Chicago Part 2

On the weekend we took a train to the city.

The trains were unlike anything I had encountered before; big, smelly, noisy

and they had a top deck!  Our guard suggested we buy a weekend ticket "they only cost 8 dollars for the whole weekend, so you really don't want anything else."

My Clicky and me opted for the top deck ~ of course ~ but they were a little different to what I was expecting.  If you are sat up there you can look down onto the passengers downstairs.

We had a rattly hour's ride to Chicago Union Station.  

What a magnificent building, just as I imagined an American train station should look like.

It is huge.

I'm sure it has been used in films that I've seen.

A short walk and we came across sunshine and the Chicago River.

We walked further, making our way towards Lake Michigan. 

This is 'The Bean', well it's actually called Cloud Gate but that's it's nickname.  From the outside a lovely shiny thing you can spot yourself in

and on the inside a whole different experience.

We walked on through Millennium Park and came across some sculptures,  which had been visited a few weeks earlier by a blogger I follow Gill from An Elegant Sufficiency.  The artwork left her cold and I have to say, us too.  We were instructed not to climb but we didn't know much more about them.

They were made from old tyres but no signs about why.

I am however, pleased to report that there were some children climbing on them!

As we walked on I marvelled at the skyscrapers.  I love the old four story building against the massive new ones.

It had a water tank on the roof, still in use?

We had a break for a cup of tea and yummy cake and then set on our way again.

Before long we had reached our destination.  Navy Pier.

Now, I know that this is Lake Michigan but everything I know tells me it's the sea.

We sat for a while and watched the tourist boats go by 

and then headed back up The River Walk, still marvelling at the size of the buildings.

More boats with weekend trippers on, the music was very loud!

These two are called Marina City and are apartments 

with car parking underneath.

These boats were moored outside a bar full of party goers, each was playing different music ~ very loudly!

We turned into the city again with it's trains of the 'Rapid-Transit System' nicknamed 'L'.  

Some places they are overground, others underground, and they  clattered and clanked around, we didn't venture on.

Walking back to Union Station we came across Willis Tower.  It is 1353 feet tall, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.  

On the 103rd floor you can step out 4 feet in a glass 'pod.'  I zoomed in so you can see the people standing in them.   I'm sure the views are spectacular but I haven't really got a head for heights so we gave it a miss.

We caught our train back and had a well deserved rest after all that walking.  

We spent the next few days visiting local towns and having an explore in between Mr Clicky going to work.  A riverboat casino on Fox River.

My waffle breakfast.  Yum.

It was time to go home.  We had a night flight, we left at 6 in the evening so I had a gin (or 2) with my sock knitting.   I was hoping the gin might help me sleep, but it didn't!

 The moon soon appeared.

 and the light shone on the wing tip.

We landed at 7am UK time which still felt like the middle of the night but luckily we were picked up from Heathrow by a car and delivered home so we didn't have to drive.  The next day or two I slept when I needed to and got back into UK time.  

That's me for now, I have a few knitted items to show you next time.
Have fun...................Clicky Needles.

Chicago: Part 1

Hello All.

I've had a bit of a bloggy break of late, we've been busy trying to get the building work finished and Mr Clicky and me went to Chicago.  His company has an office about an hour's drive north of the city, he had some work to do there and as it was the start the summer holidays I went too.

We flew from T5 at Heathrow.  After checking in we took the lift down two floors ~  not one floor that puts you on a train ~ and onto the moving walkway that is completely deserted.   

Mr Clicky is a frequent flyer so we were able to have a spot of breakfast in the business lounge away from the crowds.

Whilst waiting for our flight, I did some knitting and playing on my iPad   very important businessy things.

After an uneventful flight we picked up our hire car, which was a loooong way from home

and checked in to the businessy Holiday Inn.

Mr Clicky had to go to work a few days, so I stayed in the hotel, knitted and watched The Crown on Netflix ~  no hardship.  Although he visits the US a lot with work, for me it was my first time so I was keen to explore the local towns.  

We went into St Charles which is on the Fox River.  There had been storms and the river was very high and really loud by this weir.

We walked alongside for a while, this Prairie Planting is there to try and stop the banks being washed away.

Unfortunately we could go no further as the river was so high it had flooded the path.  So we turned back into town.

We had an ice-cream to cool down ~ it was 28 degrees ~ and came across a lovely yarn shop.  What are the chances?  It is called Wool and Company and as you can see was jolly nice.

I came out with a really squishy sock yarn, well, it would have been rude not to.  It is certainly too good for socks so I think it might be a shawl.

Next time I'll show you our day in Chicago City.

Bye for now................Clicky Needles.

Someone's Knocked Me Wall Down.

Hi Folks!

I've been a bit awol of late, school has reached that manic time and the extension progresses at a rate of knots.  Coming home to a dusty building site is no fun, even if your builder is great.

With the door arrival the builder knocked through from the kitchen 

and things started to get very dusty.

The underfloor heating was laid

and a screed pumped on top.  

When I arrived in from work I was greeted with this sign ~ the dog had to sleep elsewhere.

The room was then boarded with plasterboard and the plasterers could set to work.  He was very stable on the stilts!  

At the moment we have the underfloor heating on  ~ yes I am aware it's summer ~ to dry the screed enough to tile.

It's not all been building however, a few weeks back Mr Clicky and me went to a local music festival.  It was Mr Clicky's first festival and he really enjoyed it.  

There was a huge variety of bands through Friday night and Saturday on three different stages.

There were several local beers,  including Stroud Brewery (yum!), the bars being run by the local Scout group.

Mr Clicky loved the silent disco on Friday night.  If you've not come across a silent disco before and you get the chance, go for it!  There are two channels and everyone wears wireless headphones, so half of the crowd is singing and dancing to one track and the other half the other.  It's great fun! 

Main stage, Saturday night.

The view from the campsite?  Beautiful, down towards the River Severn, South Gloucestershire and into Wales in the distance.  The festival is run entirely by volunteers, all the profits go to local charities, the local school, pre-school, scout group etc.  

We will definitely return.

So, last few days of work, there still are a thousand things to do but we'll get through it.

As always have fun..............Clicky Needles.