July 7--Our Huge Saturday

If it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts.  --Leo Tolstoy

    Well, the Cubs lost 7-0 yesterday (Saturday), so it was "charmed life" that we went to Friday's game! 

    Holy Cow! What a day we had yesterday. We took the bus to Navy Pier and had time before the Architecture Tour to tour the very new (2 weeks open) Butterfly House. Photos from there will be on future posts. We had a gloriously sunny day and a great guide for the Arch Tour. I learned that they are no longer blaming Mrs. O'Leary and her cow for the Great Chicago Fire. 

    Off the ship, we began the long walk to the end of Navy Pier. We stopped to ride the Navy Pier Wheel, the giant ferris wheel. These positively terrify me, so I'm not sure why I keep riding them. It took me about five minutes of deep breathing to be able to keep my eyes open. I kept them open for at least one revolution. We had an Italian beef sandwich for lunch, a Chicago specialty. The end of Navy Pier gave us a show by two guys doing tricks on jet skis. Heading back toward downtown, we stopped at the Beer Garden and had beers while listening to a blues band. 

    We took the bus back to our hotel for a late afternoon snooze. Our evening adventure was the Skydeck at Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, just a few blocks from our hotel, so we walked there. We found a Mexican restaurant and had supper and margaritas, then hung out till our ticketed time. The elevator zooms you up to the 103rd floor. It was a clear evening for city viewing. And yes, we did step out on the Ledge, photo below. And I did let go of the wall!

    Next we took a bus downtown. Due to bus re-routings for the Nascar races, we ended up with a long walk back to Navy Pier. We had a drink at an outside bar waiting for fireworks. Folks just sat down everywhere near the water's edge, and we were treated to a lovely "oooo, ahhh!" show. The biggest adventure of the day was the bus ride back to our hotel. Just getting on the #124 with all those people--it was a mad mob rush to get on. It was packed, standing room only. I had two folks offer me their seat, so kind, but I declined. At one point, the bus driver yelled, "Hang on, I'm making a right turn!" and she turned left. WHOA! Most other folks got off before our stop, so it calmed down considerably. 

    A LONG, glorious, fun-filled, love-overflowing, charmed-life day!!!

        Leta

On the Ledge

From the Wheel, proof that I did it!