Tuesday, April 2 2024

The weather today reminded me of that day in 1981 that I referred to yesterday but the worst of the storm passed some 40 miles (64 km) north of Chicago and a 90 minute gap in the rain mid morning enabled me to walk around and see as much of the sights as the mist would allow.

My first target was Millennium Park. I knew The Art Institute was closed on Tuesdays but was disappointed to find that construction prevented access to the famous Bean sculpture so there was no opportunity to take a distorted selfie.

Lake Michigan was barely visible and the marina was empty.

Cruises on the Chicago River were still running but everything else along the Riverwalk was closed.

The Chicago Theater offered some color and lights on the way back to my hotel as the rain returned. This weather pattern is predicted to remain in place until Thursday so I will leave tomorrow. I used the time at the hotel to plan a return trip with only indoor stops, book hotels, have lunch and a nap.

At 4 o’clock my weather app showed another break in the rain and gave me the opportunity to visit the Medieval Torture Museum – definitely something I regret.

This “museum” is a TripAdvisor Travelers Choice which, I find, is usually a good indicator but, in fact, it is basically a wax museum illustrating methods of medieval torture with very brief descriptions. There is no structure to the displays, no historical timeline and very little information. Although there are some hands-on displays even the kids seemed to be bored.

This was the amount of information for many of the exhibits.

Dinner consisted of excellent fish and chips washed down with a couple of pints so, while it was not the day I had wished for, it certainly was not a washout.