A few guests arrived at my place yesterday, so I've been busy running around showing them the town. Whenever we have visitors, I use them as an excuse to do some of my favorite activities in Chicago--the "touristy" things that I'd have a hard time justifying on my own.
One of those things is riding the SeaDog--a speedboat adventure up and down Lake Michigan, with absolutely the best views of the city you'll ever see. You may remember that Nerdy P and I went on the SeaDog while on a break from our Taste of Chicago pilgrimage last summer.
Yesterday, my husband, our guests and I took the 5 PM departure from Navy Pier. The weather was gorgeous and the views once again did not disappoint. Above is me before we took off... you can see our sister boat behind me with the SeaDog logo. There are no "after" pictures of me, however, because my hair looked like Tina Turner's after being wind-whipped for 30 minutes, even though it was in a ponytail.
Here are a few shots of Navy Pier as we headed out.
And here are a few shots of my beautiful city:
The best thing about the SeaDog trip, after the views, is the fact that they yell... "SeaDog.... WRRROOOF!!!" right before they turn the microphone off and crank up the engines. For whatever reason, I think it's hilarious.
Anyway, we had a great time and now I can check "SeaDog" off of my annual "Things to Do in the Summer in Chicago" list.
- e
Friday, August 08, 2008
The SeaDog -- WRROOF!
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6 comments:
How's construction progressing on the new Chicago skyscraper?
Haha! I actually visited Chicago about a month ago and took a tourist boat ride. The usual one, not the Sea Dog one. Though when we were waiting for the lock back into the river a Sea Dog pulled up with it's evil sounding engines roaring. I had to take a picture. Cool city you've got there BTW.
e,
I'm flying out from California to D.C. / Philly / New York later this month and discovered I have a 3+ hour layover in Chicago.
Can you please let me know if there is anything near/around the airport that would be worth seeing. Please Please!.
Also - any suggestions for Philadelphia or New York that you would consider highlights. I'm a week in each.
The Other E
at - I haven't seen any construction on it at all... but then again, I am hardly ever in that area anymore. The SeaDog guide did say that Trump unsuccessfully sued the city over the spire being positioned right in front of his new building, which you CAN see in the pics... it is really high and almost done.
Laurence - It's still my favorite city in the world!
The Other E - To be honest with you, I don't think I'd leave the airport if you only have a little over 3 hours to spare. There is definitely nothing around the airport worth seeing. To get into the heart of the city it takes 40 mins to an hour, even on public transportation, each way. O'Hare is crazy big and the security lines are always huge, so I would just be worried that you would run out of time. Let me put it this way... if I were you, I would just hang out and read a book or magazine and would not chance leaving the airport. Sorry!
Philly I can't help you with... have only been in its airport.
As for NYC... my favorite thing to do there is simply walk around. I would definitely walk all around Times Square, maybe up one street and down the other until you can tell the general area is done. Similarly, you could walk all the way up Fifth Ave to Central Park, definitely hit the Park (that could take the better part of a day to explore right there), and then walk back down Park Street.
Fairly close to Times Square is Rockefeller Center and at its base is an NBC store which is worth going into if you like any of those shows. I think they have a tour, too, which I did when I was younger but might have changed a lot since.
I am most familiar with the West Village area... there is a pretty decent boardwalk along the river and tons of little boutique shops all over the place in that part of town. There is a very small restaurant called Da Andrea that is my favorite. But I have never had a bad meal anywhere in that area!
Hope that helps...
- e
If you have time, you may also want to try and hit a show by going to the TKTS booth in Times Sqaure and seeing what's left (discount tickets).
e,
Thanks for the travel notes.
Bummer about Chicago ... but looks like I'll have to plan another trip with more time to play around and explore. Stupid stupid thought of mine ... one of my all time favorite movies is About Last Night which if I recall was filmed in Chicago. Do you have any idea where that softball field is that they played on and ended the movie on ???
I love old and charming used bookstores ... there used to be a bookstore avenue or something which I think is no more. Any ideas on neat bookstores in any of the NY boroughs?
One of the days I plan on driving up to Cooperstown for the Baseball Hall of Fame - just because.
And definitely considering a number of your suggestions. Especially Central Park.
Again - thanks for your input.
The Other E
The Other E - I've never seen About Last Night, but my husband has and he said the softball field is at the south end of Grant Park, "where the Radiohead stage was at Lollapalooza."
I haven't been to any bookstores in NYC, but the most famous one is The Strand... 18 miles of books! I keep meaning to check it out. It is at 12th and Broadway (828 Broadway). strandbooks.com
- e
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