Sailing Lake Michigan

On Sunday afternoon, Sam, Ange, and I threw on our boat shoes and headed to Belmont Harbor.  Our sailing adventure was about to get underway and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful evening for a sunset sail.  Our "captain" was great (and a Teach For America Alumni - small world) and we had a large boat all to ourselves.

We motored out to the lake and all chipped in as we prepared to set sail.  Sam hoisted the main sheet, Ange took care of the jib sheet, and I took the tiller.  Two minutes later, we look over to see a dark storm cloud moving in - fast.  We immediately turned around and headed back to the dock after our captain got a call that heavy rain was going to be pounding our boat in a matter of minutes.  Our sailing adventure came to an end before it even started.  We made it back to Sam's car just seconds before a torrential downpour.


Although we are "crossing" sailing off our bucket list, we are determined to give it another shot next season.

Kayaking the Chicago River

One word.  Yuck.

Once again, we used Living Social to get a great deal on kayaking the Chicago River.  We picked up our kayaks by Goose Island and paddled down to where the river splits.  Sam and I chose to take a two person kayak, which turns out to be harder to control than a single.

It is no secret that the Chicago River is highly polluted but it becomes even more apparent when you are just a few inches off the water.  In the 1900s, Engineers reversed the direction of the Chicago River bringing sewage and debris into the city's water source.  Granted, the quality of water has improved since then - but I am pretty sure that even today you would need to be quarantined if you were to fall in the water.  Or at least have to get a tetanus shot.  We had to paddle through pure garbage - we were just waiting for a dead body to float to the surface.  Once you reach the fork in the river, the view of the city is awesome but it is hard to take in Chicago's architectural wonders when you are concentrating on not flipping the kayak (or getting hit by massive barge that cruises right by you).  I think the best part of the adventure was getting two feet on dry land without having fallen into the river.