p&sr
OBS Chief
So on Tuesday June 10th we arrived in Chicago, at 2:45 PM. Walking through Union Station, we purchased tickets for the Metra, and saw the machine selling CTA day-passes (which we had already obtained by mail). We stored our luggage in a locker at the Baggage Claim Area, for $9 per day. The locker required both a "secret code" and a fingerprint to open. [At other stations, we could often leave our luggage with the Baggage Office for a fee of $3 per bag. If bags are strapped together, they count as one.] We admired the Great Hall, then set out to begin our "SouthWalk". This was a scripted itinerary I had put together featuring the south half of the Loop, highlighting Public Art, Architecture old and new, and three of the six tallest buildings in Chicago.
Our walking route was Adams to Dearborn to Jackson and back to Union Station. Sights along the way included the Chicago River, the Sears Tower (tallest in Chicago) and its lobby (with the mobile "Universe" by Calder), the AT&T Center (#4 in Chicago), 190 S. La Salle Street and lobby (with art "Chicago Fugue" by Caro), the Rookery and historic lobby, the Marquette Bldg and lobby (with Tiffany Mosaics and Bronze Carvings of Pere Marquette & company), and Federal Plaza with Calder's famous red Flamingo. Inside the Post Office there is a model of the Flamingo as well. We walked through the Monadnock Bldg with its 1890's Corridor and fancy metal-grill Stairways, and the Metcalfe Federal Bldg to see "The Town Ho's Story" by Stella... literally a pile of junk, sealed together with molten aluminum. Next stop was the CBOT Bldg (with 1930 statue "Ceres" on top), and its AMAZING art-deco lobby in black, white, and gold. It looks exactly like something out of the early German science-fiction movie "Metropolis".
For Dinner, we stopped at Giordano's Pizza, 223 W. Jackson, and ordered a 10" stuffed "Special" Pizza. While that was cooking, we stepped next door to Luke's Italian Beef at 215 W. Jackson, where we enjoyed their Chicago-classic sandwich. On return to Giordano's, our Pizza was soon ready, giving us TWO great Chicago treats in the same meal! The extra Pizza we took as carry-out and enjoyed the next day.
Continuing our walk, we visited "The White Castle" (#6 in Chicago) at 311 S. Wacker Drive, with its enormous indoor conservatory garden and purple orchids, and a large fountain containing the sculpture "Gem of the Lakes" by Kaskey. Next we crossed the street and went to the Sky-Deck on Floor 103 of the Sears Tower, for Magnificent crystal-clear afternoon views in all directions. We watched the Trains from there, and identified lots of buildings and landmarks, including the famous Buckingham Fountain which was in operation.
We returned to Union Station in time to pick up our luggage and head out through the Great Hall north onto Clinton Street. At the modernistic Ogilvie Transportation Center we boarded the 6:31 Train to Kenosha, Wisconsin. We had an interesting and pleasant ride, with great views. Beyond the "Great Lakes" Naval Training Center, we had views of Lake Michigan, and the State Park and Forest Preserve and Wisconsin Prairie Preserve, arriving in Kenosha by daylight. {The Depot there has NO public waiting room, so my earlier question as to its hours of operation becomes irrelevant.}
We walked along the Tracks for the Heritage Trolley to the Yacht Harbour... seeing street-sections, grass-sections, and the Car Barn. Unfortunately, they stopped running at 7:05 PM and would not resume service until late morning. A couple of blocks north was our Motel, the Best Western Harborside Inn, right on the water. After checking in and dropping off our luggage, we had a fine evening stroll (in sandals) along the Harbour and over the Bridge to Simmons Island Park, where we saw the flag-lowering ceremony at the Coast Guard Base, and visited the historic lighthouse (and the keeper's house), then continued out to the breakwater where there is a second historic lighthouse. Then we headed north along a lovely fine sand beach with open horizons on Lake Michigan, and waded into the Lake. Returning to our Motel, they offered us two free Heinekens as we prepared to settle in for the night.
