Week 13, Part II – Holland, MI to Chicago, IL
Highlights this week: Chicago! It may take you days to read this blog, because we made the most our our five days in Chicago! We loved it!
Monday, October 16, 2023 – Holland, MI (layover day)
If you remember from last week, we got back to HOMES late on Friday night from our short trip home. Our original plan was to leave on Saturday or Sunday to go to Benton Harbor, MI. However, Lake Michigan had other plans. We had no desire to travel in 5-7-foot waves, so we used our time in port wisely.
This morning, we walked the short distance to Mt. Pisgah – a 157-foot sand dune. We hiked up the 239 steps leading to the top, where we had views of Lake Michigan on one side and Lake Macatawa (where HOMES is) on the other side.
While Mt. Pisgah is thousands of years old, the sand came from ancient bedrock that is billions of years old. Massive glaciers -up to two miles high- picked up, crushed, scraped, and moved the bedrock from its original location in the north to the Great Lakes region. When the glaciers melted, much of the sand was washed to the lakeshore by the draining glacial met water. The prevailing westerly winds of Lake Michigan move large quantities of sand inland, especially in fall and winter. That is why sand dunes are formed only on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.
The 239-step staircase was added to the dune in 2008. Before that, visitors would scramble up the dune, trampling the protective grasses – leaving Mt. Pisagh vulnerable to severe erosion. The marram grass is why there are sand dunes. The stems and leaves of the marram grass trap the blowing sand and the many fine roots hold the sand together. As the sand continues to pile up around the grass, the plant grows underground stems called rhizomes that send up new grass plants – allowing the dune to grow higher and wider.
The rest of the day, we did chores. Tim replaced the fresh water pump. This pump gives us water from our water tank when we are cruising or anchored. A few weeks ago the pump decided to not shut off, so we would just turn it on when we needed water while cruising. Tim had the new pump delivered to our house last week, along with other supplies he wanted to bring back. After getting the fresh water pump installed, he filled our water tank with water from the marina. We want to be self-sufficient, in case marinas start turning off their water for the season.
Tim also fixed the sliding door to the flybridge. He decided it needs a new spring, but it is fixed for now. He also hung the watercolor painting that his mom painted of HOMES.
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 – Holland, MI to St, Joseph, MI
We were very ready to get moving again! We got to Holland on October 3rd. Our voyage today took 6 hours and 32 minutes, going 42.6 nm (49 miles), averaging 6.5 knots (7.5 MPH). It was a little chilly in the morning, but we didn’t want to start the generator to run the heaters – knowing that it would warm up when the sun came out. Our decision to wait two days was wise, because we only had 1-2-foot waves at most.
The coastline seemed to be losing some of the beaches and dunes, as we continue south. However, as we entered the St. Joseph River, it looked much like the other “drowned river mouth” harbors. We cruised past the St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lighthouses, built in 1906 and 1907, then proceeded up the St. Joseph River to the West Basin Marina.
We just stayed the one night here, but the marina staff and facility were great! We walked 1.4 miles into St. Joseph to the Silver Harbor Brewing Co. Our walk took us past the Whirlpool Technology Center. St. Joseph and neighboring Benton Harbor houses Whirlpool Corporation’s global and North American headquarters, as well as several technical, research and customer service facilities. Whirlpool started in 1911 in Benton Harbor and introduced the very first automatic washing machine in 1948. Ohio has five Whirlpool plants. Clyde, Ohio, near my hometown of Fremont, OH, employs 3,000 workers, producing 20,000 washers a day. My Uncle John retired from the plant in Marion, Ohio, which has 2,500 employees, producing 20,000 dryers daily. So, if you’re looking to buy American, check out Whirlpool.
Wednesday, October 18, 2023 – St. Joseph, MI to Chicago, IL, DuSable Marina
To say that we had an uncomfortable voyage would be an understatement!! We had 3-5-foot waves, with an occasional 6-foot wave that hit the windshield. However, the water tomorrow will be worse and we didn’t want to risk getting stuck at Michigan City, IN, where they told us that they are shutting off the water in the marina. So, we set off across Lake Michigan to Chicago! Our voyage took 9 hours and 11 minutes, going 53.3 nm (61.3 miles), at an average speed of 6.7 knots (7.7 MPH).
