In October of 2003, I accompanied my

good friend, Steve Merle, when he

moved his sailboat from its summer

mooring in Montrose Harbor, Chicago, to

its winter storage location. It gave me an

excellent opportunity to get offshore

views of Chicago's wonderful shoreline.

Chicago’s shoreline by boat

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Getting ready to shove off.

I love Chicago because it has so many beautiful spots, like Montrose Harbor.

I've been to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, and it's got nothing on any of Chicago's boating harbors--except for expensive tourist traps.

Heading out the harbor mouth.

We are on the north side of the city, and will be motoring all the way south to the Indiana state line, so the entire Chicago city skyline will pass by us along the way.

Here's another thing about Chicago . . . we don't know

this fellow from Adam; he's just sitting there fishing,

but he waves us a hearty hello as we pass by just to be

nice. Chicagoans are all friendly and helpful.

  If you ever want to start a general panel discussion,

just get on any city bus and ask any person near you,

but loud enough that everyone else around you can

hear, "What's the best way to get to ____?," and name

a location in the city. I guarantee that before you get

off, the entire bus will be engaged in a friendly

roundtable debate that will not only include directions,

but what are the good places to eat nearby when you

get there, and what you should order, as well as, how

much it will cost. Just be sure that your ride-time is

long enough to stay for the entire discourse!

Leaving the harbor behind, we are out on the open waters of Lake Michigan.

Steve just brought me along as ballast!