11/6/19
Lou I wanted to do some actual daytime sightseeing today and I wasn’t meeting Dusty, so I had the day to myself. I had to try the Chicago deep dish pizza while I am here so I had lunch at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria. As far as pizza goes, I’ll stick with hand tossed or flat. I started my long walk at Buckingham Fountain. It’s one of the biggest fountains that I have seen. Unfortunately it was drained because stupid winter.
Next, I walked up to Millennium Park to see the big bean, Cloud Gate. It’s a very pretty area and the bean was about what I expected. There was a neat sculpture there too.
Amphitheater 
Cloud Gate 
Millennium Monument
Next, I walked over to Navy Pier. I got a couple of great shots of Vista Tower. I walked all the way around the pier in thirty degree weather. The South side was fine, but I think I got a bit frostbit on the North side.
Vista Tower 
Hancock Building
The next stop was the Magnificent Mile. This is where all of the super high end clothing stores and flagship shops are. This is also where I found some great history. The old water tower and pumping station are in this area. These and the church near them were some of the only building that didn’t get completely destroyed during the Chicago Fire.
Magnificent Mile 
Magnificent Mile 
Water Tower 
Pumping Station 
Lake Michigan 
North Downtown 
Water Tower Hancock Building 
North Downtown
At this point my legs were starting to get pretty tired so I started heading back south. I stopped at Adams Street Brewery for a beer and snapped some pics along the way.
Wrigley Building 
DuSable Bridge 
DuSable Bridge 
DuSable Bridge 
My final stop of the night downtown was in Chinatown. This whole part of town smelled delicious. The main street was pretty much all restaurants.
Main Street Arch 
Main Street 
Sculpture
After catching the train back to the van I went to Off Color Brewing. I had the best bartender here. There was a group of people at a table near me and when I asked about the brewery the bartender told me that the head brewer and a bunch of super important beer industry people were at that table. I chatted and had a good time with the bartender and the other patrons. When the group of people started leaving I started a conversation with the head brewer. I was able to stay after hours finishing my drink and conversation. While I was walking out the brewer told the front door guy to give me a free shirt. I had a blast at here and would definitely come back again.
At the end of the day I had walked something like 28,000 steps and 14 miles.