electric /diesel train similar to the one used on the South Shore Line.  We also walked through a Boeing 727 with  its parts cut away so you could see the inner working of the engines and rudder systems.  Was fascinating to see, but I forgot to take pictures while walking through.  Oops!


Next we tackled the Genetics and Chemistry section which showed all the elements and the products which use them and an exhibit on DNA and cloning.

We almost got lost in the Mirror Maze. We had a few laughs as we bumped and bungled our way through that.  Was hard to orient yourself with so many reflections off all the mirrors. Sometimes it looked like you could be ten feet away and other times you were right next to yourself.  Ended up getting through by touching the walls and finding the empty space for the walkway.  We all decided that we would not do that again!

After getting sciencified, we took a taxi into the city to feast on Giordano's deep dish pizza.  Was delicious and even got to take some home for another meal.

Then we walked through Millineum Park and the theatre district, to take in the iconic sites of Chicago.  I got to be tour guide as we had been into the city before.





We ended up at the Sears/Willis Tower which stands 1400+ feet tall, the tallest building in Chicago.


Entering the Tower, we were directed two floors down to access the Skydeck. which surprised us as we had to take an elevator to the 103rd floor to get to the observation area.  To get to the elevator we walked through the Chicago Immersion display which told the history of Chicago and it accomplishments in architecture, music, comedy, sports, and theatre .  All that made Chicago great!  Was fun to experience.





Once we completed the Immersion Tour we waited for the elevator to take us up to the Skydeck.  It took us one minute to travel the 103 floors to the observation floor where we took pictures of Chicago from our tall vantage point.






The last wall has clear plastic floors and walls that jut out of the building which you could walk out on and pose for pictures.  Neither of us are much for heights but we managed.

This shot Bill took looking straight down.

                                             


After that we worked up and appetite for guess what?  Ice Cream!!  Found a gelato shop close to the train station and we enjoyed our sweet treat.

Next we retraced our steps back to Hammond via train and Uber 

So we could give our tired feet a much deserved rest.


Day 133. October 3 Lay day in Hammond

Today we are doing tasks that prepare for us moving to another marina in  Chicago's Calumet River.  We will stage from that marina to start our trek down the Illinois River.

Bill organized his paperwork, and replaced the zinc in the generator, while I did the laundry, grocery shopped, paid bills and caught up with the blog.

Also marked our route to Marine Services, our next stop, and thought through the lines and fenders we will need to go through the one lock we must traverse tomorrow.

Since we had to return the bathroom passes, we splurged and split an ice cream at the marina shop. then spent the evening talking with other boaters about our upcoming trip down the river.  

Luckily all the locks behaved yesterday.  Hope that continues as the first day many boats and barges got caught between two of the locks and had to raft up together outside the second lock overnite!!  



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