The Windy City

We spent almost two weeks in Chicago and it was a whirlwind visit.  Our first night and only night anchored out was a wild and crazy night, the only place to safely anchor overnight is right off Lake Shore Drive at Ohio St, so there we were for one of the most prolonged and spectacular lightning storms of the year. It was beautiful.

The next day we moved to the new marina, the 31st Street Marina, where we could enjoy half-priced dockage (two nights for the price of one), which is a wonderful deal in a city that isn't an inexpensive place to dock a boat.  Winnie and Jack joined us the second night there (they took the city elevated train from O'Hare, and walked the last 14 blocks pulling their wheeled luggage- from 35th Street to the Marina- after dark, arriving at the marina about 10 pm.  Brave, those two!)

All four of us stayed on the boat Friday and Saturday nights, joined on Saturday by Sister Ellen and her husband Jeff (they live in Big Rock, IL) .  Sunday Patty and I met four boating friends (who we first met on Lake Champlain in June) for lunch at an elegant little pub on Michigan Ave, I had a wonderful micro-brew at the pub that was brewed in Warrenville, not 6 blocks from where I grew up!  Then we boarded the train and sped NW to visit with Vince and Suzanne (friends from Geoff's sojourn attending the Universtiy of Illinois at Champaign)  in Barrington Sunday and Monday  (with a mid-day side-trip to McHenry on Monday to visit Tom and Cindy Gruebnau and their son John-  Geoff worked for Tom before he married Patty. This visit was ONE of the highlights of our trip.  We hope to see those two again some time soon).

Then We spent two nights with Dave and Carol in Brookfield, where we relaxed and walked around the suburb of LaGrange and enjoyed the switch from boat to dry land.

On Wednesday, our friend Shannon Deckwar flew into O'Hare, where we met her, and then the three of us went to meet friends at Irish Eyes, the very bar where Patty and Geoff met some 32 years ago on a wild St Patrick's Day.

Friday we had a bunch of folks visit us on Osprey:

Tim Cosgrove (crew-member from Granfalloon trip in 1978) and Carol Spencer 

Shannon and Patty on our evening cruise of the city

Bernie Spencer and Jack Vitacco having a Sicilian "face-off".

Winnie and Uncle Bob Dawson enjoying a day "on the Lake"

Geoff receiving some much needed coaching from Captain "Uncle Bob"

 And then we headed over to DUE's Pizza for some spectacular pan pizza......

Geoff, Bob, and Winnie

                                                                 

We had a great time having Shannon with us in Chicago, she spent a total of 5 days and nights aboard, she and Patty had some nice outings in the City:

They went to the Billy Goat without Geoff, and tried to order French Fries !!!

Can you find Waldo's sidekicks, Patty and Shannon?

Biking along the Lake Shore

 But of course the fun had to end sometime, so early Monday morning found the OSPREY and intrepid crew heading down the Chicago River, waving to all the early morning commuters who are hurrying to work, and watching the city slowly slide by:

All of us were curious about the "carp barrier"

Winnie and Jack leaving OSPREY in Joliet after a full day on the "River"