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May. 20th, 2011 05:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogBicycling in downtown Chicago really isn't bad. With all the stop and go traffic, I was mostly going about the same speed as the cars around me and I meshed handily with traffic flow. I felt as safe there in traffic as I have biking around Rogers Park. I can't speak for the span between the two though, as I keep taking the Lakefront Trail.
What a nice trail to bicycle! From Ardmore all the way to Navy Pier, there are only three street crossings I think, and bicycles have the right of way on all but one. (Not that I don't slow down to check it out before crossing anyway....) There are usually lots of people out on bikes or rollerblades or on foot, and more down on the beaches by the lake. People seem to be really good about giving space to other users of the path who want to pass. The wind from the lake is wonderful, and in Summer will be a godsend in the hot weather. Today, the omnipresent fog provided a sense of unfolding mystery, though I had to take my glasses off and wipe them once in a while.
My experience at the John Hancock Center was pretty nifty too. I found out about this 'Groupon Now' thing by chance this morning; they have deals that cost a dollar, but they have to be used in a very limited time span. One of them today was for the $15 trip to the observation deck at the top of the building, and it included a $7 voucher at LaVazza at the top. Nice! I bought it since I was going down there anyway, and made for the Loop.
When I got there, I texted![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rileybear67 to see if she wanted to have lunch since it's been forever since I've seen her. Today wasn't good, but maybe next week. It'll give me a good excuse to ride down there again. Instead, I wandered around outside the Hancock building for a bit, then went inside. There were few enough people that there wasn't even a line. Though the self-guided audio tour at the top suggested coming back in the winter to avoid the crowds, I managed to do that by time of day.
The view was pretty awesome, and made me think that maybe I should have spent the money to go to the top of the Empre State Building. Actually, I still don't think I would have. And I wouldn't spend $15 for what I did today either. But for a dollar, it was totally worth it.
I shot a bunch of pictures, squished some pennies for my dad, and went back down. I thought about checking out Grant Park or the Lincoln Park Zoo on the way home, but decided to save those for another day. That said, by bike is a fantastic way to get to places like that, or to the museums. I have to look up that list of free days again and plan some more rides into the city.
As for tonight, I could make a trip to the Anime Central hotel and see what that's like. I've never been to an anime or media con before. But it seems a little silly to go there without paying for a day membership, and paying for a day membership seems a little silly when I'd only be there for the evening. I dunno. Maybe I'll see ifdanaeris wants me to come visit today instead of tomorrow....
Fogbow from the John Hancock Center Observation Deck
© Stormdog 2011
What a nice trail to bicycle! From Ardmore all the way to Navy Pier, there are only three street crossings I think, and bicycles have the right of way on all but one. (Not that I don't slow down to check it out before crossing anyway....) There are usually lots of people out on bikes or rollerblades or on foot, and more down on the beaches by the lake. People seem to be really good about giving space to other users of the path who want to pass. The wind from the lake is wonderful, and in Summer will be a godsend in the hot weather. Today, the omnipresent fog provided a sense of unfolding mystery, though I had to take my glasses off and wipe them once in a while.
My experience at the John Hancock Center was pretty nifty too. I found out about this 'Groupon Now' thing by chance this morning; they have deals that cost a dollar, but they have to be used in a very limited time span. One of them today was for the $15 trip to the observation deck at the top of the building, and it included a $7 voucher at LaVazza at the top. Nice! I bought it since I was going down there anyway, and made for the Loop.
When I got there, I texted
rileybear67 to see if she wanted to have lunch since it's been forever since I've seen her. Today wasn't good, but maybe next week. It'll give me a good excuse to ride down there again. Instead, I wandered around outside the Hancock building for a bit, then went inside. There were few enough people that there wasn't even a line. Though the self-guided audio tour at the top suggested coming back in the winter to avoid the crowds, I managed to do that by time of day.The view was pretty awesome, and made me think that maybe I should have spent the money to go to the top of the Empre State Building. Actually, I still don't think I would have. And I wouldn't spend $15 for what I did today either. But for a dollar, it was totally worth it.
I shot a bunch of pictures, squished some pennies for my dad, and went back down. I thought about checking out Grant Park or the Lincoln Park Zoo on the way home, but decided to save those for another day. That said, by bike is a fantastic way to get to places like that, or to the museums. I have to look up that list of free days again and plan some more rides into the city.
As for tonight, I could make a trip to the Anime Central hotel and see what that's like. I've never been to an anime or media con before. But it seems a little silly to go there without paying for a day membership, and paying for a day membership seems a little silly when I'd only be there for the evening. I dunno. Maybe I'll see if
danaeris wants me to come visit today instead of tomorrow....Fogbow from the John Hancock Center Observation Deck
© Stormdog 2011
