(no subject)
Tuesday, Day 3
Miles driven: Who cares?!
Total Hours on Road: 1H 0m.. ish
States Driven Through:
Quotes/Notes:
Log of the Day.
We took a much needed break today and went into downtown Chicago with Abi's cousin, Elizabeth. We parked in the garage under Millennium Park and went to explore the city. The first thing we came across was a new art installation called "The Bean". "Isn't Boston 'Beantown?", I wondered, but the thought was fleeting as we wandered over to this huge polished bean, the size of a freight car.
And we saw one of Chicago's finest undercover in the park:
From there, we strolled down Michigan Avenue's "Magnificent Mile" .. which would have been more magnificent, had we not been accosted by Greenpeace volunteers at every corner.
Feeling peckish, we took a cab over to Navy Pier and had lunch at the famed Billy Goat Tavern (Think "Cheezborger Cheezborger Cheezborger No Pepsi. Coke".) OK, so it wasn't the Original Billy Goat, rather the tourist one, like the "Cheers" in Faneuil Hall. In any case, they do make a good cheezborger.
After lunch, we continued down the pier where a seagull promptly shat all over Abi's cousin. Oops. After cleaning up, we browsed around the rest of the pier and decided to go on one of the amusement rides. The official name of the ride is The "Wave Swinger", it's one of those old fashioned rides that can still get you killed nowadays. Essentially, it's a huge contraption with about 80 chairs hanging from chains in a big circle. When the ride starts, the centripetal force causes all the chairs to swing out and you have a grand old time. It looked like fun, so we bought tickets and stood in line.
Well. as luck would have it, the ride broke right before we got on, so the mechanic was called. After some poking and prodding, he called over the radio and another mechanic showed up with what looked like an owners manual. The three of us looked at each other and said "no way!" Not wanting to be unceremoniously flung into lake Michigan, we got our money back and left.
We left the pier and were headed either back to the car or to the Sears Tower (we weren't sure yet) when we came across a booth offering Segway tours of Chicago. Jeff (Philly) our soon-to-be tour guide was riding around us, quoting "Arrested Development". We were sold.
Chicago's newest/nerdiest biker gang.
The tour itself was great! 2 hours of seeing Chicago in a way that you can't otherwise experience, and looking like a buch of idiots. Because it was just the 4 of us, we talked Jeff into stopping off for a beer along the tour. This is where I had another great beer. Now stick with me here: Take a Corona and add a lime, and then 2-8 drops of Tabasco Sauce to taste. It really is good! Just make sure it is Tabasco brand hot sauce- we would learn why in Boulder.
After our tour, we headed back for dinner where I ate the heaviest pizza I have ever felt. No lie, the pizza was 15 pounds. And worth every calorie.
Miles driven: Who cares?!
Total Hours on Road: 1H 0m.. ish
States Driven Through:
- Illinois .. ish
Quotes/Notes:
- Isn't Boston known as 'Beantown'?
- "Arrested Development" quotes are always funny. Always.
Log of the Day.
We took a much needed break today and went into downtown Chicago with Abi's cousin, Elizabeth. We parked in the garage under Millennium Park and went to explore the city. The first thing we came across was a new art installation called "The Bean". "Isn't Boston 'Beantown?", I wondered, but the thought was fleeting as we wandered over to this huge polished bean, the size of a freight car.
And we saw one of Chicago's finest undercover in the park:
From there, we strolled down Michigan Avenue's "Magnificent Mile" .. which would have been more magnificent, had we not been accosted by Greenpeace volunteers at every corner.
Feeling peckish, we took a cab over to Navy Pier and had lunch at the famed Billy Goat Tavern (Think "Cheezborger Cheezborger Cheezborger No Pepsi. Coke".) OK, so it wasn't the Original Billy Goat, rather the tourist one, like the "Cheers" in Faneuil Hall. In any case, they do make a good cheezborger.
After lunch, we continued down the pier where a seagull promptly shat all over Abi's cousin. Oops. After cleaning up, we browsed around the rest of the pier and decided to go on one of the amusement rides. The official name of the ride is The "Wave Swinger", it's one of those old fashioned rides that can still get you killed nowadays. Essentially, it's a huge contraption with about 80 chairs hanging from chains in a big circle. When the ride starts, the centripetal force causes all the chairs to swing out and you have a grand old time. It looked like fun, so we bought tickets and stood in line.
Well. as luck would have it, the ride broke right before we got on, so the mechanic was called. After some poking and prodding, he called over the radio and another mechanic showed up with what looked like an owners manual. The three of us looked at each other and said "no way!" Not wanting to be unceremoniously flung into lake Michigan, we got our money back and left.
We left the pier and were headed either back to the car or to the Sears Tower (we weren't sure yet) when we came across a booth offering Segway tours of Chicago. Jeff (Philly) our soon-to-be tour guide was riding around us, quoting "Arrested Development". We were sold.
Chicago's newest/nerdiest biker gang.
The tour itself was great! 2 hours of seeing Chicago in a way that you can't otherwise experience, and looking like a buch of idiots. Because it was just the 4 of us, we talked Jeff into stopping off for a beer along the tour. This is where I had another great beer. Now stick with me here: Take a Corona and add a lime, and then 2-8 drops of Tabasco Sauce to taste. It really is good! Just make sure it is Tabasco brand hot sauce- we would learn why in Boulder.
After our tour, we headed back for dinner where I ate the heaviest pizza I have ever felt. No lie, the pizza was 15 pounds. And worth every calorie.