My first stop was at Poag Mahone's Carvery and Alehouse, which was another burger place on that GQ list of 20 burgers to eat before you die. I'm not really sure what the guy was looking for in a burger, because this one was great but not life-changing in any way.
I then walked about a mile and a quarter north to the Wendella boat rides, where for about $26 you can take a riverboat tour of the city.
This blog's about to get educational because our tour guide was super enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and I furiously took notes on my phone and snapped pictures. First, a view from the boat before we left.
I took like 75 pictures of buildings, and I won't post all of them here. I'll just post the pictures that turned out cool and mention what they are. First up is the Trump building, 1,389 feet tall (the second tallest in Chicago).
These two buildings make up Marina City, and they contain everything people could want to do in terms of entertainment or shopping -- a real city inside a city. The idea is that if you live here, you'd never need to leave.
This is the Merchandise Mart, which has 14 miles of hallways and had its own zip code until 2009. It was built as a warehouse to store something like five companies' worth of stuff.
Two of these buildings are Erie on the Park and Kingsbury on the park, apartment / condo buildings.
There are four Gateway Center buildings (I don't remember what they're for) but Gateway Center 4 is the coolest one.
This is the former main post office of Chicago. (The new one is sort of next door.) What's cool about this is that The Dark Knight and Transformers 3 both used this building to shoot something in their movies.
This is River City, maybe the coolest looking building on the tour. The guy who designed it said that no right angles exist in nature, so why should they exist in architecture?
Willis Tower (aka the Tower Formerly Known as the Sears Tower), the largest tower in the western hemisphere. It stands at 1,451 feet tall, and is the 9th tallest building in the world. (It'll lose its crown as tallest in the west when One World Trade Center opens in a few years.)
Oh this is a cool building, too. This is the Great Lakes Building. What's apparently more important is that this stands on the ground that once held the Wigwam (spelling?), where Abraham Lincoln was nominated to become President in 1860.
333 Wacker Drive, aka the building where Ferris Bueller's dad works.
The Swiss Sotel, built like a triangle on a square lot, so no buildings can build that close to it.
River View 1 and 2, two cool looking buildings.
Chicago skyline.
Lake Point Condominium, where Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Sammy Sosa and Joakim Noah (among others) have lived over the years.
The Aqua building, in which the ocean floor inspired its design.
Our boat!
I headed over to US Cellular Field. Well, I went to some sports bar because they offer free parking and a free shuttle, which is way more favorable than paying $25 for parking at the stadium.
Another baseball Statue of Liberty, just like in San Diego.
View from my seat.
It was Bark at the Park night AGAIN. Twice in four days in two cities.
This dog is way too big to be carried.
Driven to Scoop.
Chris Sale, the White Sox' starting pitcher.
Joe Mauer! I finally got to see him after I had to sit through that miserable Twins / Royals game in September with no one I'd ever heard of playing for the Twins.
Scott Diamond, the Twins' starter.
Adam Dunn, whose shirt I bought.
They do a weird eye thing, too, just like St. Louis.
Usually, you don't show off the stats that show how bad your players are.
Alex Rios after hitting a home run.
The field at night.
Still in Chicago today, doing a whirlwind tour! Then another White Sox game.
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