September 19, Day 98 - In Chicago

We woke up early this morning, had breakfast and then headed out for our Segway tour around 8:00. The weather was perfect -- blue sky and warm temps. There were 7 people in the early morning group. We had about 15 minutes of instruction from our tour guide/instructor George, then we all headed out. Linda was somewhat of a pro on the Segway as she had taken one of the tours in another city; however, with a little coaching Gerry soon got the hang of it. Most of the tour was in the Grant Park and Museum Campus area along with a trip up to Soldier Field, home of “Da Bears”. The tour guide was very informal with a style that really made the whole tour interesting, plus the Segways were a real kick. Both of us really had fun and would highly recommend the tour to anyone visiting the city.

After the Segway tour we met up with Michel and Carole for a bus tour of the city. This also proved to be great fun and we learned lots about the City of Chicago. Along with this tour we visited the Willis Tower (previously the Sears Tower) and went to the skydeck and out on the Ledge (very strange feeling standing on the glass floor and looking down 103 floors).

After the bus tour we all went to Pizano’s for Chicago deep dish pizza. Gerry had been looking forward to this for days and he was not disappointed. It was yummy and, what was even better, there is some left over for tomorrow. By the time we got home we were ready for bed. It had been a very long, fun-filled day. Tomorrow Gerry is taking down the mast and we need to do a little provisioning. Hopefully we’ll have time for a little more fun after we get our chores done.





Gerry ready for action

Beginner Gerry - a little tentative

Pro Linda -- Look Ma, no hands

This picture and below are a few of the sites we saw on our Segway Tour -- first up the Jay Pritzker Pavillion. We posted a picture of it yesterday, but it was from a different angle.

Gerry and Linda in front of the Buckingham Fountain

Another view of the fountain

We stopped for an authentic Chicago Hot Dog. This is what's on the dog.

Linda eating the Chicago Dog. That's George beside her. He was the tour guide

Shedd Aquarium

View of Chicago skyline

Adler Planetarium

Cute sign about the "Pat down policy" at Soldier Field

Soldier Field -- Most citizens of Chicago hate the new look since it was expanded.

Gerry playing among the legs - This is a scuplture named Agora. It is 106 cast iron figures created in Poland. Every leg is facing a slightly different direction.

Once we met up with our friends, we went back to the Bean as that was where the bus tour started. Here is another reflection of us.

... and a picture of Michel and Carole

This and the following pictures are some of what we saw on the bus tour .... this building was created to look like a wave

The Corn Cob buildings

The Chicago Tribune Building

Sculpture .... with a wedding party. You can see the bride and groom. We must have seen about 10 weddings as we passed through the city.

A wide variety of architecture.

A church .... believe the guide said "My Best Friend's Wedding" was filmed here.

Another Church

This glass building was supposed to represent a waterfall

Willis Tower (aka Sears Tower). The little bumps at the top are the glass ledges. We would soon be there.

The next few pictures are views from the Skydeck .... the 103rd floor of the Willis Building

This picture was taken looking down through the glass floor. You can see the river below.

Linda on the edge .... oh ... make that ledge!

Clock on the Macy's Building (formerly Marshall Fields)

Historic Chicago Theatre

After eating pizza (we realized too late we forgot to get a picture of us devouring the pizza ) we walked back to the Crown Fountain .... so this is a night shot.

Clip of Linda showing off her skills on the Segway.