Day Fourteen, Rolling on the River

I’m way behind on blogs, but things are slowing down now so I should be able to catch up. It’s Monday and I have a little time before the premiere of “The Closer” – great show, you should check it out – so here’s Saturday’s blog. Enjoy!

We were playing today by ear because the Weather Channel said that Chicago was supposed to get thunderstorms off and on all day long. I was upset about that because despite all the cool things we’d seen and done so far, I really had my heart set on taking a boat ride on the Chicago River, which runs through the heart of downtown. Fortunately, there are plenty of museums to check out in the city so we were prepared for the rain, but hoping that it held off.

Our hoping paid off because the rain held off, too! In fact, there were only a few clouds in the sky and the sun even came out for a bit. When we woke up and saw the clear weather, we grabbed a quick breakfast at one of our favorite spots, Corner Bakery – I think we’ve been there or Panera Bread four times so far this trip! I know it’s not very exciting, but it’s good, fast, and reliable, so why not! Can’t be original all the time!

Anyway, we ate and then headed a few blocks south to the river to buy tickets for the 12:30pm architectural boat tour.

I was a little worried because while the weather was cooperating, the line looked very long and I was afraid we would have to stand or hang out on the lower deck, which I didn’t want to do. That’s not the point of the tour. The boat is set up with a snack bar and a few seats on the lower deck, but the desired upper deck is lined with chairs and also has benches along the sides and is open to the beautiful city views. Luckily though, the crowd was much smaller than it appeared and my dad and I scored great bench seating near the front of the boat. I was so happy! See! What a cute pic!

The tour was amazing, taking us right next to and beneath some of the oldest buildings, the most famous buildings aka the Sears Tower, and the newest buildings, including the unfinished Trump Tower. I don’t know if I have a favorite building on the tour, it was all cool. I just love cityscapes!

I was, of course, being the ultimate tourist and while everyone else was listening to the tour guide recite lots of interesting facts about each structure we passed, I was constantly snapping photos. I think I might be an addict now, constantly clicking the button on the camera, and I’m not looking forward to the withdrawal I might have to endure once this trip is over. But fortunately I don’t have to worry about that just yet!

Here are several photos from the ride! Enjoy!


Check out this cool parking structure at the base of a condo tower - it's been featured in several films and commercials. It's pretty amazing to see in person, but I wouldn't want to park in it because I'd be afraid I'd drive my car right off it, a recurring incident in those aforementioned ads and films!

After the boat ride, we checked out of the hotel and began the drive to our next destination: St. Louis. I looked at the map and noticed that we were going to drive right past Lincoln’s home in Springfield, IL, so we decided to take a short detour off the main highway to check it out. Unfortunately, there was some kind of street fair going on and the streets we needed to take to get to the house were all closed, which was a bummer. Not wanting to go away empty handed, we found a statue of Lincoln and snapped a quick photo in front of it, which might be better than just a photo of an old house anyway! While in town, we decided we might as well grab dinner too so we stopped at Bennigan’s, which was fine, but not the best meal we’d ever had. In fact, Springfield left a lot to be desired so we probably won’t be passing through there again if we can help it, no offense Abe!

Interestingly, however, just as we were driving as fast as the speed limit would allow back to the highway and away from Springfield, we looked to our right and did a double take at what we saw shining back at us - the brightest and most complete rainbow I've ever seen in my entire life! It was also the most well defined in terms of color I've ever seen as well. I think it might just have made the crazy detour to this town totally worthwhile! I look at the pictures now and am so impressed at how much of the bright colors we were able to capture with our cameras. They still don't do the real thing justice, but they'll have to do for the rest of you!

A better stop along the way was a random rest stop we pulled off at to switch drivers. It turned out that we were at another Route 66 intersection with the main highway. It’s amazing how many times I’ve crossed paths with Route 66 on this road trip given the unconventional path I’ve taken, mostly away from Route 66’s original path. I love that I keep finding it, although that will probably be the last time until the return trip, should I make one, since Route 66 goes from Los Angeles to Chicago and I’m past there now. What’s really cool is that I took a photo of Route 66 signs that I randomly found near LA on my first day and now I have a photo near the other end of the old road in Illinois. What’s better yet is that neither find was planned, it was all random, and those tend to be the most interesting and fun moments of the trip!

Well, that’s pretty much it for Saturday. It was Dad’s last full day on the trip with me, which is a bummer, but I guess it’s time for me to be back on my own, riding solo on the open road. But first, my Dad and I have a little more fun planned for tomorrow morning when we visit the St. Louis Arch!