Hancock Building with a Tall Ship in the way.

The ever-lovely Karen bought passes to see the Tall Ships at Navy Pier for my birthday, so we headed out Friday with our friend Rebecca to climb aboard a few of these lovelies. I got some great photos and enjoyed my first day out of the house since being god-awful sick.

On deck.

The ships were definitely tall. I enjoyed the rigging and masts and the nautical clutter…it was a visual treat. Having said that, there was an hour’s wait in the hot, direct August sunshine to get on board the HMS Bounty as presented by Pepsi. Uh, no.

I have a new, ironclad rule people. If I have to stand in line for an hour, it’s probably not an authentic experience and I want nothing to do with it. Coda: if there’s a “photo opportunity” at the head of the line that will allow me purchase said photo at the end, then doubly so. If the experience is sponsored by somebody? Feh, it’s not an experience. It’s a thinly-disguised commercial that will choke any happy memories as surely as kudzu is eating the South.

Not a pirate in sight.

Also, I fucking hate Navy Pier. I knew it before but now it’s burned away any spec of regard I may have ever had. The event coordinators made us walk all the way to the end via the cheesy, crappy side in order to walk through a “vendor fair”, past “children’s entertainment” while listening to sea shanties before the hour line even started. All the while, tourists kept cutting me off to slow down in front of me, and I couldn’t yell at them because of my asthma. We also had some of the most disgusting, over-priced food at the Beer Garden where they weren’t honoring the coupons that came with the Tall Ships tickets because of a misprint. Bastards. They also don’t sell Diet Coke at Navy Pier. Double bastards.

This has been my third, unfortunate trip to this god-forsaken excuse for a Chicago landmark this year and I’m never, ever setting foot on it again. There are absolutely no circumstances that can compel me. Not even to save puppies from unending torment would I step foot onto the Pier. Seriously, it is dead to me.

Cleared decks.

If you have some of those Groupons, I’d recommend giving them away to your gullible neighbors. However, if you actually decide to go, take an umbrella, plenty of sunscreen, loads of child-repellent, water and get there at 9am. It will cut down on your grief considerably.

Thanks again, K. I do prefer experiences for birthday prezzies and you’re awesome! We just weren’t powerful enough to overcome the power of the tourist trap.

The discarded remains of a faux Chicago.

You would think that the vacant lot housing discarded remains of the upcoming Transformers 3 movie would be filled with tons of automotive gear. Nope. What’s in there? Street signs, a lemonade stand and a nearly complete rotunda. The vacant lot is across from the AMC 21, in case you were curious. There’s a lot of torn netting and a bored watchman who didn’t seem to mind me hoisting my camera over the edge to snap a few.

Optimus Prime?

Filming is still going on downtown near Madison, but I’m not sure how much longer that will go on or when this stuff will be moved/demolished/junked. Until then, keep an eye out for the rusted-out husk of Optimus Prime. I don’t think this is him:

Rotunda bits from T3.

Birthday roses

This birthday started with the worst case of flu I’ve had in my life. Chills, sweats, fever, no birthday cake…it was pretty miserable. I’m blogging into the past to remind myself that although the actual day was rotten, I was able to bookend the day with friends and more celebration than the occasion warranted. This one officially goes down in my books as the Roses and Thorns birthday.

Peas and Quiet

The latest art project along Michigan Avenue uses re-purposed refrigerators. I recently had to replace mine, so it’s nice to think it ended up as a work of art. Actually, I wouldn’t mind if my ‘fridge looked like this for real.

The madness continues...

I can believe the circus that’s going on around the Blagojevich trial, but it looks like his dream of endless publicity is coming to fruition. At the very least, he’s been immortalized by the state’s taggers.

Jelly Belly Truck

I’ve seen Popsicle push-carts, ice cream trucks, and multiple cupcake mobiles tooting up and down the streets of Chicago. It’s not enough that we’re a nation of girth-defying dessert eaters at the table — now there are ever-increasing options as we’re walking (waddling) down the street, too. Jelly Belly nearly completes sugar’s hostile take-over of our city’s by-ways. All that’s missing is a pie-in-the-face at my local street corner.

Cab 70

I often wonder what cabbies think when they see people running down the sidewalk to take a picture of their car. This guy looked positively astonished. I snapped and quickly walked back the other direction.

Cinnamon Gelato from Paciugo

One of the big side benefits of running a restaurant blog, is trying great food like this. I particularly like this shot because it looks a little like a mountain range.

Cardinal banners along State Street.

I still can’t get enough of Tony Tasset’s Cardinal banners. I think I’m done, but then I walk down the street and see it fresh all over again.

Eggplants are a visual feast.

I love Farmer’s Markets for the photographic opportunities just as much as for fresh food. Colorful produce is an irresistible lure for me, so every week I will lug empty shopping bags and my dSLR to market. However, some fruit and veggies I like photographing more than eating — eggplant especially. Does that make me a bad vegetarian? Yeah, maybe.

In other news and only marginally related to the color purple, I’ve been casting about for a Word Press 3.0 theme that can handle my photography. I think I’ve found it in Suffusion of Hues. Excuse my dust as I move stuff around and please let me know if you like it. Thanks!