Chicago by Segway
– September 14, 2017 –
What do you do when your truck is In the repair shop?
Well, for us, if it is going to be awhile, we try to take advantage of our surroundings. This time we found ourselves near the city of Chicago. Thank goodness for Uber and Google! They are wonderful for easy last-minute planning assistance. So, after some “googling” we found Steve’s Segway Tours of Chicago! It is always nerve-racking when choosing from reviews and gut instincts alone. I am happy to report our choice was without a doubt the correct one!
Being that it is September and school is back in session we were the only ones scheduled on the tour so we were pretty excited that it would be like a personal tour. However, on our way into Chicago, Steve called asking if we had any issues with pushing our start time back just a bit so another couple could join us. Of course we didn’t, we had already set up a flexible start time. God has a way of taking care of us. We had fun beyond measure with the couple that joined us, Meg and Bob are good people!! Our guide was a native!! Seriously! He grew up in the area and worked as a tour guide in nearly every area in Chicago. The museums, bus tours, boat tours, etc. He is THE fountain of knowledge of Chicago, of its history, architecture, and interesting tidbits! The tour wouldn’t have been the same without each one of them! Well done Freddy! We can’t wait to come back for more!!
THE Chicago Knowledge King, our most awesome tour guide, Freddy!
Meg and Bob, seriously Good People!
After greetings and introductions, we got started with the typical waivers, safety, and training. Grant and I have been on a Segway before, but Meg and Bob had not. Freddy was fantastic at training and they were awesome students, in no time we all looked like we were pros! We were able to practice in an area that took place in the open area of the Cancer Survivor’s Plaza. This park used to be Lake Shore Drive. Due to the double S, 90 degree curves the city decided to make it safer and move the road. After they moved the road they redesigned the area. One of the many fascinating facts we learned on this tour were about the columns used at the entry way to the park. When they decided to redesign and build a newer City Hall, they bulldozed the rubble of the old building into Lake Michigan. The columns remained submerged for 20+ years before being retrieved and reassembled to be used in what we see today.
Our training and practice area. This used to be Lake Shore Drive.
Those Columns are from the old city hall and had remained submerged in Lake Michigan for over twenty years.
We made our way through Lake Shore East Park. One of the buildings we noticed for its uniqueness is a famous one. It is the tallest building designed by a female architect. It is 82 stories and is named Aqua. The outside is designed to resemble Lake Michigan with the white shaped ledges and blue reflective glass. The designer, Jeanne Gang is looking to set a new record with her latest design to be completed in 2019 to be named Vista which will be 98 stories. Hmmmm, we might have to come back to see the finished product! ?
Aqua
Aqua and soon to be Vista
Lake Shore East Park
Continuing onto Lakefront Trail. This is a concrete trail that runs along the shore of Lake Michigan. So very beautiful and visitor friendly! What an enjoyable way to spend the day walking, jogging, or riding along the shore of Lake Michigan. This is Navy Pier, which isn’t for Navy Boats. It has the Ferris Wheel, restaurants, movie theaters, indoor and outdoor concert venues.
The Chicago River is another beautiful area to walk or bike along. It is true!!! They have cleaned it up and we did not spot any bodies floating! ?
Chicago River
Grant Park is labeled as “Chicago’s front yard” and has a pretty cool story. It started small and the majority of the land you see today was underwater when it was first set aside as Lake Park. The land area has been expanded several times through land reclamation. The first was from bulldozing the debris from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 into Lake Michigan. It is now 319 Acres and has been protected since 1835 to be “forever open, clear and free” of any buildings or structures. However, in the early 1900’s they started planning to construct buildings on the protected grounds. Thanks to Aaron Montgomery Ward, for he spent twenty years battling the City to keep this area free from development of new buildings. So very glad for his tenacity!! This is a beautiful area that encompasses multiple smaller areas, statues, artwork, fountains, and trails throughout.
Continuing on our journey we enter North Rose Garden. A beautiful garden area with roses of all types that included informational labels. It was unbelievable that it was mid-September and the smells were still so fragrant!!
The fountain, oh my gosh, the fountain! In the center of the rose gardens is Buckingham Fountain. It’s really big!! It was dedicated in 1927. It is one of the largest fountains in the world. It is designed to represent Lake Michigan and has four sets of sea horses to symbolize the four states that border the lake. Yes, it is the same fountain as the one seen in Married with Children.
Following through the park to the South Rose Garden, which is symmetrical of the North side, more roses and fountains.
