Our Brew Cruise from Navy Pier with all our mistakes...

Friday, we had decided if the weather was good, we'd go on a Brew Cruise from Navy Pier.

We've sworn off driving into Chicago, when the transit system is so good here.  So, we drove to Elgin for our first METRA train ride from there.  As much research as you do, you just can't find out everything until you've experienced it.  Such was a lot of this trip.

We get to Elgin and pass the National Street station, which was the first mistake.  I knew the price to park would be $1.50; what I didn't know was cash only and exact change.  We had stopped at Jewel Osco on our way and gotten $30 cash (a $20 and two $5's), so off I went to the little market across the street.  I was the only one speaking English.  Next door was a laundromat, so I broke the $5's into quarters.  Then I got the $20 broken into a $10 and two $5's, but not without some language barrier problems.

So I pay the $1.50 for the parking in quarters, leaving our $6.50pp for the train ride into town.  We knew we were returning from Union Station, so we'd just get tickets there.  (This is a key point to remember).

Train right on time, beautiful club cars, plenty of space, upper and lower berths.  Knew from my reading that we would just pay the conductor, who we saw several times.  Never asked us.

We get off at Grand/Cicero and we're feeling pretty good about the freebie.  Watched others, same thing.  Walked across the street to our bus stop and realized we were really, really overdressed.  Then the bus was 15 minutes late, and we really, really wanted to get going.  Another live and learn mistake.  Take the train to Union Station, not Grand/Cicero and get a bus.  I have since scrapped the website I was using that gave me that terrific time saving advice.

The sites along the bus ride were tough.  Lots of poverty.  As we were getting closer to town, there was just a definite change of property, rebuilding, and the clientele -- they became mostly tourists like us.

Navy Pier was great.  Had a quick dinner at McDonald's then off in search of our Brew Cruise.  Thought we'd get a quick beer before we went, then realized we couldn't walk with it.  Time to chug.  As we got to the pier for our cruise, we realized they had let people preboard and the kegs were open.  Didn't have to chug that $5.50 beer after all, should have skipped it.

The cruise was 90 minutes, with free beer from Rock Bottom Brewing Company.  They featured a white belgian ale, a red ale and an IPA.  Preferred the white to all of them.  Had some munchies and it was a nice spread.

We set sail promptly at 8:15p.  You could tell how many people had never been on a boat before.  And those that had.  Was really surprised that there's a lock at the mouth of the Chicago River/Harbor.  Only about a foot each way, but was surprised by that.

Captain took us around to the East side of Navy Pier, got us in very nicely for pictures.  The skyline was beautiful.  It really made me wish for a great camera and tripod.  Everyone on board was just snapping pics like crazy.  It was sensational.  We went to the West side of Navy Pier and still again, breath taking.  After returning through the locks, we went into the River a couple of bridges before turning around to the dock.  A tremendous experience.

We headed back to the Navy Pier bus terminal and got bus #124.  My phone had died on the boat, so I was going from memory.  Knew if we got on the #124 and headed to Union Station, no problem.

Union Station is beautiful inside.  The Great Hall is fabulous.  However, what we didn't know is that our train was supposed to leave at 10:40p and we were just walking around taking in the sights and probably only had 5 minutes.  The vending machines (where we were going to get the tickets, remember?) were sold out of one way tickets.  We had to stand in line for tickets and Bob could swear the board said "Now Boarding".  We get to our track at 10:44p.  Oh well, have to wait an hour.  Wait.  What?  Next train isn't until 12:40a???  Ugh.

Walked around Union Station, tried to reconstruct where we made our mistakes, if we got off at the right bus stop, etc.  Then we just started looking for what to do for the next 90 minutes or so.

Happened on to the Beggar's Pizza place who had a huge neon Coors Light sign on the outside.  This will work.  Had a couple of beers, talked some Big Ten and golf then headed back for the station.  Train was already there and boarding 20 minutes before departure.

This time, our conductor was serious old school.  Really wanted him to yell "All Aboard!".  And no nonsense, since this was about the derilict time of night.  Feet off the seats, making sure everyone was awake for each stop, etc.  And, he took our tickets.

It was a great night, even with all the miscues.  We were serious rookies and learned a ton for the next mission into town.

Mini Vacation with Family

We didn't waste much time after getting set up in Sycamore, IL.  After arriving on July 5, we took the dogs to the Bed and Biscuit for their vacation the next day.  Then, it was time for us to start packing for our quick weekend trip to our hometown - Wilmington, OH.

It was Connie's Mom's 80th birthday and we had planned a surprise party for her complete with a surprise visit from us and our daughter and son-in-law.  Since the dogs could not make the trip, Dad decided to have them put on the cake.

She was surprised and it was great to visit with family and friends.  Quick trip, but was fun.

The next day, we headed to the airport for our flight back to Chicago.  Bonus was that our daughter took some time off to join us for a couple of days.  She doesn't do the flying thing very well.  And, since we were only flying from Columbus to Chicago, we were on a very small plane.  She wasn't too crazy about that.  As you can see, we got a chuckle out of it.

Her time with us was also going to be short.  Once we landed (after an hour plus delay), we made our way right to Millennium Park.  There is so much to do in Chicago.  This area is a must see!  We only hit a tip of the park.  We had to get pictures of the Bean.

Of course, all that traveling made us hungry.  We went in search of a Chicago style pizza.  Just around the corner from the park, we found Giordano's Chicago Famous Stuffed Pizza.  The pizzas look just like the photos on the website.  They are delicious and very filling.

It was getting late, so we boarded the CTA Blue Line back to our truck to head home.

Tuesday was spent just relaxing and watching the All-Star Game.

Bethany had a late flight on Wednesday, so we headed back to town for some more sightseeing.  The Navy Pier was on our agenda this time.  The weather was perfect.  We wandered around a bit before having an early dinner at  Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Bar & Grill.

 Then, it was off to the airport to send her back to Ohio.  Again, time was short, but was so enjoyable.

"My kind of town, ...Chicago is..."

Looking forward to the next couple of months here.

Pizza Night

We love our homemade pizzas.  With the extreme heat that has been following us, we hated to use the oven.  So, we found a way to make the pizzas on the grill.  Of course, this required us to get a new grill.  :)

There are many options to do this.  Some like to use the ready made crusts. We like to use dough.  We used to use fresh dough from Walmart.  However, as we move around, we found that not all of them carried that.  Our latest find is the Rhoades Bread frozen dough.  Simply set it out in the afternoon to thaw and it will be ready to roll out in time for dinner.

We decided to go with a barbecue chicken pizza for last night's menu.  Here is how we made it:

Once the dough has thawed and is at room temperature, roll out.  Tip:  spray the work area with non-stick cooking spray.  Works better than flour and keeps the dough moist.  Be sure to spray the pizza pan too.

After rolled and positioned on the pan, let rest for a few minutes.  Then, preheat the grill.  We turn both burners to low which gets it up to approx. 300 degrees.  Use a fork to pierce the dough so it will not get too puffy when baking.

Place on grill and bake for 10 minutes.

We had previously cooked the chicken breast.  While the crust is baking, cut up the chicken and pineapple.

The crust is ready for the toppings:

Baste the crust with barbecue sauce.  Then, place the chicken and pineapple around.  Top with mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!