The Windy (and Rainy) City

Day 109  |  Chicago

We held fast in DuSable Harbor Marina today as low clouds and rain made for less than ideal traveling conditions. We received a long, soaking rain and we discussed the need for downspouts as the water cascaded off of the flybridge. Barry brought out his foul-weather jacket for his early morning trip to the marina office to extend our stay. He returned to Crossroads with his lower half soaking wet and regretting the fact that he didn't put on his foul-weather pants as well.

Rain continued throughout the afternoon and we spent the day with route planning, bill paying, and reading. We have pretty good wifi here, so I began uploading 300 photos to Shutterfly for a project I'm working on. By 4:00 the rain had finally stopped and we jumped at the opportunity to go for a walk. The temperature had never risen beyond the mid-60s, there was a gusty wind, and mist in the air. I bundled up in a couple layers of Cold Gear under my foul-weather jacket, longing for the warm temperatures being experienced back home. We walked over to Navy Pier, stopped for dinner at Giordano's, then wandered around some more while enjoying the lights.

The sunset developed nicely, and the clouds have cleared out.

We will depart in the morning on our self-guided tour of the Chicago River as it runs through downtown and alongside famous skyscrapers and landmarks. Much like our trip through New York Harbor and up the Hudson River, I plan to be on the bow with a camera for each hand. We have lowered our mast once again, as we will be passing under thirty-some bridges tomorrow. In one two-mile stretch, there are 18 bridges that we will squeeze under. We will be joined by several other Loopers to form our own little caravan. There are at least a dozen Loopers at this marina tonight, all stacked up because of weather, and heading in the same direction.