We biked to Navy Pier to board the tour boat for an Architectural Tour on the Chicago River. In just a few days we will travel this route under the historic bridges on our own boat—amazing! Ron and I have took this tour a couple of years ago when we visited Chicago, but we knew it was worth a second look.
Seeing a city from the water is always a
unique perspective and usually the oldest part of the city. Actually, since the fire of 1871 burned 4 miles of the city, it got a second chance for an even better riverfront as it rebuilt in the 1900’s. The buildings along the river are like following a timeline of architectural styles and building techniques by famous architects of the 20th century. Chicago lays claim to the first skyscraper and for many years the Sears Tower was the highest building in the world. When opened in 1930 The Merchandise Mart, all 4,000,000 sq. ft. of it, was the largest building in the world. 
Chicago Factoids:
· Louis Jolliet Jacques Marquette first recorded visit to Chicago in 1673
· Jean Baptiste Point du Sable was the first permanent resident of Chicago
· In 1871, the polluted Chicago River threatened the water quality of Lake Michigan, the source of drinking water. The natural flow of the river was reversed, sending the pollution to Saint Louis.
· Potawatomi Indians are credited with naming the city “stinky onion” due to the wild leeks that grew in the watershed. The Indian name was heard by the French as “Chicaqoua” and later changed to Chicago.
No visit to Chicago would be complete without a stroll in Millennium Park to see Buckingham Fountain, the stainless Cloud Gate sculpture the locals have dubbed “the bean”,
the amphitheater and the Crown Fountain consisting of 50 foot glass block towers where video images of Chicago citizens are displayed. 
We returned to the boat to wait to hear from Nancy, Ron's sister, who was coming into town to visit her daughter Julie and spend a couple nights with us on the boat.
After dinner on the boat, team Julie and Jean won all hands of Canasta before Julie left to meet friends, leaving Nancy to experience sleeping on the boat. 
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