Brady's Birthday Off

Brady got the day off yesterday so that we could take an architectural cruise on the Chicago River (much thanks to Jay and Gwen). Since his birthday is in a week (5/29) and he doesn't want to take off any selling time for it we made this day a kind of birthday celebration.

The tour was at 11:30 AM and since we decided to take public transportation into the city we left the house early and gave ourselves 2 hrs, plenty of time to get there, or so we thought. A series of events occurred that almost costed us the tour :

1. An incredibly long line at McDonald's (brady's birthday breakfast of choice)

2. Unforeseen traffic backup going to the rail station

3. Parking space shortage at the station because of people with nice cars that use 4 spots so that no one gets near their precious Mercedes

3. The train ticket machine that only took exact change 

3. Painfully slow/stop 'n' go train ride due to untimely rail work

4. The Navy Pier bus that never came

Luckily Brady had his new phone filled with music to listen to while we waited.

Anyways, at the last minute Brady made a smart call and hailed a cab which got us to the ferry dock just before they lifted the gang plank. It was exciting though, like we were on the Amazing Race!

The tour was really cool and we could actually understand what the person on the microphone was saying. It was really high quality.

There's sears tower on the left, tallest building in America. Modeled after a bundle of cigarettes actually. I couldn't get many pictures because of those pesky white bars. Are they there in case we roll over?

Here's Navy Pier. We walked around for a few minutes. There was a ferris wheel and other stuff that looked fun but was too expensive.

Unfortunately Brady fell victim to a passing bird. "It" grazed the bottom of his shirt. This bothered him very much.

To lift his spirits we decided he should try an original Chicago dog.

I think it did help.

We did a lot of walking around but it was great. It's really a pretty city. Less giant hills and scary bums than San Fran and not as overwhelming and fast paced as New York.

The sun was out, not a cloud to be seen, but it was still pretty cold walking around in the shadows of skyscrapers (around 50 degrees). We were probably the most underdressed people in the city that day.

This thing was really cool. It's called Cloud Gate and known to locals as "the bean" but exactly what it is, we have no idea. I do know it is a favorite rendezvous point for tourists and seagulls alike.

Alien spaceship? Metallic flavored jelly treat? 

Brady needed a rest from all the excitement.

This weird structure or 'art' is a tower that has water pouring out of it with digital faces of Chicagoans that smile and wink and sometimes spit water from their mouths to the delight of little children.

 I liked this lion.

Here's a cool fountain. At night it has a water/music/lights show. We didn't get a chance to see it but it looked neat.

Finally when we had all the fun, walking, and Chicago stuffed pizza we could take we made our way home on the "L" train.