Day 120 Shivering in Chcago

Woke up to 43 degrees outside and 48 degrees inside our little boat, but it warmed up very fast to a balmy 53 on the docks. At least it's calm in the confines of the marina. Seas beyond the breakwater were still around 6' with 25 knot winds so we headed downtown again to take a river cruise through Chicago. We really enjoyed the tour. Our docent was excellent and well-informed sharing a wealth of information about all the architecture that runs along the riverfront along with some history about the area. The first photo of the 82 story building with wavy features is called Aqua and is the only building on the waterfront designed by a woman, Jeanne Gang. During the Chicago fire in 1871, over 3 square miles were burned leaving over 100,000 people homeless. Only 4 buildings are left near the waterfront that pre-date the fire. All of the tall skyscrapers were built in the '70's and afterwards, but there were a few buildings like the Opera House that were constructed in the '20's that are still spectacular. An interesting fact about the river is that it was so polluted at one point that it set itself on fire - twice. But rather than make a concerted effort to clean it up, they just reversed the flow of the river sending all their nastiness down to St. Louis and now it is the only river "that runs backwards". The corn cob looking buildings were built in the 60's by a designer that felt that nature didn't have any straight angles and neither should his condo buildings. It's one my favorite complexes in Chicago. Finished the afternoon by eating Chicago style hotdogs in the famous Portillo's. That place was crazier than Chucky Cheese, but they serve a great dog. The water is a jade green again and the waves are going to lay down to 1 foot so tomorrow we are heading down the Calumet River that runs through the industrial area of Chicago to Jolliet.