Day 2: Morning in the Windy City
This morning I crawled from my air-conditioned slumber to face the world at 7am. Breakfast of corn flakes and CNN devoured, I headed back to what I thought would be a damp dull morning as the tail end of tropical storm Isaac headed toward Chicago. Au contraire. A lovely humid warm morning awaited to greet me with empty streets and only a few whinos roaming around freely. I headed north toward the Chicago river to see the architecture and walk around the city while it was still quiet. I must say this place is remarkable – people who’ve been to New York may already have had this feeling of being so small among superstructures like these skyscrapers – for me it was the first time standing amid such monstrosities. I’ve been to other large cities before – including LA – but the concentration of such buildings amazes me – they all sit there not getting in each other’s way – truly remarkable feats of engineering.
The early morning runners were out in force and by the time I’d got to the lake shore, what seemed like excercise to some was more akin to a full on marathon as hundreds ran past me in what looked like serious competitive displays of athleticism. You don’t see such things in Ireland really – on this scale. And you also never see men in their 60s running topless – shaming even me and my ripped body (I jest).
I walked across the Lake Shore bridge (I was the first man to ever do so – everyone else seems to sprint across) and down toward Navy Pier. I kinda realised when I got there though that this is Chicago’s version of “Fisherman’s Wharf” (although I think this came first) and turned away. This looming building then came into view (it’s amazing how much you miss when you don’t turn around once in a while – there’s a metaphor for you!). As I pondered what it could be, the iPhone came out and powered by my now personal wireless network, I discovered it was the John Hancock tower. So off I headed!
This was at just after 9am on a Saturday so I half-expected massive queues. With that in mind I took my time as I came upon the lakeshore beach and promenade. Walking along the lake front surrounded by fast moving freeway traffic, I headed through an underground tunnel to emerge in a beautiful street neighbourhood. Turning around a few corners I arrived at the plaza entrance.
Within less than 5 minutes I was on the 40-second express elevator to the observatory. There were about 20 people there – and though the views were spectacular, I couldn’t bring myself to listen to David Schwimmer narrating the tour telling me about how he has “a home in Chicago”. Then I realised the result of internet research about such sights leads to a benign confirmation of what your expectations are. The observatory is an excellent tourist spot but it’s very underwhelming. After devouring a coffee I headed down again to the street where two blocks away I spotted the San Francisco branding of Ghirardelli – and that’s where I blog from after devouring a hot fudge sundae at 11am. Where I go from here I don’t know. So long!