How exciting! Today we head to Chicago! This is definitely a high point and a biggie, as this is almost 20% of our trip completed, and it’s Chicago!
We made reservations for Monroe Harbor, which is right downtown. We used an app: Dockwa which allows you to make marina reservations online. There is an app for everything! There are no docks here, only mooring balls which you attach your boat to. We have not experienced this yet, so it will be a new to us. There are docks at neighboring yacht clubs, but these cost a premium.
We awoke and were greeted with lots of fog. Hmmm…this could change our plans. We topped off our water tanks and decided to head out anyway. We agreed if it was too bad, we would turn around and come back in. Once we cleared the harbor, the waves were around two feet, and the fog was thick. We were both a little nervous, as there is plenty of commercial traffic around and we would be going through a freighter channel. Just as we were about to turn around, the fog started to clear a little, letting us see a bit further, relieving that fear. The waves weren’t subsiding however, and they were coming from the north east. As long as we were heading north, it was okay. Since we only had to go about 15 miles, we decided we would stick it out and continue on our way.
What a sight to see! We approached Chicago with fog covering the top 1/3 of the city. We couldn’t actually see the city until we were fairly close. We used the GPS to guide us. Once we were close enough, I called the harbor on the VHF. They directed us to our mooring ball, but we had to do a loop through the harbor, around all of the other boats to find our spot. We noticed again there were a lot of other loopers here. Our research on mooring balls told us there is usually a line attached to the ball hanging in the water- we should use the boat hook to snag this and bring it up to the bow, where we would either attach our own line or attach it directly to the boat. I’ve read it could be slimy due to it being in the water all of the time, so I told Lauren she should wear some gloves. As we approached after doing our loop through, the owners of another boat next to us were sitting outside. “there are no lines here” they called out, “you can call them for assistance”. Umm…ok? what does that mean? As Lauren and I were looking at each other processing this, a small ‘harbor boat’ pulled up and asked if we needed a hand? “Yes, Please!” Lauren had a line at the ready and tossed it to the harbor boat. He then threaded it through the mooring ball and handed it back to Lauren, who then secured it at the bow cleat. Nice! At this point we shut down the engine and the harbor boat continued explaining how this work to us: We call them on the radio when we want to go into shore. They will pick us up in their boat, which is equipped to carry many people and bikes, dogs, etc. and bring us back, operating from 8am until midnight. There is a spot to pull a dinghy for 15 minutes dog walks, but no leaving it there while going into the city. He then offered to take Lauren and Frank into shore if needed? Lauren gathered Frank and off they went for a potty break. I double checked the mooring and checked the engine room per the norm while they were gone. Since we made the reservations online, there was no need to go to the office to check in. It’s pretty cool how all of the boats swing on the moorings in the same direction, whichever way the wind blows.
Lauren and Frank returned, and since our arrival was around 11:30am, we had the rest of the day to play. We secured Frank and got the bikes ready for going to shore. I called them on the radio and they zipped out to us, stopping to drop off and pick up some others on the way. We were ready when they arrived and Lauren hopped on, and I handed the bikes over to her. This was easy!
