Chicago River /Lake Michigan Tour
It’s
not very often that I go to downtown Chicago anymore. Just seems
like a hassle to deal with all the traffic and noise and
distractions. I think that I have probably gotten spoiled by all of
the quiet time that I have spent in Northern Minnesota. But we had
obtained a very reasonable rate from the
Drake Hotel – too good, in fact, to pass up – and we decided to
take a little side trip to The City. I was glad we did.
We are fortunate to live in a town where we are only
10 blocks from the train station. Even carrying an overnight bag, it
was an easy hike to the train; we then let
Metra do the driving the
rest of the way to Chicago. A $5.30 cab ride landed us at the
Drake Hotel
just after 3:30 pm. It was a warm July day and we decided to walk
the short distance to Navy Pier where we took in the sights of
children playing in the fountain and the hundreds – no, thousands –
of people of every nationality wandering all over the Pier, taking
in the sights, sounds and happenings at the Great Lakefront in
Chicago on a gorgeous summer day.
Actually
it was the very last day of the “Taste” and Navy Pier was probably
not as busy as it may have normally been. We bought tickets on a
sort of super-large speedboat called the Sea Dog for an
architectural tour along the Chicago River. By the way, this was
another 2-for-1 deal from the
Entertainment book!
The next tour was not for another 45 minutes so we stopped
and had a beer at Charlie’s Ale House.
The Sea Dog holds over 100 people but there were
only about 30 on our tour. Our first stop was the Lake itself and we
took about a 15-minute ride along the lakeshore. The lake was calm
compared to what I have occasionally seen; today the chop came from
the myriad of other boats plying the waters on what was a
picture-perfect day. We weren’t going all that fast but the heavy
boat made for some great splash-up and spray!
Our
next stop was the lock system that keeps water from flowing into the
river (the river level is actually lower than the lake). The process
takes about 15 minutes after entering the lock. Once the gates are
opened, about a million gallons of water flow from the lake into the
river. By my calculations the locks are opened and closed about 2 –
3 times per hour during busy days. That’s a lot of water! The boat
could actually be seen to be lower by about 18 to 24 inches.
Once
in the Chicago River, the tall buildings blocked much of the
sunlight, and the air temperature was markedly reduced. Buildings
towered overhead and suddenly the variety of architectural styles
was overwhelming. The noise and hustle of the streets above were no
longer noticeable and we seemed to be in another world. I don’t
think it is possible to really notice the beauty of the buildings
from anywhere else in the city. We snapped picture after picture
while in the background our tour guide continued his soliloquy about
the three-dozen or so buildings he pointed out. Looking at the all
the buildings and cruising from the lake, down the South Branch of
the Chicago River and back again, I began to feel a whole new
appreciation for the City of Chicago and its rich heritage of
architecture and engineering.
We
walked back to the hotel, showered, changed clothes and strolled to
a nearby café for a late evening snack, after which we returned to
the hotel and collapsed onto the bed for a welcome night’s rest. We
had crammed a lot into that short day but as I drifted off to sleep,
I could not help but feel glad that I had agreed to the excursion.
The following morning, we enjoyed a complementary
breakfast that came with the upgrade to our room. We took a quick
tour to view some of the hotel areas we had not seen yesterday,
checked out and headed back to the train station. It was going to be
another 900 day in Chicago; we still chose to walk. The ride home
was relaxing and gave us plenty of time to let our senses and
thoughts review the 36-hour respite.
We had been gone just about a day
and a half and the total cost was around $220. This included a
night’s stay at a top Chicago hotel, an architectural tour for two,
breakfast for two, dinner for two including tip and a taxi ride from
the train station to the Drake Hotel. Show me somewhere you can go
for less than $100 a day per person any more and I’ll guarantee that
it won’t include much! I believe we got a lot for our money. And
although we did a lot of walking – which obviously helped to keep
the cost down – I didn’t really mind. It was a great way to see what
we wanted to see and the exercise was something we probably needed.
It was a truly fun time and an easy “getaway”. Thanks for reading;
enjoy an excursion for yourself whenever you get the chance!
R. Karl