In our next section, we were greeted by Christopher Columbus into the Museum Campus. Here you will find the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium. The grounds around are absolutely beautiful! Flowers and green grass everywhere!!! The four of us were surprised at how clean everything appeared. This was a day after a Sunday football game at Soldier Field. Good job to all the crews for the amazingly clean areas! The views of the Chicago skyline from so many different angles never got old!
Continuing along the Lakefront trail, we came to the 12th Street Beach. More beautiful views of Lake Michigan. Of course, there was no way Kelly was going to miss an opportunity to dip her toes into water. Especially considering it was one of the Great Lakes!! Never underestimate the waves of Lake Michigan, they will jump up just when you don’t think they will and reach areas you wouldn’t expect they could!! Yes, now she’s gets to continue on the tour looking as if they are never given an opportunity to stop for a restroom break….
It was such a beautiful day and we had a most awesome guide that just so happened to not have an afternoon tour. It started out as a three hour tour… (que the Gilligan’s Island theme song) Obviously with no complaints from the tourers!
Freddy showed us a really cool thing that Mayor Daley helped make possible (which caused Daley a lot of trouble). He reneged on a deal and had the runways of Meigs Field bull dozed in the middle of the night without proper authorization and converted the area into green space. It is now another park with an outdoor concert stage, trails, and a nature area. They have restructured the land and have been working on growing native plants, both land and water in this area for the last several years. It is truly amazing at how much you are able to escape the sounds of the city. By the way, Grant has dubbed Chicago the City of Sirens. We didn’t put a stop watch on it, but there was a siren of some type sounding nearly every 10 to 15 minutes. On Northerly Island the sounds of nature and the surroundings make you feel as if you have traveled hours outside of the city.
Returning to the sounds and sights of a city, Freddy had another surprise for us. Yes, being obedient tourists, the four of us followed blindly. A little backstory to explain why it was a surprise. Starting with Grant’s second phone conversation with Steve, the running joke was the desire to practice tricks and do a backflip on the Segway. Around a few corners and up a zig zagging path we arrived at The Sledding Hill. Yes, that is the name and its purpose! It also offers a wonderful view of Soldier Stadium. So much fun riding downhill on a Segway!! It turned us into kids again complete with giggling and squeals! Going back up was more challenging than expected ?. Freddy, that was awesome!! Thanks for the surprise!
After our playtime, we continued the regularly scheduled tour. Soldier Field was not at the top of our list, we are not hard-core sports fans. However, we ended up being impressed and very glad we were able to see the stadium up close. This stadium is dedicated to the men and women of the Armed Forces. It has kept its name without adding any corporate sponsor’s name from the beginning. The outside walls are original from 1924 but the inside was redone in 2002. They did a nice job combining the new with the old. Along one of the pedestrian entrances they built a waterfall and placed the seal of each branch of the military, to include the Reserves. They have quotes along the garden boxes representing each branch. Awesome to see such a nice tribute that has stood for so long!
The Field Museum is huge and currently has a special display, Jurassic Park. It was giggle-worthy as we came around the side and saw a Long Neck ( ? ) wearing a football jersey while hearing shrieks and screams coming from the tour inside the tent. From what we were told they have a working, moving T-Rex inside that likes to surprise people!
Leaving Museum campus and heading toward the last leg of our tour, we stop at the corner of Michigan Avenue and East Roosevelt Avenue on the south side of Grant Park. We found ourselves among 106 nine-foot-tall headless and armless iron sculptures. Agora was designed by polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz. Agora is the Greek word for urban gathering place. Magdalena grew up in Poland during World War II and this was part of her memory of her childhood. The large Polish community of Chicago contributed over $700,000 to have the statues remain permanently in Chicago.
We only covered a few blocks of Michigan Avenue, also known as the Magnificent Mile. It is filled with upscale shops, restaurants, museums, hotels, and condos. The architecture downtown is incredible. That will be our next Segway tour when we have the opportunity. We went by the Art Institute of Chicago, sadly did not go in, so we were unable to recreate Ferris Bueller scenes. We did get to see the absolute very beginning of Route 66!! We didn’t go into Millennium Park, so we didn’t get the popular selfie in Cloud Gate, also referred to as “the bean”. So many things left to explore!
As we were finishing up, Kelly spotted a building with flags on the top front. Curious to the details, she asked Freddy. Ahhh, must have been delirium setting in, if you look closely you can see what isn’t flags. Let the teasing begin. Chicago’s flags, you can find them all over – otherwise known as cranes.
What a fantastic day! If ever given a chance to see Chicago, don’t pass it up! Make sure to contact Steve’s Segway Tours for an unforgettable adventure!
