Ticket Ticket Who's Got the TICKET?

We have at last recovered from what was to be a short walk to buy a bus pass.  Cherie had told us all we needed was a bus pass and we could go anywhere in Chicago quickly and easily.  It was 97 degrees today and I don't even want to know what the humidity might have been!

To start with any walking trip to town is rather like going into the “Secret Garden”.  This is how our friend Larry described it and he was right.  It is a short distance to downtown but to get there we have to take the “path” as the dock guys call it. This path goes under Lake Shore Drive through a parking lot tunnel which leads to what can only be called an alley. This alley has a fenced off lot next to it that is filled with high weeds and trash smack dab in the middle of 3 beautiful high rise apartments.  After this you walk through another parking lot “Tunnel”.  This brings you out into a most beautiful little park..... and this is where I took the picture of my all time favorite building I like to call the “pancake” structure.   It looked to me like someone had put pancake mix between the floors and squashed them together.  Actually, it is called the Aqua Condo Building.

This is a close up picture... can you see the man sun bathing on his balcony?  It looks as though there is no railing but it is there.

So far so good as we trekked to the nearby grocery store to buy our bus passes.  But now the grocery store no longer sells them... so off we went to the place they told us, CVS drugs. They didn't tell us wrong cause CVS does sell them but not the one, two or three days passes we had wanted.  At CVS Cherie called the bus company who then sent us to Millennium Park to the “station” there to buy the kind of passes we needed.  We never found this "station" even after asking the park security folks.  We were at this point many blocks into our little hike!  But it was GREAT to see this Park with it's interesting sculptures.

On the way to the Park, and it seems many times, we went up or traversed Michigan Avenue.  It is a beautiful tree lined 6 lane street.

We found out at the Park that there was a weekend long Jazz Festival at Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

This is the Pavilion with red seats down front and plenty of lawn in back for people to lay blankets and enjoy the Free concerts.

Here is another sculpture called Cloud Gate that we are standing in front of but everyone calls it “THE BEAN”.

I stood under it and took this overhead shot... if you look hard enough you might find me in this picture.

I was close to being a puddle on the concrete an hour later when we finally found a place, Walgreens, that sold the bus tickets we wanted.  Next door to this drugstore was a cafe with AIR CONDITIONING... Cherie and I went there and left the guys to buy the tickets.... we all had lunch there and then took off to find the right bus to take us to a place I have to go tomorrow to get my hair cut... so nice of our Tour Guide Cherie to do this for me... we all thought this would be a quick bus trip and we would also see sites along the way.

We had lots of people tell us go this way, go that way to get this certain bus.... So hot, so tired of walking but did find pretty planters on the streets.

AND Trump Tower Chicago.

When we finally agreed on the bus to take, Cherie and Larry got on and I couldn't find my bus ticket!  So there we were the bus door was now shut and Larry & Cherie are yelling aren't you coming?.... bus door opened again …...I dug deep in my pants pocket and found it just as the bus driver was closing the door again... I waved it at her and she reluctantly opened the door!  The passengers were not too happy with me... but off we went in what was suppose to be a bus that had AC but with all the people crowding on it seemed fairly hot to me!  The bus trip was long, stopping often but we finally came out where we needed to be... a high rise condo co-op with a hair salon!  Surely there was a place near the marina...but then again this place had an opening the next day which was rare.  And I might add a bit scary!

The others cooled off while I checked out the place.  THEN began what would have made a good three stooges movie!  We could not agree what bus to take..mostly because my sense of direction is broken and has always been this way!! The door man at this condo called on residents as they came downstairs to help us find the right bus... several gave their opinions but only one seemed confident and was in the end correct but we just didn't follow her directions completely!

I stubbornly was holding out for the EXPRESS Bus... I was so dehydrated and sapped from the heat as we all were by then... it was nearly 4p at this point and I just wanted to get back to the boat and the AC there!  You won't believe this but we actually occupied every corner at this intersection waiting for the “right” bus.... I laugh now as I write this but none of us were laughing then... I think the others wanted to kill me but couldn't figure out how they could do this being weak from the heat.  

We eventually got home, some showered the hot day off and we all relaxed in the cool wonderful AC of Miss gg.

A storm was about upon us so Walter checked the lines and tightened things...we opened the blinds to watch the storm and the beautiful downtown night lights.   After it had passed Walter snapped this photo of the edge of the storm.   This is looking toward Navy Pier.... you can see the ferris wheel to the far right.

Larry brought us a delicious Chinese dinner from the restaurant right here on our dock.  And soon we were all feeling a lot better. We hate to see them leave tomorrow.... it has been so much fun having them aboard!

We will soon be on the midwest rivers with the new adventure of dodging big barges...don't you want to come along? :-)