We wanted to leave around 7:00 AM, since the waves would get worse in the afternoon, but a computer-software glitch delayed us for an hour. Tim routes our voyages on the iPad, but this morning, the route wouldn’t upload to the chart plotter. Eventually, he had to manually enter our route on the chart plotter, which is much harder. By the time we left, around 8:00 AM, the “red sky in morn” was another indication that we should “be warn.” However, it had to be done. The waves beat us all day long. We had to use the windshield wipers, because of the wave spray. When we heard apples rolling around the salon, Tim ran down and put everything on the countertops onto the floor… trying not to fall over himself.
About noon, we finally crossed over the state border from Michigan to Illinois! We entered Michigan way back on August 2nd. Michigan exceeded all of our expectations – from the scenery to the municipal-marina system to the friendly coastal towns. We may have been more sentimental about leaving Michigan, if we were not being beaten up my Lake Michigan at the time!
Upon entering Illinois, we also entered the Central Time Zone – which made us go back an hour – ugh! Around 2:00, we started seeing the Chicago skyline – Thank goodness!
Before entering the Chicago Harbor, we cruised past the Four Mile Crib Light, built in 1891. It was the second crib built to supply water to Chicago. It was built 2 miles farther out in the lake than the first crib- to avoid contaminants being fed into Lake Michigan by the Chicago River. When Chicago was incorporated in 1833, the population of 350 used the Chicago River for drinking water. By 1860, Chicago’s population had grown to over 100,000, and the Chicago River had become a cesspool as raw sewage and waste, from the numerous slaughter houses and other industries. With people dying from cholera and typhoid fever, the city built these cribs to intake water from Lake Michigan. Today, Chicago’s water is still transported through tunnels beneath the lake to a purification plant and then it flows to 12 pumping stations, which provide water to Chicago and its suburbs. In 2002, security systems were installed on all the intake cribs to thwart terrorist activity.
After tying up and hooking up the water and electric, we picked up all of the stuff that had either been placed or hurled on the floors. We had a nice chat with the Looper on Adventure in front of us and then took a much needed rest before taking an evening walk. The view of the city from HOMES is amazing!
Thursday, October 19, 2023 – Chicago (Layover day)
Last night, I planned our day. First, we got coffee at Stan’s Donuts. With coffee in hand, we walked up N. Michigan Ave. to Millennium Park to take our picture in front of Cloud Gate -the mirrored, bean-shaped sculpture – iconic to Chicago since its installation in 2004. But alas, it was not meant to be. We had to laugh, as we posed in front of the construction fence. “The Bean” is 33 feet high, 42 feet wide and 66 feet long – making it one of the world’s largest permanent outdoor art installations. It was created using computer technology to precisely cut 168 massive steel plates, which were fit together and welded shut to form the completely seamless finish.
Just like in New York City, Tim was more interested in looking down grates to see the city down below, but I pulled him along to Crown Fountain – another 2004 addition to Millennium Park. It consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens. From their mouths, the images spout water – a symbol of life.
We continued across Michigan Ave. to E. Adams St. – the starting point of Route 66. Route 66 was established in 1926 and fully paved by the late 1930s – becoming the first all-weather highway connecting Chicago and Los Angeles. It was dubbed the “Mother Road” by John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath, as it carried hundreds of thousands of Depression-era midwesterners to California, hoping for jobs and a better life. On Spring Break in 2019, Tim, Nick and I visited the end of Route 66 on the Santa Monica Pier.
Our meandering took us to the Marshall Field & Company Building, which is a National Landmark. Once the largest store in the world, it is now the third largest – taking up the entire city block, with 73 acres of floor space. It was built in two stages, 1901-1902 and 1905-1906. If you just look at the merchandise displays, it looks like Macy’s – which acquired Marshall Field’s in 2006. However, if you look up and around, you are taken back in time, with the mosaic vaulted ceiling designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and its balconied atrium, as well as the the outdoor street-corner clocks.
Our continued stroll next found us at Daley Plaza Farmers Market. The fresh fruit and veggies looked amazing! The plaza is home to the 1967 sculpture by Picasso, which was the first monumental abstract public artwork in Downtown Chicago. Picasso said that it represented the head of his Afghan Hound. The Daley Center is named after longtime mayor, Richard J. Daley, and houses offices and courtrooms for the Cook County Circuit Courts.
