Trio of Firsts
Well this was a fun day! Today was filled with things that neither of us have done before... even for me, and I've lived here for 16 years. I will break down the day into three parts.... hence the trio.
Riverwalk. This was all inspired when my boss Bonnie, mentioned a few weeks ago that they walked the length of the riverwalk. I thought to myself, that would be a great activity for Aniko and me. Fast forward a few weeks and BAM... we are strolling along the recently created Chicago Riverwalk. We weren't the only ones thinking the same thing. Lots of people were out and about enjoying the riverfront. Right at the beginning we even bumped into friends Boldi & Jenna. There are numerous things to see, admire, eat at and quench your thirst. From cafes, to wine bars to tiki huts, there's many places to sit and relax and enjoy the views. We even were able to visit one of the working bridge houses inside, which is a museum. Guess where we stopped? At the oasis of the Island Party Hut. Had a snack, drinks and played some games... all in the shade of large trees while listening to live music. Fun times.
Water Taxi. This was again, a first. After resting in the oasis of shade trees, we decided to instead of walking back, to take the water taxi. But to get to the nearest stop, we just had to walk past the new Apple Store. Looked around, let Aniko connect to WiFi and use the facilities. In the meantime... pet me some shiny gadgets. Then we grabbed a quick coffee from Peet's. I had a Cold Brew Fog and Aniko indulged in an iced latte made with half&half. We then jumped on the water taxi, bought the all day pass and then enjoyed the cruise all the way to Chinatown.
Chinatown. Yup, another first... never been to the one in Chicago. I know... hard to believe.. right!?! There we checked out the park that was right at the taxi stop, found the REI boat house where you can rent or take courses. I have a feeling that will be something we will be doing in the future. Especially seeing the amount of river traffic downtown and here, much more peaceful. Then we found the first public square with shops, restaurants and grocery stores selling ginseng that was $289 /lb. WOW. We decide to explore more and find the parts of Chinatown... and a place to have dinner. Out came the smartphone and see what pops up. Hmmm... 4 out of 5 stars based on 1779 reviews... way more than any other. I guess we should check it out. In the meantime, we window shopped. Then came time to get some nom noms at MingHin Cuisine. Let me tell you... HIGHLY recommend this restaurant. Worth the trip here, that's for sure. Service was excellent as was the food. And the menus? ...tablet computers, where you can scroll the large selection of food based on your likes. Pictures of everything and descriptions of each. And you just select what you want and as much as you want, approve the order and then your wait staff takes over from there. Food was sooooo good. From gigantic potstickers to grilled fatty beef.
After a satisfying meal, we walked back to the water taxi, drifted back to our stop near the car and headed home. What a wonderful relaxing day while experiencing everything Chicago has to offer. Enjoy even more pictures from our adventure below.
