Even though the rain had eased, it was misleading looking out from our hotel room. We knew it was going to be cold so layers of clothes were in order, however, we underestimated the wind chill factor once we got into Chicago Town.
There were a few tasks before we made it into Chicago.
Today was 17 years to the day that Selective Availability was turned off for GPS’s and the birth of Geocaching back in May 2000, so first order of the day was to find a geocache and there just happened to be one outside the hotel.
I had been chasing tailgate seal for the Colorado to keep the dust out of the back and was not having much luck over here (it is something that is not available in Australia).
After some more googling, I managed to find a supply at the local Truck Stop. They had two in stock so I grabbed one. Jenny messaged her two brothers that have the same ute. So far only one brother has replied as there may be a physical challenge for the remaining one.
It was our first real chance to play in Chicago traffic and it didn’t let us down. It was heavy for the last 10 kms into town and also kept you on your toes with cars cutting in and out to get to the traffic lights first.
I was wondering where the River Cruises started from and looked over and immediately saw it by pure chance. Found a parking garage nearby and as soon as we started walking, the rain and wind picked up. Once on board the Shoreline Cruise, the rain abated but the wind continued. This would have to be the best way to take in the amazing architecture that Chicago has to offer. The river guides are very knowledgeable assuming they are not making up stories.
After an hour and a half on the water, we headed to the nearest Starbucks to grab a bite and thaw out.
One of our Chicago bucket list items was to do the SkyDeck Ledge in the Willis Tower. These are glass sections that protrude from the 103rd floor of the tower and are completely glass so you are looking all the way down to the ground. From the river cruise they looked a long way up. From the street level, they looked a long way up. Once you were standing out in them looking down, it definitely was a long way down. Jenny wasn’t too keen to get out there but she managed a foot shot and also a lying down shot.
We certainly got our 10000 steps in today walking around Downtown, even seeing a couple of runs by Chicago’s bravest, Truck 3 and Engine 13.
Getting out of Chicago in peak hour seem to be better than Adelaide with traffic lights timed and the traffic flowing. One last stop before heading back to the room was to call into Fire & Risk Alliance near the Wrigley Field. No we weren’t checking out parking for Friday but did ask the question. Bradley will be doing a 6 month intern-ship here from June so we wanted to check it out. We met up with one of the owners, John, and he showed us around. It looks like Bradley will enjoy his time here and John will be great boss.
