My Kind of Town

Day 108  |  Chicago

I was up before first light and, lucky for me, the sunrise over Lake Michigan and behind the Chicago Harbor Light was beautiful. The morning was just as nice with a clear blue sky, white fluffy clouds and a gentle breeze. We took advantage of the nice weather and walked the mile and a half from DuSable Harbor Marina down to Shedd Aquarium. Arriving with perfect timing as the aquarium opened, we first zipped through the Amazon collection which included many frogs -- some green, blue, and yellow in addition to this orange poison dart frog.

There were plenty of snakes as well, which I generally despise and avoid with great effort. This tree boa posed nicely so I'll try to forget that he climbs trees even though he has no arms and legs. As we made our way down to the tanks we met up with one of the best surprises of the day. A staff member was leading a penguin chick on his first public walk. He was born this spring and they're working with him on learning a route and getting used to people so he can take part in the animal show. We ducked into the oceanarium and caught the dolphins' performance. Shedd has Pacific white-sided dolphins which we had never seen before. We're used to seeing Atlantic Bottlenosed Dolphins in similar shows. I was more than willing to put my hands in the sea star touch tank. The water was unexpectedly cold and several varieties were in the tank.

Three Beluga whales occupied their own large tank and were very attentive to the staffer with the fish bucket. The penguin exhibit had both Rockhopper and Megellanic varieties. Graceful jellyfish floated in three displays. The moray eel struck a menacing pose.

A large outdoor touch tank was full of cow-nosed rays. Barry and I both took turns petting these gentle creatures that inhabit the Rappahannock River back home. These animals have a mischievous streak and several raised their wing tips up to splash the folks on the edge of the pool. No aquarium is complete without a clownfish tank and other brightly colored tropical fish.

Final highlights included an octopus and a giant sea turtle. A traveling special exhibition from Washed Ashore featured large sculptures of aquatic animals made entirely from plastic beach trash. The polar bear's ice floe was made from discarded cooler tops. The jellyfish was crafted from empty water bottles.

After finishing up at Shedd Aquarium, we walked over to Soldier Field for a quick look, then continued around the Field Museum to see its dinosaur statue looming overhead. We'll have to make our visit to Field during our next trip to Chicago.

Walking back north to the marina, we passed through Grant Park, stopping at Buckingham Fountain. We then hit Millennium Park for obligatory tourist selfies in the reflection of the Cloud Gate sculpture (we're in there, just small). By early evening, thunderstorms had developed and brief periods of heavy rain fell. Low level clouds (and/or fog) rolled in, obscuring the giants of the skyline.

Odds are that we'll stay here tomorrow to wait out some continued wind and rain. That decision will be made in the morning.