Chicago 2014 - Shoreline Sightseeing's Classic Lake Tour

I've been to Chicago many times, but our September trip was the first time that I have taken a boat tour on Lake Michigan. This trip was actually the first time that I've been to Chicago in a season other than winter. It was nice to see the sights without freezing!

When we visited Navy Pier, we found a kiosk for Shoreline Sightseeing and we took their forty minute Classic Lake Tour.

This wasn't our tour boat, but it was our boat's twin.

It was cold and occasionally rainy, so we sat on the interior of the lower deck, with views out of the back of the boat. There were only a handful of other tourists on our boat, so it was easy to walk around and take pictures.

The tour was quick, but it offered some amazing photo opportunities of the city skyline and Navy Pier. Dan is the photographer in our family and he got some beautiful shots. I love the greens and blues of the lake.

The Classic Lake Tour was a great companion tour to the Architecture River Tour that we took on the previous day. It's a lot of boat, water and information to digest in a single day, but it was ideal to do both tours over the course of a weekend.

Chicago 2014- Architecture River Cruise

Chicago has an amazing skyline. It's stunning and utterly diverse. One of the best ways to view the skyscrapers is by boat on a river cruise. During our brief trip to Chicago, we did the tourist thing and took the Chicago Line Cruises Architecture Tour.

We took our tour midday and when we set out, the air was crisp, but the skies were still mostly blue. Our tickets were $40.00 each for the ninety minute tour. We arrived early and as we waited for the cruise to begin, there was a selection of complimentary cookies and coffee in the ticket office.

Armed with our tickets, we were ready to learn about architecture.

Here's our boat. It ended up being about half full with other tourists.

Here is our group (Dan, his parents and me) at the start of the tour, all smiles.

Dan took a ton of pictures and I, his unbiased wife, think that they are all fantastic. The tour did have a guide, but honestly, I don't remember any of the facts. My biggest take-away from the tour was a general feeling of awe at the beauty and range of Chicago's architecture. I also left with an overwhelming desire to make enough money to have an apartment with a personal boat dock!

Over the course of our tour, the clouds moved in and the skies grew increasingly darker. In the last twenty or so minutes of the tour, it started to pour rain. We were sitting on the upper deck, with no coverage. Luckily the boat staff came prepared with clear plastic ponchos and the day was saved.

I highly recommend the Chicago Line Cruises Architecture Tour as a wonderful way to view this unique city.

The Annenberg Space for Photography - Sink or Swim

The Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City, is one of my favorite art spaces in Los Angeles. The curators always seem to have the most thought provoking and emotional exhibitions. Their latest offering, Sink or Swim: Designing for a Sea of Change, is no exception.

Sink or Swim is all about how architecture is working with climate change. The old way of thinking was to built urban areas that try to fight or suppress nature. Now, architects are designing with nature in mind and they are trying to figure out ways for people and nature to co-exist.

The exhibition uses examples from around the world to highlight the problems and solutions of people living in coastal regions. In Africa, there are areas where communities live on houses built on stilts over water and the children have school on a boat. The Netherlands are highlighted as a progressive country who have used current technology and ingenuity to build homes that are safe with the rising water. American disasters like Hurricane Katrina and Sandy are shown as examples of areas devastated by storms, but who have also learned from the disaster and who are reshaping their communities. One of the most striking images is of a Jersey shore boardwalk roller coaster swept into the ocean after Sandy.

I found the exhibit to be a moving and educational experience. In particular, I enjoyed the short documentary that had interviews with the photographers. This provided a background and context for the photographs, making for a deeper experience when I walked the gallery and viewed each picture more closely. I highly recommend watching the documentary first.

Sink or Swim runs through May 3rd. The space is small and it took us about an hour to walk through. The Annenberg Space for Photography is a fabulous place to visit and unbelievably, it's free! Go and enjoy this local gem.

Here are a few pictures taken outside of The Annenberg Space for Photography.