On Wednesday, we were up at 5:00 AM and walked back along the Harbour and the Trolley Tracks to the Metra Station in time for the 5:51 Train to Chicago. Again, we had a comfortable trip with great scenery and views of Lake Michigan, plus Downtown Chicago as we approached the City. Along the way we saw bridges belonging to the former "North Shore Line", now used as part of a bike-path. Arriving at Ogilvie, we took the Skywalk over to Riverside Center, exiting by the Chicago River, then walked south to Union Station. We checked our luggage for the day, and had Breakfast at the Corner Bakery in the Food Court there... bacon and eggs and grilled potatoes and coffee. At the Newsstand we bought Muffins and Drinks to carry with for the day. We caught the 8:35 AM Train to Fox Lake, which actually passes a number of lakes on its route. Walking there, we enjoyed a lakeside park, and a pleasant tree-lined marina with lots of fine yachts. Returning to the Station, we crossed a little section of Wild Prairie... freshly mown... which was impressive enough to give me Hayfever (runny nose and watering eyes) right up until our return to Sacramento, California.
We caught the next train back to Chicago at 10:45 AM and arrived at Union Station at 12:20 PM. For lunch, we enjoyed the classic Chicago Hot Dog at "Gold Coast Hot Dogs" in the Food Court. Outstanding! Then we headed out through the Great Hall, walking south two blocks on Clinton to the Station for the Blue Line Subway. We validated our 24-hour passes for the CTA, and caught the first train to O'Hare Airport. The elevated section along Milwaukee Avenue was interesting. At O'Hare we used a couple of long moving walkways to get to Terminal 1, then found the way upstairs to the People Mover. We rode past Terminals 2 & 3, then across to 5 (International), and finally across the freeway to the remote Parking Lot, with views of Planes and Runways and Chicago in the distance. Riding back again, we exited at Terminal 3 and used another Moving Sidewalk to go past the Parking Garages and a large Hotel, to the central Metra Station.
We left the Airport about 2:30 PM, and rode the Blue Line to Lake/Clark. There we transferred indoors to the Brown Line (Kendall), enjoying a zig-zag elevated ride through the northern neighborhoods. For a while we joined the Red Line (as it emerged from the Subway), then crossed and followed the Metra Kenosha Line. Turning west, we dropped to ground level and crossed the Chicago River at a scenic point with boats and docks and lush trees. The line ended by the Yards, and we caught the next train inbound. There was a brief loss of power for each grade-level crossing, because the electric third-rail does not cross the streets or the sidewalks. There were wonderful views of Downtown on the way back, and also of the North Michigan Avenue area around the Hancock Bldg (#3 in Chicago). We stayed on board to follow the full Loop counter-clockwise, exiting again at Lake/Clark around 5:00 PM. We caught the Green Line west to Ashland, where we crossed over to the Inbound side and got great views of the entire Downtown area. Then we rode to Roosevelt, just South of the Loop, where we transferred to the Orange Line north, exiting at Quincy Station. This covered 3/4 of the Loop in the Clockwise direction. We took Jackson a couple of blocks back to Union Station, arriving by 5:30 PM.
Picking up our luggage, we boarded the 6:00 PM Wolverine Train, heading for the First Stop, which was Niles, Michigan ("serving South Bend", as Amtrak proclaims). For dinner I had a Cheeseburger on board the Train. We got great views of the Industrial Areas on the way out of Chicago, noticing plenty of rail and transit features along the way. In Gary Indiana we saw the huge old Steel Mills, and the Casino Boats on the Lake. Near the Dunes State Park we saw the electric South Shore Line. In Michigan City there was an attractive Marina on Lake Michigan.
Finally we arrived in Niles, just about at Sunset. The Station was closed, there were no telephones, and there was no visible business or activity anywhere nearby. We borrowed a cell phone from another departing passenger and called our Taxi (A-Cab & Courier Service). They arrived as promised 20 minutes later and for a fixed fare of $25 took us on a high-speed but circuitous route north, then west, crossing the beautiful St. Joseph River and finally heading South into Indiana... with windows wide-open the whole way, of course. We crossed Hwy 80/90 and passed just west of the South Bend Regional Airport, where we doubled back and found our Quality Inn Motel for the night.
