8/20-8/21 Hanging out in Chicago

  We are having fun touring Chicago.  Uber has been great to get around this town and walking works too.  It was pretty rainy in the morning on Saturday so we had a quiet day.  We headed to he Willis Tower after church and the weather had improved.  Sitting in a Starbucks, I got this picture of the EL

The Willis Tower finally came into view among the skyscrapers.

  At the top of the Willis, we first looked south.  One could see the rail yards that were such a big part of Chicago's history. 

The museum peninsula was easy to pick out too.

We could see the Columbia Yacht Club boat in the harbor and could tell which boat was ours.

  Looking out we could see the Prudential building, which is the second highest. 

John caught the reflection of one building on another. 

We also got great views of the Chicago and River.

  John and I had our picture taken on the Ledge, a place where you stand on Plexiglas out over the building. 

We also got this picture looking down on Chicago through our shoes. 

We had this picture taken with northern Chicago in the background. 

There is an iconic scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off looking out from the Willis Tower.  It was the Sears Tower then.  It is the 30th anniversary and they are celebrating it.  You can stand in the same spot with model characters and take your picture.  I did.

After our tour, we headed for a typical Chicago dinner, deep dish Chicago style pizza.  We had plenty to take back to the boat.

Sunday August 21 we headed early to the Shedd Aquarium.  It is a very good aquarium with areas focusing on the Amazon, the Caribbean, a Polar experience, the Asian Rivers, etc.  We started at the touch the stingray exhibit before it got busy.

The beluga whales were amazing.  They were making all sorts of click and whining sounds. 

We saw colorful birds from the Amazon. 

I enjoyed the penguins. 

These seahorses were really kind of cute.

They had an exhibit of Asian Carp that are in the rivers.  If one jumps in our boat, I am not sure if John or I will pick it up.  They are HUGE!  We took in a 4-D movie on Coastal Predators.  The sardines are sought after by the dolphin, the sharks, the birds and the whales.  They all work together to get the dinner.  The 4-D sprayed us with water, shook our seats and hit the back of our seats. 

We returned to the boat in time for the Chicago Air and Water Show.  The early part with small planes and parachuters was too far away, but the Thunderbirds flew right over head.  They flew right overhead.  They were so fast it was hard to get pictures.  In the pictures below, you can see the Columbia Yacht Club boat, Navy Pier, and the city, all taken from the flybridge of the Hydrophilic.  What a great show!!

Tomorrow, we tour Chicago for the last day.  Tuesday, we head into the river system.