Edifice Rex

Early this afternoon, we landed at O’Hare airport.  Our flight was on time, then it was running about 45 minutes late, then it was all slated to be back on time again, and in the end, we landed ten minutes early.  Either way, we got here just about when we expected we would, so it’s all good.  When we hit the ground, we headed for a shuttle between terminals so we could get to terminal two, which is where the CTA blue line starts out.  Our ticket into the city center was on that train, and in anticipation of plenty of train rides, we each bought a three-day pass.  Certainly, we’ll be back on “The L” tomorrow.  

When we got off of the train, we were just around the corner from our hotel, which is right next door to the Nederlander Theater.  I swear, that wouldn’t have even registered on my radar, but that was the surname of Martin Short’s character on the Three Amigos.  There was Steve Martin playing Lucky Day, Chevy Chase playing Dusty Bottoms and Martin Short playing Ned Nederlander.  See- that’s the kind of information I manage to keep while completely forgetting things like my third grade teacher or half of my friends from junior high.  I guess I only hang on to the important stuff… Nevertheless, we checked in, made time for quick wardrobe change, and headed back out.  

At this point, we were hungry.  We had a decent breakfast in Dallas, but it was after three, and oatmeal will only take you so far.  Cas found an inexpensive dumpling place, and we each had a few of those, along with pot stickers and hibiscus lemonade.  That was just right to get us back on track, and on track we were.  Next stop, the Riverwalk. We went down from the street level to the restaurants and shops that lined the river, and it reminded me of San Antonio.  We found out later that it was, in fact, inspired by a former mayor’s trip to San Antonio, so I suppose there’s a reason for that.  We wandered a little, then stopped at a spot with a good river view and some shaded outdoor tables for a glass of wine and a snack.  Like I said, we had a really late lunch, and it was not huge.  After we sat there and watched the water and the people flow by for a little while, we made our way to the first thing we had booked: the architecture tour.  It was through a company called Chicago’s First Lady Cruises, and the narrator for our adventure was a volunteer named Larry who seemed to know something about every single building near the river.  He also gave us a little river history, some Chicago history, and some basics about  architecture in general.  Larry was very good, and the cruise was fantastic.  It was also the source for today’s best photo:

After that was done, honestly, it was about time for a little wandering, a light dinner and an early night.  We’re both a little wiped out from just getting to this point, and we have a day that starts at Wrigley Field tomorrow.  Can’t be late for that.  

In case you want to admire some architecturally significant buildings or check out any other photos, here’s the photo album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2sYnZaQSheDb6sfJ6