For whatever reason, I found myself quite exhausted by this point. We decided the cure should be MORE TRAIN RIDES, beginning the next Morning at Daybreak! So we set the alarms for 4:00 AM Chicago Time, and caught a few winks of sleep.
To be continued...
Our walking route was Adams to Dearborn to Jackson and back to Union Station. Sights along the way included the Chicago River, the Sears Tower (tallest in Chicago) and its lobby (with the mobile "Universe" by Calder), the AT&T Center (#4 in Chicago), 190 S. La Salle Street and lobby (with art "Chicago Fugue" by Caro), the Rookery and historic lobby, the Marquette Bldg and lobby (with Tiffany Mosaics and Bronze Carvings of Pere Marquette & company), and Federal Plaza with Calder's famous red Flamingo. Inside the Post Office there is a model of the Flamingo as well. We walked through the Monadnock Bldg with its 1890's Corridor and fancy metal-grill Stairways, and the Metcalfe Federal Bldg to see "The Town Ho's Story" by Stella... literally a pile of junk, sealed together with molten aluminum. Next stop was the CBOT Bldg (with 1930 statue "Ceres" on top), and its AMAZING art-deco lobby in black, white, and gold. It looks exactly like something out of the early German science-fiction movie "Metropolis".
For Dinner, we stopped at Giordano's Pizza, 223 W. Jackson, and ordered a 10" stuffed "Special" Pizza. While that was cooking, we stepped next door to Luke's Italian Beef at 215 W. Jackson, where we enjoyed their Chicago-classic sandwich. On return to Giordano's, our Pizza was soon ready, giving us TWO great Chicago treats in the same meal! The extra Pizza we took as carry-out and enjoyed the next day.
Continuing our walk, we visited "The White Castle" (#6 in Chicago) at 311 S. Wacker Drive, with its enormous indoor conservatory garden and purple orchids, and a large fountain containing the sculpture "Gem of the Lakes" by Kaskey. Next we crossed the street and went to the Sky-Deck on Floor 103 of the Sears Tower, for Magnificent crystal-clear afternoon views in all directions. We watched the Trains from there, and identified lots of buildings and landmarks, including the famous Buckingham Fountain which was in operation.
We returned to Union Station in time to pick up our luggage and head out through the Great Hall north onto Clinton Street. At the modernistic Ogilvie Transportation Center we boarded the 6:31 Train to Kenosha, Wisconsin. We had an interesting and pleasant ride, with great views. Beyond the "Great Lakes" Naval Training Center, we had views of Lake Michigan, and the State Park and Forest Preserve and Wisconsin Prairie Preserve, arriving in Kenosha by daylight. {The Depot there has NO public waiting room, so my earlier question as to its hours of operation becomes irrelevant.}
We walked along the Tracks for the Heritage Trolley to the Yacht Harbour... seeing street-sections, grass-sections, and the Car Barn. Unfortunately, they stopped running at 7:05 PM and would not resume service until late morning. A couple of blocks north was our Motel, the Best Western Harborside Inn, right on the water. After checking in and dropping off our luggage, we had a fine evening stroll (in sandals) along the Harbour and over the Bridge to Simmons Island Park, where we saw the flag-lowering ceremony at the Coast Guard Base, and visited the historic lighthouse (and the keeper's house), then continued out to the breakwater where there is a second historic lighthouse. Then we headed north along a lovely fine sand beach with open horizons on Lake Michigan, and waded into the Lake. Returning to our Motel, they offered us two free Heinekens as we prepared to settle in for the night.
