Day Four in Chicago and Evan and Jeanne Chiligiris!

This blog will chronicle our (Pat and Patty Anderson's)

cruising adventures on the Great Loop!

DAY 156 - September 3, 2017

Today's post is really all about our new good friends Evan and Jeanne Chiligiris from Downers Grove, Illinois! Evan contacted us through the Contact Form on the blog:

"Pat, Looks like you and Patty are having a good time in Chicago. My wife Jeanne & l live in Downers Grove and I work in Chicago with  a view of the South Branch river by the Sears, Willis Tower. We have a Birthday and Anniversary present for you and Patty. Would like to give these to you on your way through Lemont, down river. Sounds like you will be going through on Monday. Let us know where we can meet you on the river to say hello and good bye." 

So, a few emails back and forth, and it became apparent that a downstream meeting would not work due to lack of any good place to stop. Evan had read that we were planning to Uber to Costco, and offered to meet us at the marina and take us to Costco. This was an offer we could not refuse! He told us he and his wife Jeanne would come pick us up after church at about 12:30 p.m. at the foot of Randolph Street near G Dock. So it was a date!

So we had the morning free, and we had been planning to go to Mariano's Supermarket just a few blocks up from the marina for a few items. The problem is, getting from the marina to anywhere on the other side of Lakeshore Drive is a bit of a problem! At Randolph Street, Lakeshore Drive becomes an elevated freeway. We knew right where Mariano's was, but not how to get there! The guy at the bike shop on the Chicago Lakefront Trail had told us to go up Randolph Street - so that is what we did. The only problem was that there is NO place to get off Randolph Street to the north until you are way farther downtown. We started up Randolph, and came upon a homeless couple camped in a tent under the bridge (really), and the man kindly showed us how to get to Mariano's by going down an underground parking garage ramp, and up and out the other side. We thanked him profusely, I wish I had a few small bills to show our appreciation, but I didn't.

Anyway, we got to Mariano's and did our shopping, and figured there must be a much better way to get back, and as it turned out, there was! There is a path that leads directly from the street by Mariano's under Lakeshore Drive and directly through the marina parking lot and down to the marina office. I wish we had known about this when we first arrived, along with knowing about the Chicago Lakeside Trail. It would have made it so much easier to get around those first couple of days!

We waited at the foot of Randolph Street for Evan and Jeanne, which is the only vehicle pull out near the marina, and they arrived promptly. We headed off to Costco, getting a pretty good tour of areas of Chicago we had not seen before! We asked Evan how he found our blog, and he said it was through the America's Great Loop Cruisers Association, and found ours because there was a new post every day, and he liked the writing style (hey, that is what he said, I am not making this up). We did our shopping at Costco, and Evan asked if we had had lunch. We said we had not but told them we wanted to buy them lunch. Evan would not hear of it, "You are visitors to our city, you are our guests."

Evan asked if we like Greek food, and of course we do! Evan is Greek and took us to what is probably one of the finest Greek restaurants in America, The Greek Islands. Evan ordered the appetizer, the soup and the salad for the table. I wish I had a better memory for the Greek names, but each of these was simply spectacular. The appetizer was cheese flamed in a cast iron skillet. We ate it with bread and olive oil, a combination that is pretty hard to beat! The soup was wonderful. The salad, if you know Greek salads, well, you can imagine! Tomatoes, onions, green peppers, cucumbers, cheese, all in a wonderful oil and Balsamic vinegar dressing. We each ordered our own entree, and for us lamb was the order of the day! It was simply fabulous, and we took home the left over salad and most of Patty's entree, which will NOT go to waste! We got to know a little about each other's families, and as it turned out, Evan and Jeanne were very familiar with our part of the country, as they have a son who used to work for Boeing in Seattle and they had boated in the San Juan Islands!

It was all over too quickly! They drove us back to the marina, and we exchanged contact information and said our goodbyes. Evan gave us the gifts he had mentioned in the first message, and it is clear he was tuned in to what we like! It was far too much and completely unnecessary, but we are grateful all the same!  I sincerely hope that we will see Evan and Jeanne in the Pacific Northwest in the future!

Evan and Jeanne Chiligiris at the Greek Islands Restaurant

 

Pat and Patty at The Greek Islands Restaurant

When we got back, I folded up the bikes, put them in their bags, and secured them back up under the radar arch. Then I took a final run at hanging our fender boards on both sides and putting fenders under the boards on the starboard side. Unfortunately, due to losing several fenders at St. Joseph, we are one fender short of being able to put fenders under the fender board on the port side, but the board is hung!

Our day, as great as it had been, was not quite over yet! Being the Labor Day weekend, most of the permanent slip holders on E Dock were there, they were having a dock party, and we were invited! The central point of the party was a boat named The Betty Ford. Kevin, the owner, said he named it The Betty Ford because he could not afford the Clinic, so bought the boat instead! We enjoyed the party for a little while, but made our excuses and turned in!