We then found ourselves in the Financial District and noticed the Money Museum in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Costing us no money, we decided to take a look. The exhibits focus on economics, money and the roles of the Federal Reserve. We tried to detect counterfeit money, got to see what a million dollars looks like and got to view various U.S. currency, such as Continental Currency from 1776, Confederate Currency from 1861, and Military Payment Certificates (MPCs). I never realized that shortly after World War II to the end of the Vietnam War, spanning 1946-1971, soldiers serving in foreign countries were paid in MPCs to keep U.S. currency from inflating local currencies. We left the museum with two bags of money – worth approximately $364; unfortunately, the bills were shredded. 😁 Every day Reserve Banks shred millions of dollars in unfit currency, issue new bills, send counterfeits to the Secret Service and recirculate fit currency.
At this point, it was time to make our way to Willis Tower a/k/a the Sears Tower, for our 2:00 tickets to the Skydeck! This 110-story skyscraper, opened in 1973 and held the title of the world’s tallest building for nearly 25 years. It still claims the distinction of having the highest occupied floor among North American buildings. The concept for the Sears Tower came about in 1969 when Sears, Roebuck and Co. was the largest retailer in the world.
Before entering the elevator that shot us up to the 103rd floor, we wound our way through the exhibits, which exhibited Chicago history highlights and the history of the building. We had a great view of the Chicago River, which we will be traveling on Monday. We also got to see the pesky Amtrak bridge that had been broken for weeks. Fortunately, it is now working and we can go all the way through Chicago to Joliet, IL on Monday.
We walked out on “The Ledge” for a few pictures. The Ledge is a glass balcony extending four feet outside the tower – 1,353 feet in the air!
After a busy day, we headed to Pizano’s Pizza – which has been serving authentic Chicago-style pizza since 1943. Chicago-style pizza has a raised bread dough crust, high-grade canned tomatoes (not paste) and slices (not shreds) of bland mozzarella cheese, topped with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan and oregano. We got sausage and mushrooms as toppings. It was heavenly, but I could only eat one piece. Since we bought a medium pizza ($31.70), we had half a pizza to take back to the boat!
Friday, October 20, 2023 – Chicago (Layover day)
This morning, we headed to the Theater District via the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk is just steps away from our dock. We got our first up-close view of the Chicago River, which we will be cruising down on Monday. We had coffee and split a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) at Lea – a French inspired cafe.
We were only a five-minute walk from the Chicago Theatre, where we had tickets for a “Behind the Scenes” tour. Opened in 1921, as the flagship of the Balaban and Katz group of theaters, it was called “the Wonder Theatre of the World,” because of its elegant lobby, majestic staircase and beautiful auditorium, with murals above the stage and on the ceilings. It hosted silent movies that were accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra in the pit and an organist on the mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ. Our guide played the organ for us.
Our tour ended with us getting on stage. My Madonna alter ego came out 😁. A ghost light is always burning on a stage whenever a theater is dark. It is a single bulb in a lamp. The practical purpose is to prevent injury to employees (all of whom are union, including the actors) when entering a dark building. However, the superstitious reason is to keep any spirits or ghosts in the theater happy and content. Live performers leave a little of their character’s “spirit” behind after each performance. However, the Chicago Theater has no reported ghosts.
The vertical “CHICAGO” sign is nearly six stories high. It is a landmark and symbol of Chicago. It is one of the few remaining original exposed lamp electric signs still in use in the U.S.
After the tour, we headed back to the Riverwalk and shared a Chicago-style hot dog at Chicago Brewhouse.
After lunch, we crossed the DuSable Bridge to walk out to the 3,300-foot-long Navy Pier. We could see HOMES off in the distance in the DuSable Harbor. Jean Baptiste Point DuSable was Chicago’s first permanent resident. He was a fur trader of African descent who married into to Potawatomi tribe and established a homestead and trading post near the mouth of the Chicago River in the 1780s.
Back at HOMES, it was time to do a little work – getting the arch down – for our trip under the bridges of the Chicago River on Monday. When we took the arch down last year, before going up the Erie Canal, we were lucky that we didn’t get hurt. So, this year, Tim had a plan and brought all of the things to make a pulley system – using an old ham radio tower, block and tackle, and rope. It took a while for Tim to rig up his pulley system, but the arch lowered with little effort on our part. It was a relief to have that done!
To relax after that busy day of fun and work, we walked up the Lakefront Trail (which is right in front of our dock) to the Chicago Yacht Club for drinks. We also split some delicious fish tacos. We received a “Visiting Yachtsmen” card, which is good until the end of the year. The bar staff was very fun.
