What was it that John Lennon said? "Life is something that happens while you are making other plans." Well, our first day in Chicago was one where we started to try to do things according to plan, and where our actions diverged from the plan shortly after we started.
We met at 8:30 am (a big stretch for RQS and I), and had breakfast at a local eatery. Once done with breakfast, we marched off to our first stop in a light rain - the El that would take us to the Bus's starting point. And that's where our plan unraveled. The train that would take us to the Loop was late, and we had to try something else. And that's where we got lost - even with the use of Google Maps! (I hate their walking instructions, as it's too easy to go in the reverse direction from where one wants to head.) After some effort, we got to the Willis Tower and got on the bus.
Our first stop would be the Art Institute of Chicago, where we spent a couple of hours skimming what the museum had to offer. There is way too much to see in one visit, and we were not out to perform a superhuman effort to do so. After a quick lunch, it was off to the Field Museum for a while. That's where my back problems got to me, and I had to sit down more than walk. Once done there, we went out to catch the tour bus that would take us to Navy Pier, a tour bus that didn't come.
When we had waited 45 minutes, we decided to use our multi day passes for Chicago's mass transit system, and take a local bus to Navy Pier. (This might have been a mistake, as the tour bus came shortly after we gave up on it.) It was bitterly cold all day, and we needed a place to warm up and eat before our scheduled night time river tour. Luckily, we found it at the pier. But we ended up skipping the river tour.
After dinner, luck finally smiled upon us, as a bus that runs along Chicago avenue was waiting at the bus stop, and we found we could take it directly to our hotel. So we did!
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