We woke up to a glorious and sunny day in Chicago. Rick tested out the galley by making the first hot meal on board, fried eggs, and toast with no toaster. Afterwards, we walked to Buckingham fountain to admire the beautifully patinaed hippogryphs spouting volumes of water, then to the Shed Aquarium where we saw amazing Sea horses, Beluga Whales, and many, many children. Then it was a quick and delicious lunch at Panozzo's Italian Market from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Afterwards, we said good-bye to the Knauf’s as they caught a cab to the airport.
John and I continued on to experience the "accumulation, preservation and exhibition of artifacts illustrating art, archaeology, science and history" at The Field Museum of Natural History (named in honor of the museum's first major benefactor, and department store magnate, Marshall Field).
Rick and Jody were very missed as we returned to the boat that evening. John began fixing a blind while I foraged for dinner (meaning internet research for casual dining within walking distance) and watched ‘Duck Dynasty’ for the first time (a surprisingly funny reality show recommended by Mary and Dave). We opted for Italian delivered to the harbor. As we sat down in the salon to dine, we heard (and felt) rumbling that seemed as though giant wheel barrows were clunking down the dock. We hurried to the deck in time to see that it was actually caused by a most spectacular fireworks display – as good as 4th of July or Disneyland, only better to us as we were on the deck of John's beautiful boat, the Chicago city skyline behind us, the lights of the Navy Pier ferris wheel and the fireworks sparkling over the water … and it was truly glorious. We were only sad that Rick and Jody weren’t with us as they would have really enjoyed it.
Thank you Knaufs for being such enjoyable companions, consummate crew, and generally wonderful people in every way.
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