Navy Pier - Chicago

The navy pier is about a kilometer long and about a century old. I believe it was constructed not just for the purpose of docking ships and training sailors but also to provide a social gathering point for the citizens of Chicago. Now it is predominantly a gathering point and one of the major tourist attractions.





The sightseeing cruises and water taxis operate from the pier. The pier has other attractions like restaurants, theaters, stages for performances and things like merry go round, giant wheels, space ships etc etc which we usually see in fairs and entertainment parks. It is a sort of permanent fair. Presence of people attracts more people. And one can get a good view of the Chicago skyline from the pier.



We went up and down the pier once and had enough of it. By then it was our lunch time and we were hungry. We ordered a sandwich each and having consumed it, decided to go over to the Shedd aquarium.

We could see the aquarium building, which is also on the lake shore, at a distance but were not keen to walk over in the hot sun. We could have hired a bicycle for three dollars an hour, taken a water taxi (the availability of which we did not know then), or waited for a bus. None of them were convenient and so, we took a taxi to the aquarium paying more for waiting at the traffic lights than moving on the road and reached the place in twenty minutes.



The first and only aquarium that I had seen, which could stand up to the title, was the Taraporewala aquarium in Mumbai containing about hundred species of fish. Having only seen the aquariums in Lalbagh and Cubbon park Bangalore, which were not much better than shops selling glass tanks and ornamental fish, I was very much impressed by that. The Shedd aquarium contains about one thousand five hundred species which are very well categorized and displayed. It took about two hours for a hurried round of the display and by four we were seated for the dolphin show. I had seen the performing dolphins only on the TV and the live show was great. There are groups which say that it is cruel to keep these beautiful creatures which swim several hundred miles in their natural habitat, in a concrete tank swimming in circles. The same is said about keeping animals in a zoo. But I read equally strong arguments in support of maintaining and breeding animals in captivity. My knowledge is not enough to decide which is right. As far as my visit to the aquarium is concerned, I say that I loved the aquarium and the show.

We came out of the aquarium around five in the evening and the weather was very pleasant. It was an enjoyable walk along the shore between the garden and the lake. Hundreds of boats and yachts were on the lake and it seemed that the occupants were having a good time.



We had to use a covered road bridge with a walk way cum cycle path to reach the parking lot and it was a feat to walk on the side path without colliding with the hundreds of zooming cyclists who also used the path. We managed to come out in single piece, retrieved the car from the parking lot and proceeded to my niece Bindu’s house for the night.