Saturday, October 21, 2023 – Chicago (Layover day)
I woke up early, so I decided to watch the sunrise and work on my blog. We were suppose to be moving on to Hammond, IN today, to position ourselves to go up the Calumet River, for our journey to Joliet, IL on Wednesday. However, since the Amtrak bridge is now fixed, we can stay in Chicago and go through the Chicago River to Joliet! I’ll get into all of this planning in more detail in next week’s blog. For now, I was happy to stay in Chicago, because Lake Michigan has not really calmed down since we got here, and it appears it isn’t going to calm down in the near future. It is, after all, late October.
I was also happy to stay in Chicago because by staying today, I got matinee tickets to see Hamilton at the Nederlander Theater! After having lunch on HOMES – still eating leftover pizza from Thursday (you can’t eat more than one piece of that awesome Chicago-style pizza)- we walked up again to the Theater District and entered to beautiful Nederlander Theater. It opened in 1926, just around the corner from the Chicago Theatre that we visited yesterday. It had the same architects and has had a similar history of initial prosperity, to decline, to revitalization and restoration in recent years. It opened as a deluxe movie palace and vaudeville venue, hosting Judy Garland, Al Jolson, Duke Ellington, Danny Kaye, and even the Three Stooges. My dad might have even gone to the theater to see the Three Stooges! He loved the Three Stooges 😁! The theater now presents Broadway theater productions, like Hamilton.
Hamilton is a musical, blending hip-hop, jazz and R&B set to lyrics that tell the story of our founding father, Alexander Hamilton. The musical follows Hamilton from his beginning, as an illegitimate, orphaned, immigrant from the West Indies – to General Washington’s right-hand man – to his creation of the U.S. banking system, as the first secretary of the treasury- to his death at the hands of his political enemy, Aaron Burr. Mixed into this story was the story of his personal life – both happy and tragic. It was a roller coaster of emotions – from sympathy, anger, excitement, sadness, to the tearful ending. I may have been the first person in my section to jump up for the standing ovation. 😁
Upon leaving the theater around 5:00, the city was setting up for the Arts in the Dark Halloween Parade, sponsored by the League of Chicago Theatres. After three hours of sitting through a musical, Tim was ready for a drink at the yacht club, so he skillfully navigated us across State Street – just as the barricades were being placed. He even declined free candy being handed out by the Haribo Bear! We were soon walking away from the hubbub of the parade excitement. Several groups, holding Palestinian flags, were also walking away. They were heading home after a peaceful demonstration of hundreds of Palestinians earlier in the day, calling for peace and a ceasefire in Gaza. Similarly, Jews on the North side fasted for peace. Both sides praying for their loved ones caught in the war zone.
We enjoyed the Michigan coastal towns all summer, but it is invigorating being in a city were diversity has skyrocketed and the median age has plummeted. We never got out of the heart of Downtown Chicago (called “The Loop”); however, what we saw, we enjoyed immensely! The city is clean, friendly and full of young professionals running, riding bikes, playing tennis, walking dogs, and pushing strollers. All of the staff in restaurants, tourist attractions, stores, etc. has been nice, helpful and even returned Tim’s humor and laughed at his bad “dad jokes.” Chicago has been a pleasure to visit!
Sunday, October 22, 2023 – Sunday (Layover day – as well as prep day)
Today is our last full day in Chicago. We took the Lakefront Trail over the Chicago River for coffee at Cupitol, where we also had coffee yesterday. It is across the street from a dog park, but Cupitol doesn’t allow dogs inside. I noticed a guy tie his dog up in the vestibule while he got his coffee, which I thought looked odd, until I saw that it is an actual dog-tie-up area. I see something new everyday!
Today is prep day for the next leg of our America’s Great Loop adventure — going south on the river systems! Target was just up the street from Cupitol, so we stocked up on beer for Tim. Later we’ll go to Mariano’s Market for fresh fruits and veggies. We moved HOMES over to the pump-out station and back, so that we have an empty waste tank. Tim changed the oil in the generator; tested the fresh water pump; got additional fenders ready for the locks, lowered and secured all of the antennas and the seats on the flybridge; got out a knife in case a line gets caught while locking through; we deposited our trash in the marina bins; and, mapped out voyage for tomorrow.
I guess it’s the uncertainty of what to expect on the rivers and locks that has us acting like we are Pere Marquette and Louis Jolliet preparing to go down the unknown river system in 1673 😁.
So, join us next Sunday and you’ll find out how we did going through the locks, the electrified water and traveling in a floatilla of 12 other boats.
See you next Sunday!