Now we are on land and biking around. I’ve talked about how Michigan has great bike paths in every town, Illinois has made Chicago a great biking town. There are bike lanes all around, clearly marked and some protected, which makes it super easy to get around. Lauren had researched (like she does!) and found a restaurant in the west loop we needed to get to for lunch. A little about the West Loop area: A former industrial zone, the hip West Loop is now a dining and nightlife hotspot. Inventive New American and global eateries line Restaurant Row, and the French Market food hall hosts local vendors. Pubs, bars, and live music venues dot the area, as do upscale boutiques, while Randolph Street Market sells vintage wares one weekend a month. The grand Union Station, built in 1925, is an iconic beaux arts rail hub. We ate at Little Goat. We had a great lunch and went across the street to BomboBar for some fresh made donuts. We continued on a bit more and came across Ballast Point Brewery, so we had to stop and hydrate. At this point we wanted to get back to the boat, but we stopped to see “The Bean” which is actually called ‘Cloud Gate’ in Millennium Park. Before heading back we decided we should grab some beer, and there is a grocery store close by. We got lost looking for this grocery store. The roads and bridges put us on different levels, so we could see the store, but couldn’t figure out how to get there with the bikes. Yes, there were stairs, but carrying our bikes down flights of stairs wasn’t really an option for us. How hard could it be to go around? We couldn’t figure it out, and i was getting frustrated, especially with Google Maps telling me to go left or right only to find ourselves not any closer. We did find a corner grocer which I went into and procured some beer. Now that that is taken care of, off to the boat! We found our way back to the harbor and took they dropped us off. At this point it was dusk, and We took Frank in the dinghy for a quick stroll along the waterfront. We may have stretched out the 15 minute parking, but we were close enough in case someone wanted to enforce it. They didn’t seem to really care. The lights of the city were coming on, and we made our way back to the boat. The rest of the night we sat on Klondike watching the lights come on and the view was spectacular! This moment was fabulous, knowing we’ve done this on our own, with our own boat, and couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend the night!
Day 2 in Chicago starts with us taking Frank for his morning walk. This was a dinghy ride into shore and stretching the 15 minute rule. Once he was returned and secured, we took the bikes back into shore. Our first stop was Crown Fountain, which is a pair of 50-foot-tall video boards showing ordinary Chicagoans spouting water at each other. The water is real and comes out soaking anyone underneath or around it. Then we went to The Goddess and the Baker for lunch. Yum! Continuing on after lunch, we stopped at Garrett Popcorn shop to pick up a snack. Somewhere along the way we took a wrong turn, and ended back in the west loop area; on our first trek through, we had passed a chocolate factory, and the smell in the air was mouthwatering. On this pass by, we had to stop and peruse the store. We ended up buying some chocolate to enjoy later. Here is a blurb from Wikipedia about them: “Blommer Chocolate Company is a small integrated chocolate manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, and is considered to be the largest and oldest independent cocoa bean processor in North America and largest chocolate ingredient supplier. More than 45% of cocoa beans processed in the United States are processed (into cocoa butter, cocoa solids and chocolate liquor) by Blommer; about 70% of their business is supplying chocolate to various branded companies for use in those companies’ own products. Blommer was founded in 1939 by the Blommer brothers, Henry, Al, and Bernard, and has been family-owned ever since. The family and company name is pronounced “Blummer.” The factory in the West Loop area of Chicago is known for sending a chocolate aroma into the air. In 2006, a nearby condo owner complained to the EPA about the smell, complaining that it violated the Clean Air Act. Blommer was not fined, having explained that it was upgrading its filtration system. The chocolate smell remains.” We can tell you that the smell does in fact still remain!
Since we were back in the area again, we decided to check out another bar that had caught our eye the day before: City Hall. This was a cool building, and we locked the bikes up and wandered in the back patio bar area. We were greeted by a manager and we told him we wanted a drink; he informed us they don’t open up for another 20 minutes or so, but if we just wanted a beer or something easy, we could stay. Okay- we’ll stay! So after a couple of drinks here and trying the local liquor Malort (it’s gross, but follow this link, you won’t be disappointed and will still want to try it) , we then wandered over to the French Market, which miraculously we didn’t purchase anything. We then headed back to the boat to relieve Frank and get ready for dinner. Our plan was to Uber to Eataly, which Lauren has been wanting to try. Tonight was not the night, as they were closed for a private event. We didn’t know this until we got there and saw the line to get in. We actually stood in line for a few minutes, thinking this was just a popular place, then we realized we need a ticket. We tried to get one quickly online, but no luck- sold out! We were hungry, so we looked up Italian restaurants near by; we came up with Labriola, which was a short walk away. After being seated, the service was horrible! Oh well, we stuck it out and had a nice meal (the food was good, not great) and enjoyed each others company. After dinner we walked to Firecakes Donut shop and enjoyed an evening walking around Chicago. Eventually we picked up another ride back to the harbor. One last ‘Frank walk’ and we retired for the evening, knowing we have an early start and plenty to do before we leave.