Lesson Plan Takes on Chicago

Well it wasn't the way we wanted to go, but it all turned out for the best.

We arrived in Hammond Indiana on Sunday and we knew the Chicago area had a lot to offer, so we planned to spend a few days in the area. As previously noted visited with cousins Gregg and Leslee on Sunday afternoon on the boat and then again at their house on Tuesday afternoon after some thunderstorms passed over the area.

The Chicago Harbor Safety Committee has a 30 minute video about cruising the Chicago area safely. One of the things they recommended, if you plan to navigate the Chicago River through downtown Chicago, take a boat tour of the downtown area so you know what you will be dealing with as you get on the river. The River Cruise sounded like a good idea so we decided that Wednesday would be the best day to go (the weather forecast for Monday and Tuesday were not favorable). So Wednesday we took off for the big city. We had the Lyft driver drop us at Navy Pier, the iconic landmark of Chicago (more people visit the Navy Pier than any other landmark in Chicago).

The Tall Ship coming into Chicago Harbor

We walked the length of Navy Pier and looked over the tour boat options. We saw a tall ship that intrigued us, but we decided that we wouldn't learn much about the river from sailing on it in Lake Michigan. We decided on the Historical and Architectural Tour. The boat left from almost directly under Lakeshore Drive and went up both the North and South branches of the Chicago River. We would be heading down the South Branch, so that was the route where we paid particular attention. While the tour guide droned on and on about the architectural style of this building and that building I was looking for the hazard I might be facing as we cruised our own boat through downtown Chicago. I feel like I learned quite a bit, not about the architectural style, but about the path we would be taking. I was ready to take on the Chicago River. We found out that most of the tour boats start up at 10:00 AM, we planned to be through Chicago before then. We have to make a certain railroad bridge that has a closed height of 11' before morning rush hour (it does not open between 7 and 9:30 AM). If we don't make that bridge before rush hour we would have to wait until 9:30 and then we would not be able to make the Fish Barrier before 2:00 PM (currently all recreational vessels must pass through between noon and 2:00 PM). So we made plans to move to Chicago's Monroe Harbor after the mast is lowered on Thursday and then hit the Chicago River at sun up Friday. So with this knowledge firmly in our head and our plan set for Thursday, we set of to explore more of Chicago. More pictures of downtown below.

Signs All Along the Cal-SAG Canal
NO Wading, Swimming, Jet Skiing, Water skiing /Tubing.,
ANY HUMAN BODY CONTACT

But a little history about the Chicago River first (I guess I did learn something on the boat tour). In 1887, the Illinois General Assembly decided to reverse the flow of the Chicago River. The primary reason for the reversal was that the run off from the stockyards in Chicago was polluting the City's primary water supply, Lake Michigan. The plan was to send runoff down river towards the Mississippi River and then on out into the Gulf of Mexico. It was an engineering wonder for 1900. More dirt was move to accomplish this feat than was moved to build the Panama Canal. St. Louis sued the city of Chicago, but was unsuccessful in its efforts to stop the reversal of the river. I am sure it is still a sore subject with some people today. The Calumet River and Chicago Sanitary Canal have signs posted about the quality of the water they are sending down stream.

Pioneer Square

First on the agenda after our tour was lunch. We made our way to Hoods and Howells and had a very delicious lunch. A great place to eat in the Chicago Tribune Building, just off Pioneer Square.

From there we went to the John Hancock Building and took the elevator ride to the Observation Deck (after we purchased a ticket of course). The views from the top are quite spectacular. We couldn't have picked a better day. (Pictures from atop the tower are below.) After we walked around the downtown a bit, we headed back to the boat, looking forward to what the next couple of days would bring.

We woke up Thursday morning to another great day. The wind had calmed down from the night before, so moving the boat over to the mast dock and lifting the mast with the crane would be an easy task. After Breakfast we met the crew from the Hammond Marina and commended to removing the mast from Lesson Plan. As we were working we were all commenting on what a great day it is. Clear skies, calm seas, it was great.......

Once Again Lesson Plan is Mast-less

By the time we got all the straps on Lesson Plan to hold the mast in place, we noticed the wind was picking up a bit. I waited until after the un-masting to take my shower, and by the time I was coming back to the boat, I noticed some whitecaps out on the Lake. Steve and I waked out on the break wall to get a better view, and we could see a severe looking rain cloud over Chicago. We made a tough decision and decided we better stay put for the night. Which meant we would not be going through downtown Chicago. We would take the Calumet River instead of the Chicago River. It was really disappointing, but you can't control the weather.

It worked out for us in the end. We later heard there were water spouts on Lake Michigan that day.

I will be covering our trip down the Calumet River in the next post.

Lessons Learned: Plans don't always work out the way you wanted, but sometimes it's for the best.
Chicago doesn't care about its neighbors downstream.