Day 117 Hunkering down in Chicago

As usual, the meteorologist exaggerated the bad weather. We got rain and more rain, but it let up around 11am - now it's just gray. I'm sitting here in shorts so the frigid part of this front has not gotten here yet. The winds are strong, but not gale force. Glad we did the crossing yesterday, the seas are up to 6 foot. Supposedly in the center of the lake, they could have "occasional waves at 18'". Nooo thank you. After the rain stopped,  the courtesy car, driven by Ron, took us to Walmart for supplies and rum. You really get to appreciate Walmart on a trip like this - you can stock up cheap and they have everything. Even though this is considered East Chicago, we are actually in Indiana. Tomorrow, Ron is taking us and another couple, doing the Loop on Seawolf, to the train station so we can go to Chicago and see the sites. We will have to bundle up though since the high temperature will only be in the 60's. Not "polar", but still cold. John has been to Chicago before on business many years ago, but it's my first visit. And speaking of firsts, Chicago can brag about a lot of "firsts". They were the first city to exhibit a ferris wheel in 1893; they invented the Twinkie, roller skates and remote control; built the first skyscraper in 1885; printed the first mail order catalog; and televised the first soap opera and presidential debate. (Thanks, Brandi, for the fun facts.) Supposedly we can get home via a shuttle from a downtown hotel to the Horseshoe Casino (owned by Harrah's) behind us. Interestingly enough, it is a riverboat. Check out the pictures. The first is what it looks like behind our boat and the second is a shot of the six barges it sits on. A proposal to allow "riverboat gambling" was passed in 1994, so in 1996, a 54,000 square foot catamaran was launched here with gambling facilities. Later that was replaced by this 400,000 square foot "riverboat" that has been moored in this marina with 900 other vessels since 2008. Believe it or not, this is not the largest riverboat in Indiana. Gotta love those loopholes in laws.  Sundowner is starting to sway and the wind is picking up so the polar part of the front must be upon us. Better go batten down the hatches.