Chicago outing – Preparations

Monday September 08

Today we are driving into Chicago parking the car and touring Chicago. Apparently we are taking the hop on hop off double decker bus tour. This sounds like fun! Near one of the stops is ‘The Garmin Store‘. I’m looking forward to visiting this store. I’m not sure what major stops we have planned.

It is 07:20 and nobody is up yet but me. I have the coffee made. I have made as much noise as I can. I may have to intervene here and get things moving.

Last night Jen wanted to check out the Casino. We had already dropped our allotted budget already but we acquiesced and over we went. Mary Lynn was making rules about quarter machines and all that. I made a b-line to a $1 slot that looked ready to produce. In four plays I had $500 and I was done for the night.

Hammond marina is home to a large number of powerboats. There are also a large number of the really go fast boats that are extremely noisy and their owners revel in that. Some of them just start up and make noise without even moving. At least when I do that I’m charging up batteries or running the fridge. I think I’ll googelize and find an audio track of one of their engines and play it loudly while charging just to get even.

Yesterday we stripped the mast and all the sails are bagged, rigging is prepped and rig slack. Tomorrow we head up river to strip her rig…more terror.

For those of you waiting for us to get moving…we are likely leaving Hammond on Friday. We have to return the car on Thursday and that might leave too short a day to get through Chicago and to our first stop for the night (wherever the hell that might be).

I thought I saw Christmas lady yesterday in the Casino…couldn’t be