On Wednesday, we were up at 5:00 AM and walked back along the Harbour and the Trolley Tracks to the Metra Station in time for the 5:51 Train to Chicago. Again, we had a comfortable trip with great scenery and views of Lake Michigan, plus Downtown Chicago as we approached the City. Along the way we saw bridges belonging to the former "North Shore Line", now used as part of a bike-path. Arriving at Ogilvie, we took the Skywalk over to Riverside Center, exiting by the Chicago River, then walked south to Union Station. We checked our luggage for the day, and had Breakfast at the Corner Bakery in the Food Court there... bacon and eggs and grilled potatoes and coffee. At the Newsstand we bought Muffins and Drinks to carry with for the day. We caught the 8:35 AM Train to Fox Lake, which actually passes a number of lakes on its route. Walking there, we enjoyed a lakeside park, and a pleasant tree-lined marina with lots of fine yachts. Returning to the Station, we crossed a little section of Wild Prairie... freshly mown... which was impressive enough to give me Hayfever (runny nose and watering eyes) right up until our return to Sacramento, California.
We caught the next train back to Chicago at 10:45 AM and arrived at Union Station at 12:20 PM. For lunch, we enjoyed the classic Chicago Hot Dog at "Gold Coast Hot Dogs" in the Food Court. Outstanding! Then we headed out through the Great Hall, walking south two blocks on Clinton to the Station for the Blue Line Subway. We validated our 24-hour passes for the CTA, and caught the first train to O'Hare Airport. The elevated section along Milwaukee Avenue was interesting. At O'Hare we used a couple of long moving walkways to get to Terminal 1, then found the way upstairs to the People Mover. We rode past Terminals 2 & 3, then across to 5 (International), and finally across the freeway to the remote Parking Lot, with views of Planes and Runways and Chicago in the distance. Riding back again, we exited at Terminal 3 and used another Moving Sidewalk to go past the Parking Garages and a large Hotel, to the central Metra Station.
We left the Airport about 2:30 PM, and rode the Blue Line to Lake/Clark. There we transferred indoors to the Brown Line (Kendall), enjoying a zig-zag elevated ride through the northern neighborhoods. For a while we joined the Red Line (as it emerged from the Subway), then crossed and followed the Metra Kenosha Line. Turning west, we dropped to ground level and crossed the Chicago River at a scenic point with boats and docks and lush trees. The line ended by the Yards, and we caught the next train inbound. There was a brief loss of power for each grade-level crossing, because the electric third-rail does not cross the streets or the sidewalks. There were wonderful views of Downtown on the way back, and also of the North Michigan Avenue area around the Hancock Bldg (#3 in Chicago). We stayed on board to follow the full Loop counter-clockwise, exiting again at Lake/Clark around 5:00 PM. We caught the Green Line west to Ashland, where we crossed over to the Inbound side and got great views of the entire Downtown area. Then we rode to Roosevelt, just South of the Loop, where we transferred to the Orange Line north, exiting at Quincy Station. This covered 3/4 of the Loop in the Clockwise direction. We took Jackson a couple of blocks back to Union Station, arriving by 5:30 PM.
Picking up our luggage, we boarded the 6:00 PM Wolverine Train, heading for the First Stop, which was Niles, Michigan ("serving South Bend", as Amtrak proclaims). For dinner I had a Cheeseburger on board the Train. We got great views of the Industrial Areas on the way out of Chicago, noticing plenty of rail and transit features along the way. In Gary Indiana we saw the huge old Steel Mills, and the Casino Boats on the Lake. Near the Dunes State Park we saw the electric South Shore Line. In Michigan City there was an attractive Marina on Lake Michigan.
Finally we arrived in Niles, just about at Sunset. The Station was closed, there were no telephones, and there was no visible business or activity anywhere nearby. We borrowed a cell phone from another departing passenger and called our Taxi (A-Cab & Courier Service). They arrived as promised 20 minutes later and for a fixed fare of $25 took us on a high-speed but circuitous route north, then west, crossing the beautiful St. Joseph River and finally heading South into Indiana... with windows wide-open the whole way, of course. We crossed Hwy 80/90 and passed just west of the South Bend Regional Airport, where we doubled back and found our Quality Inn Motel for the night.
For whatever reason, I found myself quite exhausted by this point. We decided the cure should be MORE TRAIN RIDES, beginning the next Morning at Daybreak! So we set the alarms for 4:00 AM Chicago Time, and caught a few winks of sleep.
To be continued...
